---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: only philosophy can go deep enough to…"
description: "\"“only philosophy can go deep enough to show that literature goes still deeper than philosophy”\" — Michel Serres"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/831/michel-serres-41952_books_only-philosophy-can-go-deep-enough-to-sh_1816905.jpg"
---

#  only philosophy can go deep enough to show that literature…

![“only philosophy can go deep enough to show that literature goes still deeper than philosophy” quote by Michel Serres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/831/michel-serres-41952_books_only-philosophy-can-go-deep-enough-to-sh_1816905.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/831/michel-serres-41952_books_only-philosophy-can-go-deep-enough-to-sh_1816905.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/831/michel-serres-41952_books_only-philosophy-can-go-deep-enough-to-sh_1816905.jpg)

> ““only philosophy can go deep enough to show that literature goes still deeper than philosophy””

[Michel Serres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-serres/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Philosophy provides tools to understand literature, but literature can probe deeper truths than philosophy alone.

**In simple terms:** Literature can explore deeper truths than philosophy.

Key Takeaway

Value literature’s depth.

Themes

philosophy literature knowledge depth

Mood

thoughtful introspective

Type

analytical inspirational

When to use this quote

- academic study
- personal reading
- creative writing

Key Concepts

epistemology metacognition aesthetics

Questions to Reflect On

- How does literature reveal truths philosophy misses?
- Can philosophy ever fully capture literary nuance?

A Different Perspective

Literature may lack systematic rigor.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/)

## Related quotes

> [It is my hope that as the Negro plunges deeper into the quest for freedom and justice he will plunge even deeper into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/it-is-my-hope-that-as-the-negro-plunges-deeper-into-the-quest-for-2/)

[Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/)

> [“monastic philosophy of deep work scheduling. This philosophy attempts to maximize deep efforts by eliminating or radically minimizing shallow obligations.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cal-newport/monastic-philosophy-of-deep-work-scheduling-this-philosophy-attempts/)

[Cal Newport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cal-newport/)

> [Histories make men wise; poets, witty; the mathematics, subtle; natural philosophy, deep; moral, grave; logic and rhetoric, able to contend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/histories-make-men-wise-poets-witty-the-mathematics-subtle-natural/)

[Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/)

> [It's funny, in literature no one ever goes to the lavatory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-baker/it-s-funny-in-literature-no-one-ever-goes-to-the-lavatory/)

[Tom Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-baker/)

> [I believe that literature always goes precisely there where the damage to a person has been done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herta-m-ller/i-believe-that-literature-always-goes-precisely-there-where-the/)

[Herta Muller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herta-m-ller/)

> [“The world must be all fucked up when men travel first class and literature goes as freight”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/the-world-must-be-all-fucked-up-when-men-travel-first-class-and/)

[Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/)

> [“In the beginning was the Word. Then came the fucking word processor. Then came the thought processor. Then came the death of literature. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/in-the-beginning-was-the-word-then-came-the-fucking-word-processor/)

[Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/)

> [“O how incomprehensible everything was, and actually sad, although it was also beautiful. One knew nothing. One lived and ran about the earth and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-hesse/o-how-incomprehensible-everything-was-and-actually-sad-although-it/)

[Herman Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-hesse/)

> [The study of history and philosophy, accompanied by some acquaintance with art and literature, should be for lawyers and engineers as well as for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/the-study-of-history-and-philosophy-accompanied-by-some-acquaintance/)

[Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/)

> [“The same Sermon on the Mount that influenced Tolstoy to write “The Kingdom of God is Within You”, inspired me to a great extent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/the-same-sermon-on-the-mount-that-influenced-tolstoy-to-write-the/)

[Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/)

> [RUBBISH, n. Worthless matter, such as the religions, philosophies, literatures, arts and sciences of the tribes infesting the regions lying due south from Boreaplas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/rubbish-n-worthless-matter-such-as-the-religions-philosophies/)

[Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/)

> [Absolute is a game with only one player where Absolute forgets itself so it would have a reason to fulfill the motion while returning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/absolute-is-a-game-with-only-one-player-where-absolute-forgets-itself/)

[Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/)

> [But I think that of all the literature that I studied, the book that did more than any other to fire my enthusiasm was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-nkrumah/but-i-think-that-of-all-the-literature-that-i-studied-the-book-that/)

[Kwame Nkrumah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-nkrumah/)

> [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/)

[Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/)

> [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/)

[Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/)

## More by Michel Serres

> [The skin is a variety of contingency: in it, through it, with it, the world and my body touch each other, the feeling and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-serres/the-skin-is-a-variety-of-contingency-in-it-through-it-with-it-the/)

[Michel Serres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-serres/)

> [Voyaging begins when one burns one's boats, adventures begin with a shipwreck.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-serres/voyaging-begins-when-one-burns-one-s-boats-adventures-begin-with-a/)

[Michel Serres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-serres/)

> [The only philosophy is that of language, the only religion is that of the word.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-serres/the-only-philosophy-is-that-of-language-the-only-religion-is-that-of/)

[Michel Serres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-serres/)

> [What philosophy worthy of the name has truly been able to avoid the link between poem and theorem?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-serres/what-philosophy-worthy-of-the-name-has-truly-been-able-to-avoid-the/)

[Michel Serres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-serres/)

> [Smell and taste differentiate, whereas language, like sight and hearing, integrates.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-serres/smell-and-taste-differentiate-whereas-language-like-sight-and-hearing/)

[Michel Serres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-serres/)

> [You who look at everything through your perpetually open eyes, is your lucidity never bathed in tears?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-serres/you-who-look-at-everything-through-your-perpetually-open-eyes-is-your/)

[Michel Serres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-serres/)

> [“On peut presque tout faire sans lumière sauf écrire. Ecrire demande des lueurs. Vivre se suffit d’ombre, lire exige la clarté. Fast alles kann…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-serres/on-peut-presque-tout-faire-sans-lumi-re-sauf-crire-ecrire-demande-des/)

[Michel Serres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-serres/)

[Explore all 8 Michel Serres quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-serres/)

## More Books quotes

> [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/)

[Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/)

> [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/)

[Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/)

> [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/)

[Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/)

> [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/)

[Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/)

> [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/)

[Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/)

> [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/)

[Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/)

> [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/)

[Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/)

> [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/)

Christopher K. Krebs

> [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/)

[Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/)

> [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/)

[Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/)

> [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/)

[Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/)

> [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/)

[Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/)

> [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/)

[Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/)

> [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/)

Markus Herz

> [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/)

[Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/)

[Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“only philosophy can go deep enough to show that literature goes still deeper than philosophy”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Michel Serres"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-serres/only-philosophy-can-go-deep-enough-to-show-that-literature-goes-still/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Books"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-serres/only-philosophy-can-go-deep-enough-to-show-that-literature-goes-still/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/831/michel-serres-41952_books_only-philosophy-can-go-deep-enough-to-sh_1816905.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/831/michel-serres-41952_books_only-philosophy-can-go-deep-enough-to-sh_1816905.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/831/michel-serres-41952_books_only-philosophy-can-go-deep-enough-to-sh_1816905.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“only philosophy can go deep enough to show that literature goes still deeper than philosophy” — Michel Serres",
                "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": "Michel Serres",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-serres/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“only philosophy can go deep enough...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-serres/only-philosophy-can-go-deep-enough-to-show-that-literature-goes-still/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-serres/only-philosophy-can-go-deep-enough-to-show-that-literature-goes-still/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
