I 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
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.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that believing in objective values is essential for a fair system of rules and obedience that is not oppressive.
C. S. Lewis argues that for a set of rules to be legitimate and just, there must be an underlying belief in objective values. Without this belief, any system of rules may degenerate into tyranny, and obedience may resemble slavery, as the absence of objective morality can lead to arbitrary and oppressive systems of power.
Themes
Objective ValueEthicsMoralityRulesTyrannyObedienceFreedom
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be used in a philosophical debate about the foundations of morality.
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I pray because I can't help myself. I pray because I'm helpless. It doesn't change God - it changes me.
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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
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The castle of Cair Paravel on its little hill towered up above them; before them were the sands, with rocks and little pools of salt water, and seaweed, and the smell of the sea and long miles of bluish-green waves breaking for ever and ever on the beach. And oh, the cry of the seagulls! Have you ever heard it? Can you remember?
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