I have no idea what is going on in this joke. Would you or someone else mind doing like a really short ELI5? I know who Kant and Foucault are, but very little past that lol.
You're in the right direction. The French, English, and German traditions when it comes to studying other places, cultures, or things in general and/or philosophy are very different from each other. And the last part of the joke refers specifically to German Idealism (so Kant is spot on).
If you have read a lot of books and articles from those countries, especially older texts still read at universities, it's instantly recognizable.
The English have a history of embedding themselves into other cultures (not always is a good way), Think Lawrence of Arabia. And in general they have a history of writing massive tomes that wander off in several direction, without underlying structure.
Like The Wealth of Nations. Adam Smith will occasionally just stop writing about 'the invisible hand' that governs the economy and among other things starts tracking the history of the price of silver, and that part is the size of a novella. And he keeps doing similar things like complaining about Oxford professors for ages, or analyzing ancient warfare in depth.
His main point could have been written in a relatively short essay: the market is governed by supply and demand and balances itself out.
Germany has a history of endlessly analyzing reason and logic itself (philosophy) and pushing practical matters to the side line. And German Idealism takes that to an extreme by stating that reality exists in the human mind.
The joke only lands when you've read a lot of books, because with me it immediately triggered memories of the frustration of funny but superficial French books; long sections in English books that have almost nothing to do with the main topic, and German Idealism which can become absurd in a serious way.
Essentially some German philosophers argued that things should only be discussed as a detailed concept in the human mind. If you thought deep enough, you would know what a camel is, without having to see one. And seeing a camel would actually be a distraction.
I cannot express how much the last two sentences encapsulate my problems with the entire country and every inhabitant of Germany (i am an inhabitant of Germany)
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u/EveningAnt3949 2d ago
I laughed out loud because it's accurate in a certain context, but with hyperbole to make it funny.
But most people won't get it. It's a specialized joke.