--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is when we ask about the nature of…" description: "\"“It is when we ask about the nature of this catharsis that we discover that culture itself represents something like the fruit of the tree of the knowl..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b4/gil-bailie-54882_culture_it-is-when-we-ask-about-the-nature-of-th_2584454.jpg" --- # It is when we ask about the nature of this catharsis that… ![“It is when we ask about the nature of this catharsis that we discover that culture itself represents something like the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” quote by Gil Bailie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b4/gil-bailie-54882_culture_it-is-when-we-ask-about-the-nature-of-th_2584454.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b4/gil-bailie-54882_culture_it-is-when-we-ask-about-the-nature-of-th_2584454.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b4/gil-bailie-54882_culture_it-is-when-we-ask-about-the-nature-of-th_2584454.jpg) > ““It is when we ask about the nature of this catharsis that we discover that culture itself represents something like the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.”” [Gil Bailie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gil-bailie/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Culture is portrayed as a complex, ambiguous force that can both enlighten and corrupt, similar to the biblical fruit of knowledge. **In simple terms:** Culture can be both good and harmful. Key Takeaway Examine cultural influences critically. Themes culture ethics knowledge duality Mood thoughtful analytical Type critical philosophical When to use this quote - media analysis - education - personal reflection Key Concepts philosophy mythology psychology Questions to Reflect On - How does culture shape moral judgments? - Can we separate cultural influence from personal ethics? A Different Perspective Culture's impact varies across societies. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Catharsis Discover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/catharsis-discover-1806290/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Culture Represents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture-represents-1420475/) [Good and evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-and-evil/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Nature Catharsis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-catharsis-1806289/) [Tree Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tree-knowledge-547910/) ## Related quotes > [“As I see it, a person’s culture represents his appraisal of the things that make up his life. And a fellow becomes cultured, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-elias-disney/as-i-see-it-a-person-s-culture-represents-his-appraisal-of-the-things/) [Walt Elias Disney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-elias-disney/) > [“Using the word much as it is used in atomic physics to characterize the relationship between experience obtained by different experimental arrangements and visualized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niels-bohr/using-the-word-much-as-it-is-used-in-atomic-physics-to-characterize/) [Niels Bohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niels-bohr/) > [Culture represents a novelty in the world of nature, and it could have added an effective, unifying edge to the forces of natural selection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-leakey/culture-represents-a-novelty-in-the-world-of-nature-and-it-could-have/) [Richard Leakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-leakey/) > [I do think that this woke culture represents the antithesis of everything that sports stands for - the meritocracy, excellence, and being able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-travis/i-do-think-that-this-woke-culture-represents-the-antithesis-of/) [Clay Travis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-travis/) > [Chief Keef scares me. Not him specifically, but just the culture that he represents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lupe-fiasco/chief-keef-scares-me-not-him-specifically-but-just-the-culture-that/) [Lupe Fiasco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lupe-fiasco/) > [“When we finally achieve the full right of participation in American life, what we make of it will depend upon our sense of cultural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/when-we-finally-achieve-the-full-right-of-participation-in-american/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) > [“And one thing you would never want to do is keep your children away from any Tree of Knowledge. How could you punish someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aron-ra/and-one-thing-you-would-never-want-to-do-is-keep-your-children-away/) [Aron Ra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aron-ra/) > [The Tree of Knowledge grew fast by, Knowledge of Good bought dear by knowing ill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/the-tree-of-knowledge-grew-fast-by-knowledge-of-good-bought-dear-by/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) > [The tree of Knowledge is a Tree of Knowledge of good and evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-tree-of-knowledge-is-a-tree-of-knowledge-of-good-and-evil/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [There are two great systems in the body of man: the tree of life, which is the arterial with its roots in the heart;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manly-hall/there-are-two-great-systems-in-the-body-of-man-the-tree-of-life-which/) [Manly Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manly-hall/) > [“Let the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil fall, soundless in the moldering woods.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudy-rucker/let-the-tree-of-the-knowledge-of-good-and-evil-fall-soundless-in-the/) [Rudy Rucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudy-rucker/) > [“There may come a time when you will wish you had never tasted the fruit from the tree of knowledge. There may even come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-hawes/there-may-come-a-time-when-you-will-wish-you-had-never-tasted-the/) [Louise Hawes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-hawes/) > [The state mankind are in today, is the direct inheritance of the fruits from the 'Tree of Knowledge' of Good and Evil; EGO! And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-vermaak/the-state-mankind-are-in-today-is-the-direct-inheritance-of-the/) [Geraldine Vermaak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-vermaak/) > [Henceforth the leaves of the tree of knowledge were for women, and for the healing of the nations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-stone/henceforth-the-leaves-of-the-tree-of-knowledge-were-for-women-and-for/) [Lucy Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-stone/) > [Even facts, like leaves on the Tree of Knowledge, have their season](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rex-ruthman/even-facts-like-leaves-on-the-tree-of-knowledge-have-their-season/) [Rex Ruthman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-ruthman/) ## More by Gil Bailie > [“Humans, in short, desire something both unknown to them and inaccessible to the strategies of acquisition that desire sets in motion. We are creatures…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gil-bailie/humans-in-short-desire-something-both-unknown-to-them-and/) [Gil Bailie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gil-bailie/) > [“The people who burned witches at the stake never for one moment thought of their act as violence; rather they thought of it as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gil-bailie/the-people-who-burned-witches-at-the-stake-never-for-one-moment/) [Gil Bailie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gil-bailie/) > [“In sharp contrast to their pagan contemporaries, Israel’s remembrance of the past was marked by two tendencies: a faith in Yahweh’s fidelity to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gil-bailie/in-sharp-contrast-to-their-pagan-contemporaries-israel-s-remembrance/) [Gil Bailie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gil-bailie/) > [“The very word, religio—to bind (ligio) back (re)—suggests exactly this. Thus these ancient cultures remained profoundly backward oriented. This ritualized return to a primordial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gil-bailie/the-very-word-religio-to-bind-ligio-back-re-suggests-exactly-this/) [Gil Bailie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gil-bailie/) > [“As we shall see below, without that tinge of moral remorse, however, there would have been no catharsis, and therefore no surviving culture.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gil-bailie/as-we-shall-see-below-without-that-tinge-of-moral-remorse-however/) [Gil Bailie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gil-bailie/) [Explore all 6 Gil Bailie quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gil-bailie/) ## More Culture quotes > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Philosopher is a dictator who modifies accepted standards with his thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/philosopher-is-a-dictator-who-modifies-accepted-standards-with-his/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [A lot of indigenous cultures are deeply involved in working with ancestor spirits, elemental spirits, and demons. Many of these cultures feel that, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-pinchbeck/a-lot-of-indigenous-cultures-are-deeply-involved-in-working-with/) [Daniel Pinchbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-pinchbeck/) > [In the hearing world, I'm constantly having to lip-read and trying to understand what's going on. Sign language is so beautiful. It gives you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-ayling-ellis/in-the-hearing-world-i-m-constantly-having-to-lip-read-and-trying-to/) [Rose Ayling-Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-ayling-ellis/) > [I was born and raised in Orlando, where the economy and culture has been powerfully shaped by tourism, and so I've long been interested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-van-den-berg/i-was-born-and-raised-in-orlando-where-the-economy-and-culture-has/) [Laura van den Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-van-den-berg/) > [Our times demand the declaration of the world's resources as the common heritage of all people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacque-fresco/our-times-demand-the-declaration-of-the-world-s-resources-as-the/) [Jacque Fresco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacque-fresco/) > [The U.S.-Mexican border es un herida abierta where the Third World grates against the first and bleeds. And before a scab forms it hemorrhages…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-e-anzald-a/the-u-s-mexican-border-es-un-herida-abierta-where-the-third-world/) [Gloria E. Anzaldúa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-e-anzald-a/) > [What it comes down to for me is this: Will the technologies of communication in our culture, serve to enlighten us and help us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-waters/what-it-comes-down-to-for-me-is-this-will-the-technologies-of/) [Roger Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-waters/) > [I think it's useful to experience other types of dance and other cultures, and the life of a classical dancer these days is certainly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-bull/i-think-it-s-useful-to-experience-other-types-of-dance-and-other/) [Deborah Bull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-bull/) > [In the movie, the stars above the ship bear no correspondence to any constellations in a real sky. Worse yet, while the heroine bobs...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/in-the-movie-the-stars-above-the-ship-bear-no-correspondence-to-any/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [It is not my intention to explain Turkey, its culture and its problems. My literature has a universal concern: I want to bring people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/it-is-not-my-intention-to-explain-turkey-its-culture-and-its-problems/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [I don't think the distinction between high and low culture exists anymore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-scott/i-don-t-think-the-distinction-between-high-and-low-culture-exists/) [Jeremy Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-scott/) > [You get below the Mason-Dixon line and you have some of the best music, culture, the two races, the literature, and it's so rich.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-duvall/you-get-below-the-mason-dixon-line-and-you-have-some-of-the-best/) [Robert Duvall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-duvall/) > [It is proposed that a form of free dialogue may well be one of the most effective ways of investigating the crisis which faces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bohm/it-is-proposed-that-a-form-of-free-dialogue-may-well-be-one-of-the/) [David Bohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bohm/) > [“Being grounded in your lifelong culture and your personal perspective, you are comfortable with the way you see things and may believe it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-c-young/being-grounded-in-your-lifelong-culture-and-your-personal-perspective/) [Susan C. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-c-young/) [Browse all 15,940 Culture quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It is when we ask about the nature of this catharsis that we discover that culture itself represents something like the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gil Bailie" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gil-bailie/it-is-when-we-ask-about-the-nature-of-this-catharsis-that-we-discover/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Culture" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gil-bailie/it-is-when-we-ask-about-the-nature-of-this-catharsis-that-we-discover/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b4/gil-bailie-54882_culture_it-is-when-we-ask-about-the-nature-of-th_2584454.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b4/gil-bailie-54882_culture_it-is-when-we-ask-about-the-nature-of-th_2584454.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b4/gil-bailie-54882_culture_it-is-when-we-ask-about-the-nature-of-th_2584454.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is when we ask about the nature of this catharsis that we discover that culture itself represents…” — Gil Bailie", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Gil Bailie", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gil-bailie/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“It is when we ask about...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gil-bailie/it-is-when-we-ask-about-the-nature-of-this-catharsis-that-we-discover/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gil-bailie/it-is-when-we-ask-about-the-nature-of-this-catharsis-that-we-discover/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```