"Stupidity is not animality, but rather a specifically human form of bestiality."Deleuze, "Difference and Repetition"
If you are writing or thinking about Deleuzian stupidity, remember that it is the inability to recognize a true problem. To Deleuze, a stupid mind is one that takes an unknown scenario and lazily forces it into a pre-recognized, comfortable category instead of allowing itself to be forced into new ways of thinking. [1]
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In his philosophy, Gilles Deleuze distinguishes between mere "error" (factually getting something wrong) and bêtise (transcendental stupidity). For Deleuze, stupidity isn't a lack of information; it is the inability to determine what is relevant, the mistaking of clichés for profound insights, and the institutionalization of uncritical thinking
"Every virtue inclines to stupidity, every stupidity to virtue; 'stupid to the point of sanctity,' they say in Russia, — let us be careful lest out of pure honesty we eventually become saints and bores!"
