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
If the world is meaningless, then so are we; if we mean something, we do not mean alone.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote implies that individual significance is derived from our connections with others, suggesting that meaning is relational.
C.S. Lewis articulates a profound philosophical perspective on meaning and existence. He suggests that if the world lacks inherent meaning, then our lives are also devoid of significance. However, he counters this notion by stating that if we are to hold any meaning, it must be understood that it is shared in connection with others. This emphasizes the importance of relationships and community in giving our lives purpose and significance.
Themes
MeaningRelationshipsExistenceSignificanceCommunity
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used during a motivational speech about the importance of teamwork.
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
There is never a humanitarian solution for a humanitarian crisis. The solutions for the humanitarian crisis are always political ones.
Antonio GuterresRead
Law is nothing other than a certain ordinance of reason for the common good, promulgated by the person who has the care of the community.
Thomas AquinasRead
Punctuality is the virtue of the bored.
Evelyn WaughRead
Those who speak much are blamed, those who speak little are blamed. In this world there are none who are not blamed. Try not to blame.
Gautama BuddhaRead
If there were nothing but thought in you, you wouldn't even know you are thinking. You would be like a dreamer who doesn't know he is dreaming. When you know you are dreaming, you are awake within the dream.
Eckhart TolleRead
My existence from day to day has become a matter of averting my eyes, of cringing. Death is the only truth left. Death is what I cannot bear to think. At every moment when I am thinking of something else, I am not thinking death, am not thinking the truth.
J. M. CoetzeeRead