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 more lucidly we think, the more we are cut off: the more deeply we enter into reality, the less we can think.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Deep understanding of reality can limit our ability to articulate thoughts.
C. S. Lewis suggests a paradox in human cognition where the clearer our understanding of reality becomes, the more it separates us from a conventional way of thinking. This implies that profound insights may lead to a form of intellectual isolation, as direct engagement with the complexities of existence often transcends mere logical expression and verbalization.
Themes
LucidityRealityThoughtUnderstandingPhilosophy
In practice
Example use cases
During a philosophical discussion about the nature of existence, this quote can highlight the complexity of deep thought.
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
If you have rooms that are very homogeneous, that have all had the same life experiences and educational backgrounds, and they're all relatively wealthy, their perspective on the world is going to mirror what they already know. That can be dangerous when we're making systems that will affect so many diverse populations.
Kate CrawfordRead
For many people, Timbuktu has long represented the essence of remoteness: a mythical, faraway place located on the boundaries of our collective consciousness. But like many of the myths associated with colonialism, the reality is very different.
Antonio GuterresRead
The civilized man has a moral obligation to be skeptical. . . . Any man who for one moment abandons or suspends the questioning spirit has for that moment betrayed humanity.
Bergen EvansRead
Utopia was here at last: its novelty had not yet been assailed by the supreme enemy of a ll Utopias - boredom.
Arthur C. ClarkeRead
Poverty is bitter, but it has no harder pang than that it makes men ridiculous.
JuvenalRead
Once you buy the argument that some segment of the citizenry should lose their rights, just because they are envied or resented, you are putting your own rights in jeopardy - quite aside from undermining any moral basis for respecting anybody's rights. You are opening the floodgates to arbitrary power. And once you open the floodgates, you can't tell the water where to go.
Thomas SowellRead