A dogmatic belief in objective value is necessary to the very idea of a rule which is not tyranny or an obedience which is not slavery.
C. S. LewisRead
The assumption that things which have been conjured in the past will always be conjured in the guiding principle not of rational but of animal behavior.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that relying solely on past experiences can lead to irrational behavior.
C. S. Lewis highlights the tendency of human beings to repeat past actions based not on rational thought but instinctual behavior. This assumption can lead to the failure of recognizing that circumstances can change, and what worked before may not be beneficial in the present or future. The quote serves as a reminder to critically evaluate our decisions rather than relying on habitual responses shaped by prior experiences.
Themes
BehaviorAssumptionPastRationalityInstinct
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion on decision-making, one might cite this quote to emphasize the importance of adapting to new situations.
More from C. S. Lewis
All quotes βI enjoyed my breakfast this morning, and I think that was a good thing and do not think it was condemned by God. But I do not think myself a good man for enjoying it.
C. S. LewisRead
Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither.
C. S. LewisRead
Forgiving and being forgiven are two names for the same thing. The important thing is that a discord has been resolved.
C. S. LewisRead
I pray because I can't help myself. I pray because I'm helpless. It doesn't change God - it changes me.
C. S. LewisRead
The instrument through which you see God is your whole self. And if a man's self is not kept clean and bright, his glimpse of God will be blurred
C. S. LewisRead
Similar quotes
I am not perfect. I just think that imperfections are beautiful.
Lady GagaRead
No tree becomes rooted and sturdy unless many a wind assails it. For by its very tossing it tightens its grip and plants its roots more securely; the fragile trees are those that have grown in a sunny valley.
Seneca The YoungerRead
Sentimentality, the ostentatious parading of excessive and spurious emotion, is the mark of dishonesty...the wet eyes of the sentimentalist betray his aversion to experience, his fear of life, his arid heart; and it is always, therefore, the signal of secret and violent humanity, the mark of cruelty.
James A. BaldwinRead
In a closed society where everybody's guilty, the only crime is getting caught. In a world of thieves, the only final sin is stupidity.
Hunter S. ThompsonRead
They don't want equal time - they want all the time there is.
Isaac AsimovRead
Those who have a why to live for can bear almost any how. The necessary premise is that a person is somehow more than his or her "characteristics," all the emotions, strivings, tastes, and constructions which it pleases us to call "My Life." We have grounds to hope that a Life is something more than a cloud of particles, mere facticity. Go through what is comprehensible and you conclude that only the incomprehensible gives any light.
Saul BellowRead