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Since I can see no answer to these questions, I draw the…

“Since I can see no answer to these questions, I draw the following conclusions. This thing which I have called for convenience the Tao, and which others may call Natural Law or Traditional Morality or the First Principles of Practical Reason or the First Platitudes, is not one among a series of…” quote by C.S. Lewis
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““Since I can see no answer to these questions, I draw the following conclusions. This thing which I have called for convenience the Tao, and which others may call Natural Law or Traditional Morality or the First Principles of Practical Reason or the First Platitudes, is not one among a series of possible systems of value. It is the sole source of all value judgements. If it is rejected, all value is rejected. If any value is retained, it is retained. The effort to refute it and raise a new system of value in its place is self-contradictory. There has never been, and never will be, a radically new judgement of value in the history of the world. What purport to be new systems or (as they now call them) ‘ideologies’, all consist of fragments from the Tao itself, arbitrarily wrenched from their context in the whole and then swollen to madness in their isolation, yet still owing to the Tao and to it alone such validity as they possess. If my duty to my parents is a superstition, then so is my duty to posterity. If justice is a superstition, then so is my duty to my country or my race. If the pursuit of scientific knowledge is a real value, then so is conjugal fidelity. The rebellion of new ideologies against the Tao is a rebellion of the branches against the tree: if the rebels could succeed they would find that they had destroyed themselves. The human mind has no more power of inventing a new value than of imagining a new primary colour, or, indeed, of creating a new sun and a new sky for it to move in.””

C.S. Lewis

About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

All value stems from a single, immutable source; attempts to create new values are futile and self‑contradictory.

In simple terms: Values come from one ultimate principle; new systems are just fragments of it.

Key Takeaway

Seek the underlying principle behind values.

Themes

philosophy ethics metaphysics truth tradition

Mood

thoughtful inquisitive

Type

philosophical reflective

When to use this quote

  • moral decision making
  • legal frameworks
  • personal ethics
  • cultural analysis

Key Concepts

value theory natural law Taoist parallels

Questions to Reflect On

  • What is the ultimate source of your values?
  • Can new values arise without contradicting the old?
A Different Perspective

Assumes a single source of value, ignoring pluralistic perspectives.

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