Language is not made to be believed but to be obeyed, and to compel obedience newspapers, news, proceed by redundancy, in that they tell us what we βmustβ think, retain, expect, etc. language is neither informational nor communicational. It is not the communication of information but something quite different: the transmission of order-words, either from one statement to another or within each statement, insofar as each statement accomplishes an act and the act is accomplished in the statement
Something in the world forces us to think. This something is an object not of recognition but of a fundamental encounter.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that certain experiences compel us to think deeply, challenging our recognition and engagement with the world.
Gilles Deleuze emphasizes the importance of fundamental encounters that push individuals to engage in profound thought. Rather than relying on superficial recognition or understanding, these encounters evoke a deeper reflection on existence, prompting us to reconsider our perceptions and interactions with the world around us. It highlights the transformative power of experiences that demand more than just acknowledgment, urging a deeper exploration of meaning and existence.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a philosophical discussion, to emphasize the importance of deep thinking based on experiences.
More from Gilles Deleuze
All quotes βIntuition is neither a feeling, an inspiration nor a disorderly sympathy but a fully developed method.
Let us create extraordinary words, on condition that they be put to the most ordinary use and that the entity they designate be made to exist in the same way as the most common object.
Forming grammatically correct sentences is for the normal individual the prerequisite for any submission to social laws. No one is supposed to be ignorant of grammaticality; those who are belong in special institutions. The unity of language is fundamentally political.
Art is not communicative, art is not reflexive. Art, science, philosophy are neither contemplative, neither reflexive, nor communicative. They are creative, that's all.
To affirm is not to bear, carry, or harness oneself to that which exists, but on the contrary to unburden, unharness, and set free that which lives.
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One certain effect of war is to diminish freedom of expression. Patriotism becomes the order of the day, and those who question the war are seen as traitors, to be silenced and imprisoned.