How to choose an example? – from anyone to any one

Abstract

How to choose an example? What happens in dealing with simple data could in fact be the most complex of things: the criterion of choice. Some cases are examples and others are not. Why? The purpose of this text is to try to give some criteria for this sort of choice. The path chosen for this was to take a case of Freudian psychopathology: the case of Dora. Why is this case considered an example of hysteria? To answer this question, we recurr to Agamben’s ideas, especially his distinction between example and exception. Foucault’s “thought from outside” is also discussed, along with the ideas of other thinkers. The text seeks to determine why an example lies in a case of singularity – something that is neither particular nor universal. There is a paradigm in providing an example: not all are worthwhile. Why?

Recebido: 04/04/2017
Aceito: 07/11/2017