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If God thinks this state of war in the universe a price worth paying for free will...then we may take it it is worth paying.
C. S. Lewis
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Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote suggests that the existence of free will justifies the chaos and conflict in the universe.

C. S. Lewis reflects on the nature of free will and the underlying chaos in the universe, proposing that the opportunity for individuals to choose their paths—despite any resulting turmoil—is valuable enough to merit the struggles and strife present in existence. This implies a deep philosophical inquiry into the balance between autonomy and the consequences that arise from it.

Themes

Free WillWarUniversePhilosophyChoice

In practice

Example use cases

In a discussion on the value of free will during a philosophy class.

More from C. S. Lewis

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.
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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.
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Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither.
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Forgiving and being forgiven are two names for the same thing. The important thing is that a discord has been resolved.
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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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