Philosophy Quote by Gilles Deleuze
““The annals of official philosophy are populated by ‘bureaucrats of pure reason’ who speak in ‘the shadow of the despot’ and are in historical complicity with the State. They invent ‘a properly spiritual…absolute State that… effectively functions in the mind.’ Theirs is a discourse of sovereign judgment, of stable subjectivity legislated by ‘good’ sense, of rocklike identity, ‘universal’ truth, and (white male) justice. ‘Thus the exercise of their thought is in conformity with the aims of the real State, with the dominant significations, and with the requirements of the established order.””
About This Quote
Source Book: Difference and Repetition, Gilles Deleuze, 1968
Philosophical discourse often serves state power, presenting universal truths that reinforce existing hierarchies.
In simple terms: Philosophy can legitimize state authority.
Key Takeaway
Critically examine philosophical claims for hidden power motives.
Themes
power
philosophy
state
truth
justice
Mood
critical
analytical
Type
philosophical
political
When to use this quote
- academic critique
- political activism
- media analysis
Key Concepts
critical theory
political philosophy
ideology
Questions to Reflect On
- How do philosophical ideas support or challenge authority?
- What alternative discourses can disrupt dominant narratives?
A Different Perspective
Philosophy also offers tools for resistance.
![“I never knew any man who had once tasted the sweetness of experimental knowledge, that ever afterward fasted after ye Vapour garlick and onions of phantasmatical seeming philosophy." [William Petty]” quote by Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/e5a/carl-zimmer-16331_knowledge_i-never-knew-any-man-who-had-once-tasted_1770.jpg)
![“Either it is the fold of the infinite, or the constant folds [replis] of finitude which curve the outside and constitute the inside.” quote by Gilles Deleuze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/bd3/gilles-deleuze-3530_constant_either-it-is-the-fold-of-the-infinite-or_97990.jpg)
