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
Men became scientific because they expected Law in Nature, and they expected Law in Nature because they believed in a Law Giver.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that the pursuit of science is rooted in the belief that the universe operates under consistent laws, which in turn implies a higher power or Law Giver.
C. S. Lewis argues that the advancement of scientific thought is not merely based on empirical observation, but is deeply intertwined with the philosophical belief in an underlying order or law that governs the natural world. This expectation of lawfulness is based on the belief in a divine creator, who establishes these laws, driving humanity to explore and understand the universe scientifically.
Themes
ScienceLawNatureBeliefLaw Giver
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the relationship between faith and science, one could quote Lewis to illustrate how science is often influenced by theological beliefs.
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
No one trusts a model except the man who wrote it; everyone trusts an observation, except the man who made it.
Harlow ShapleyRead
Evolution ... is opportunistic, hence unpredictable.
Ernst MayrRead
By 2040, the Sahara will be moving into Europe and Berlin will be as hot as Baghdad. Atlanta will end up a kudzu jungle. Phoenix will become uninhabitable, as will parts of Beijing (desert), Miami (rising seas) and London (floods). Food shortages will drive millions of people north, raising political tensions.
James LovelockRead
In space, you need to exercise your heart since it's not pumping blood around at the same rate.
Mae JemisonRead
I regard music therapy as a tool of great power in many neurological disorders -- Parkinson's and Alzheimer's -- because of its unique capacity to organize or reorganize cerebral function when it has been damaged.
Oliver SacksRead
The historian of science may be tempted to exclaim that when paradigms change, the world itself changes with them.
Thomas KuhnRead