--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When we talk today about receptiveness to…" description: "\"“When we talk today about receptiveness to stories, we tend to contrast that attitude to one governed by reason - we talk about freeing ourselves from ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/75a/alan-jacobs-22461_c-s-lewis_when-we-talk-today-about-receptiveness-t_3039672.jpg" --- # When we talk today about receptiveness to stories, we tend… ![“When we talk today about receptiveness to stories, we tend to contrast that attitude to one governed by reason - we talk about freeing ourselves from the shackles of the rational mind and that sort of thing - but no belief was more central to Lewis's mind than the belief that it is eminently…” quote by Alan Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/75a/alan-jacobs-22461_c-s-lewis_when-we-talk-today-about-receptiveness-t_3039672.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/75a/alan-jacobs-22461_c-s-lewis_when-we-talk-today-about-receptiveness-t_3039672.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/75a/alan-jacobs-22461_c-s-lewis_when-we-talk-today-about-receptiveness-t_3039672.jpg) > ““When we talk today about receptiveness to stories, we tend to contrast that attitude to one governed by reason - we talk about freeing ourselves from the shackles of the rational mind and that sort of thing - but no belief was more central to Lewis's mind than the belief that it is eminently, fully rational to be responsive to the enchanting power of stories.”” [Alan Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-jacobs/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Stories are rationally valuable; they shape belief and understanding. **In simple terms:** Stories are logical tools. Key Takeaway Value narrative reasoning. Themes stories reason belief Mood analytical inspired Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - education - marketing - politics Key Concepts narrative power rationality Questions to Reflect On - How do stories influence your decisions? - When should reason dominate? A Different Perspective Overreliance on stories can obscure facts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Belief Eminently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief-eminently-5004411/) [C-s-lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/c-s-lewis/) [Lewis Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lewis-mind-5004410/) [Power of stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power-of-stories/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Rational Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rational-mind/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Receptiveness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/receptiveness-3092425/) [Receptiveness Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/receptiveness-stories-5004409/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) ## Related quotes > [“To many among us neither heaven nor earth has any revelation till some personality touches theirs with a particular influence, subduing them into receptiveness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/to-many-among-us-neither-heaven-nor-earth-has-any-revelation-till/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [Receptiveness is a rare and massive power, like fortitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/receptiveness-is-a-rare-and-massive-power-like-fortitude/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [An opening and a receptiveness to design and pattern for its own sake seems to free the painting hand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-genn/an-opening-and-a-receptiveness-to-design-and-pattern-for-its-own-sake/) [Robert Genn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-genn/) > [“Creativity is a matter of receptiveness and recognition. This cannot happen if you’re convinced the world revolves around you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-holiday/creativity-is-a-matter-of-receptiveness-and-recognition-this-cannot/) [Ryan Holiday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-holiday/) > [“The whole story, paradoxically enough, strengthens our relish for real life. This excursion into the preposterous sends us back with renewed pleasure to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/the-whole-story-paradoxically-enough-strengthens-our-relish-for-real/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“For the critics who think Chesterton frivolous or 'paradoxical' I have to work hard to feel even pity; sympathy is out of the question.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/for-the-critics-who-think-chesterton-frivolous-or-paradoxical-i-have/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [“No man who cares about originality will ever be original. 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Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“Nobody can always have devout feelings: and even if we could, feelings are not what God principally cares about.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/nobody-can-always-have-devout-feelings-and-even-if-we-could-feelings/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“Hours later there came a change. It began to grow light in the bus. The greyness outside the windows turned from mud-colour to mother…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/hours-later-there-came-a-change-it-began-to-grow-light-in-the-bus-the/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“But, said Lewis, myths are lies, even though lies breathed through silver. No, said Tolkien, they are not. ...just as speech is invention about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/humphrey-carpenter/but-said-lewis-myths-are-lies-even-though-lies-breathed-through/) [Humphrey Carpenter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/humphrey-carpenter/) > [“To love, and to lose what we love, are equally things appointed for our nature. If we cannot bear the second well, that evil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/to-love-and-to-lose-what-we-love-are-equally-things-appointed-for-our/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“Feelings come and go, and when they come a good use can be made of them, but they cannot be our regular spiritual diet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/feelings-come-and-go-and-when-they-come-a-good-use-can-be-made-of/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“All Hell is smaller than one pebble of your earthly world: but it is smaller than one atom of this world, the Real World.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/all-hell-is-smaller-than-one-pebble-of-your-earthly-world-but-it-is/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) ## More by Alan Jacobs > [“Objections to Christianity... are phrased in words, but that does not mean that they are really a matter of language and analysis and argument.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-jacobs/objections-to-christianity-are-phrased-in-words-but-that-does-not/) [Alan Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-jacobs/) > [“I would not be practicing love toward God OR my neighbour if I were to smile benignly on an unjust social order. 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Of this you may be confident: they'll be ready when the whim strikes you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-jacobs/so-the-books-are-waiting-of-this-you-may-be-confident-they-ll-be/) [Alan Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-jacobs/) > [“And yet rereading a book can often be a more significant, dramatic, and, yes, new experience than encountering an unfamiliar work.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-jacobs/and-yet-rereading-a-book-can-often-be-a-more-significant-dramatic-and/) [Alan Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-jacobs/) > [“The Virtue and unpretentiousness of the wise man, which I am talking about, goes unnoticed because of its transparent ordinariness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-jacobs/the-virtue-and-unpretentiousness-of-the-wise-man-which-i-am-talking/) [Alan Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-jacobs/) > [“Great books are great in part because of what they ask of their readers: they are not readily encountered, easily assessed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-jacobs/great-books-are-great-in-part-because-of-what-they-ask-of-their/) [Alan Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-jacobs/) > [“T. S. Eliot wrote almost a century ago about a phenomenon that he believed to be the product of the nineteenth century: “When there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-jacobs/t-s-eliot-wrote-almost-a-century-ago-about-a-phenomenon-that-he/) [Alan Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-jacobs/) > [“Christian writers, whether they like it or not, do not simply write for themselves; for good or ill, readers will see their work as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-jacobs/christian-writers-whether-they-like-it-or-not-do-not-simply-write-for/) [Alan Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-jacobs/) > [“The blessing of Google is its uncanny skill in finding what you're looking for; the curse is that it so rarely finds any of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-jacobs/the-blessing-of-google-is-its-uncanny-skill-in-finding-what-you-re/) [Alan Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-jacobs/) > [“Dehaene even allows himself a few moments of (justifiable) annoyance at the way that "childhood reading experts" continue their debates about the best strategies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-jacobs/dehaene-even-allows-himself-a-few-moments-of-justifiable-annoyance-at/) [Alan Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-jacobs/) > [“Slow down. Make a point of revisiting passages that seem especially rich, or especially confusing, or for that matter especially offensive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-jacobs/slow-down-make-a-point-of-revisiting-passages-that-seem-especially/) [Alan Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-jacobs/) > [“For heaven’s sake, don’t turn reading into the intellectual equivalent of eating organic greens, or (shifting the metaphor slightly) some fearfully disciplined appointment with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-jacobs/for-heaven-s-sake-don-t-turn-reading-into-the-intellectual-equivalent/) [Alan Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-jacobs/) [Explore all 27 Alan Jacobs quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-jacobs/) ## More C-s-lewis quotes > [“All Hell is smaller than one pebble of your earthly world: but it is smaller than one atom of this world, the Real World.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/all-hell-is-smaller-than-one-pebble-of-your-earthly-world-but-it-is/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“Feelings come and go, and when they come a good use can be made of them, but they cannot be our regular spiritual diet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/feelings-come-and-go-and-when-they-come-a-good-use-can-be-made-of/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“To love, and to lose what we love, are equally things appointed for our nature. If we cannot bear the second well, that evil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/to-love-and-to-lose-what-we-love-are-equally-things-appointed-for-our/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“But, said Lewis, myths are lies, even though lies breathed through silver. No, said Tolkien, they are not. ...just as speech is invention about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/humphrey-carpenter/but-said-lewis-myths-are-lies-even-though-lies-breathed-through/) [Humphrey Carpenter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/humphrey-carpenter/) > [“Hours later there came a change. It began to grow light in the bus. The greyness outside the windows turned from mud-colour to mother…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/hours-later-there-came-a-change-it-began-to-grow-light-in-the-bus-the/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“Nobody can always have devout feelings: and even if we could, feelings are not what God principally cares about.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/nobody-can-always-have-devout-feelings-and-even-if-we-could-feelings/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“Thought is what we start from: the simple, intimate, immediate datum. Matter is the inferred thing, the mystery.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/thought-is-what-we-start-from-the-simple-intimate-immediate-datum/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/i-think-we-delight-to-praise-what-we-enjoy-because-the-praise-not/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“No man who cares about originality will ever be original. It's the man who's only thinking about doing a good job or telling the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/no-man-who-cares-about-originality-will-ever-be-original-it-s-the-man/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“For the critics who think Chesterton frivolous or 'paradoxical' I have to work hard to feel even pity; sympathy is out of the question.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/for-the-critics-who-think-chesterton-frivolous-or-paradoxical-i-have/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [“The whole story, paradoxically enough, strengthens our relish for real life. This excursion into the preposterous sends us back with renewed pleasure to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/the-whole-story-paradoxically-enough-strengthens-our-relish-for-real/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“It is therefore easy to see why Authority frowns on Friendship. Every real Friendship is a sort of secession, even a rebellion. 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Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“Never say savor when you only mean taste – one is a holding on the tongue and an intoxication and the other is cursory,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryana-johnson/never-say-savor-when-you-only-mean-taste-one-is-a-holding-on-the/) [Bryana Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryana-johnson/) > [“the fairy tale stirs and troubles him (to his life-long enrichment) with the dim sense of something beyond his reach and, far from dulling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/the-fairy-tale-stirs-and-troubles-him-to-his-life-long-enrichment/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) [Browse all 18 C-s-lewis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/c-s-lewis/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“When we talk today about receptiveness to stories, we tend to contrast that attitude to one governed by reason - we talk about freeing ourselves from the shackles of the rational mind and that sort of thing - but no belief was more central to Lewis's mind than the belief that it is eminently, fully rational to be responsive to the enchanting power of stories.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alan Jacobs" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-jacobs/when-we-talk-today-about-receptiveness-to-stories-we-tend-to-contrast/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "C-s-lewis" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-jacobs/when-we-talk-today-about-receptiveness-to-stories-we-tend-to-contrast/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/75a/alan-jacobs-22461_c-s-lewis_when-we-talk-today-about-receptiveness-t_3039672.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/75a/alan-jacobs-22461_c-s-lewis_when-we-talk-today-about-receptiveness-t_3039672.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/75a/alan-jacobs-22461_c-s-lewis_when-we-talk-today-about-receptiveness-t_3039672.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When we talk today about receptiveness to stories, we tend to contrast that attitude to one governed by…” — Alan Jacobs", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Alan Jacobs", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-jacobs/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“When we talk today about receptiveness...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-jacobs/when-we-talk-today-about-receptiveness-to-stories-we-tend-to-contrast/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-jacobs/when-we-talk-today-about-receptiveness-to-stories-we-tend-to-contrast/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```