--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The naturalists have been engaged in…" description: "\"The naturalists have been engaged in thinking about Nature. They have not attended to the fact that they were thinking. The moment one attends to this ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/059/c-s-lewis-2-132_breathing_the-naturalists-have-been-engaged-in-thi_2506087.jpg" --- # The naturalists have been engaged in thinking about… ![“The naturalists have been engaged in thinking about Nature. They have not attended to the fact that they were thinking. The moment one attends to this it is obvious that one's own thinking cannot be merely a natural event, and that therefore something other than nature exists. The Supernatural is…” quote by C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/059/c-s-lewis-2-132_breathing_the-naturalists-have-been-engaged-in-thi_2506087.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/059/c-s-lewis-2-132_breathing_the-naturalists-have-been-engaged-in-thi_2506087.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/059/c-s-lewis-2-132_breathing_the-naturalists-have-been-engaged-in-thi_2506087.jpg) > “The naturalists have been engaged in thinking about Nature. They have not attended to the fact that they were thinking. The moment one attends to this it is obvious that one's own thinking cannot be merely a natural event, and that therefore something other than nature exists. The Supernatural is not remote or abstruse; it is a matter of daily and hourly experience, as intimate as breathing.” [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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. Human thought transcends nature, indicating a supernatural dimension present in daily experience. **In simple terms:** Thinking shows something beyond nature. Key Takeaway Recognize the supernatural in everyday life. Themes philosophy theology consciousness metaphysics Mood thoughtful inquisitive spiritual Type theological philosophical When to use this quote - personal reflection - spiritual practice - ethical decision making - creative writing Key Concepts dualism mind-body problem Questions to Reflect On - What evidence supports a supernatural mind? - How does this view affect moral choices? A Different Perspective Some may view this as speculative without empirical proof. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Breathing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breathing/) [Engaged](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/engaged/) [Events](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/events/) [Exists Supernatural](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exists-supernatural-1110137/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [Intimate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intimate/) [Matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matter/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Natural](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/natural/) [Naturalist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/naturalist/) [Naturalists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/naturalists/) [Naturalists Engaged](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/naturalists-engaged-1110138/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Nature Exists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-exists-693587/) [Obvious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obvious/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Thinking Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking-nature-1110136/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [The question of whether there exists a supernatural creator, a God, is one of the most important that we have to answer. I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-question-of-whether-there-exists-a-supernatural-creator-a-god-is/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Although I am fully convinced of the truth of Evolution, I by no means expect to convince experienced naturalists. But I look with confidence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/although-i-am-fully-convinced-of-the-truth-of-evolution-i-by-no-means/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [In every bio-region, one of the most urgent tasks is to rebuild the community of naturalists - so radically depleted in recent years, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-louv/in-every-bio-region-one-of-the-most-urgent-tasks-is-to-rebuild-the/) [Richard Louv](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-louv/) > [I'm saying that there were many great naturalists before Darwin's time who were very pious people and who knew more about nature than most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-graffin/i-m-saying-that-there-were-many-great-naturalists-before-darwin-s/) [Greg Graffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-graffin/) > [God created animals. And they’re loving; they’re beautiful. I feel the way (anthropologist) Jane Goodall does or any of those naturalists. I don’t find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jackson/god-created-animals-and-they-re-loving-they-re-beautiful-i-feel-the/) [Michael Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jackson/) > [Large swaths of what we now regard as basic medical knowledge came originally from naturalists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-conniff/large-swaths-of-what-we-now-regard-as-basic-medical-knowledge-came/) [Richard Conniff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-conniff/) > [The naturalists of yore esteemed the ocean to be a treasury of wonders, and sought therein for monstrosities and organisms contrary to the law…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-forbes/the-naturalists-of-yore-esteemed-the-ocean-to-be-a-treasury-of/) [Edward Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-forbes/) > [The naturalists of our own time hold equal faith in the wonders of the sea, but seek therein rather for the links of nature's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-forbes/the-naturalists-of-our-own-time-hold-equal-faith-in-the-wonders-of/) [Edward Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-forbes/) > [I am above the forest region, amongst grand rocks & such a torrent as you see in Salvator Rosa's paintings vegetation all a scrub…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-dalton-hooker/i-am-above-the-forest-region-amongst-grand-rocks-such-a-torrent-as/) [Joseph Dalton Hooker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-dalton-hooker/) > [Is ditchwater dull? Naturalists with microscopes have told me that it teems with quiet fun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/is-ditchwater-dull-naturalists-with-microscopes-have-told-me-that-it/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [Things don't look hopeful for Darwinian naturalists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvin-plantinga/things-don-t-look-hopeful-for-darwinian-naturalists/) [Alvin Plantinga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvin-plantinga/) > [If naturalists go to heaven (about which there is considerable ecclesiastical doubt), I hope that I will be furnished with a troop of kakapo…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-durrell/if-naturalists-go-to-heaven-about-which-there-is-considerable/) [Gerald Durrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-durrell/) > [Up until the middle of the nineteenth century, men of science were all believers. Most of the great early English naturalists were also ministers;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/up-until-the-middle-of-the-nineteenth-century-men-of-science-were-all/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [In short, it is not that evolutionary naturalists have been less brazen than the scientific creationists in holding science hostage, but rather that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillip-e-johnson/in-short-it-is-not-that-evolutionary-naturalists-have-been-less/) [Phillip E. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillip-e-johnson/) > [It is really laughable to see what different ideas are prominent in various naturalists' minds, when they speak of 'species'; in some, resemblance is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/it-is-really-laughable-to-see-what-different-ideas-are-prominent-in/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) ## More by C. S. Lewis > [One of our great allies at present is the Church itself. Do not misunderstand me. I do not mean the Church as we see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/one-of-our-great-allies-at-present-is-the-church-itself-do-not/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Either Jesus is the Son of God ; or a madman or worse. But His being just a great teacher? He's not left that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/either-jesus-is-the-son-of-god-or-a-madman-or-worse-but-his-being/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [To every soul, God will look like its first love because He IS its first love. Your place in heaven will seem to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/to-every-soul-god-will-look-like-its-first-love-because-he-is-its/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Don't you understand anything? Isn't it absolutely essential to keep a fierce Left and a fierce Right, both on their toes and each terrified…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/don-t-you-understand-anything-isn-t-it-absolutely-essential-to-keep-a/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [“Really great moral teachers never do introduce new moralities: it is quacks and cranks who do that. As”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/really-great-moral-teachers-never-do-introduce-new-moralities-it-is/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [“When He died in the Wounded World He died not for men, but for each man. If each man had been the only man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/when-he-died-in-the-wounded-world-he-died-not-for-men-but-for-each/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [All I am in private life is a literary critic and historian, that's my job...And I'm prepared to say on that basis if anyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/all-i-am-in-private-life-is-a-literary-critic-and-historian-that-s-my/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [If a man is going to write on chemistry, he learns chemistry. The same is true of Christianity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/if-a-man-is-going-to-write-on-chemistry-he-learns-chemistry-the-same/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [The first fact in the history of Christendom is a number of people who say they have seen the Resurrection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/the-first-fact-in-the-history-of-christendom-is-a-number-of-people/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [I#pray because the need flows out of me all the time-walking and sleeping. It does not change # God - it changes me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/i-pray-because-the-need-flows-out-of-me-all-the-time-walking-and/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Are the gods not just?' 'Oh no, child. What would become us us if they were?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/are-the-gods-not-just-oh-no-child-what-would-become-us-us-if-they-were/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Love is more than an emotion, it is a decision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/love-is-more-than-an-emotion-it-is-a-decision/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Ink is the great cure for all human ills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/ink-is-the-great-cure-for-all-human-ills/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [A man may have to die for our country: but no man must, in any exclusive sense, live for his country. He who surrenders…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/a-man-may-have-to-die-for-our-country-but-no-man-must-in-any/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [War creates no absolutely new situation: it simply aggravates the permanent human situation so that we can no longer ignore it. Human life has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/war-creates-no-absolutely-new-situation-it-simply-aggravates-the/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) [Explore all 1,190 C. S. Lewis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) ## More Breathing quotes > [A thing of beauty is a joy for ever;It's loveliness increase;it will never pass into nothingness;but still will keep a bower quiet for us,and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/a-thing-of-beauty-is-a-joy-for-ever-it-s-loveliness-increase-it-will/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [“As long as we’re breathing, we have a chance to start over and build a stable future.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-ha-campbell/as-long-as-we-re-breathing-we-have-a-chance-to-start-over-and-build-a/) [Kim Ha Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-ha-campbell/) > [People don't think much about breathing. Of all the things we take for granted, breathing has to be number one - even though it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laird-hamilton/people-don-t-think-much-about-breathing-of-all-the-things-we-take-for/) [Laird Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laird-hamilton/) > [Aging is like enlightenment at gunpoint. Before I had cancer, I lived my life for my art. After I had cancer, I lived my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-halprin/aging-is-like-enlightenment-at-gunpoint-before-i-had-cancer-i-lived/) [Anna Halprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-halprin/) > [I wish," Jared began, and stopped, breathing in. "Do you remember how you used to believe I wasn't real? Sometimes I wish that was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-rees-brennan/i-wish-jared-began-and-stopped-breathing-in-do-you-remember-how-you/) [Sarah Rees Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-rees-brennan/) > [The still affection of the heart Became an outward breathing type, That into stillness past again, And left a want unknown before; Although the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/the-still-affection-of-the-heart-became-an-outward-breathing-type/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) > [Breathing is give(carbon dioxide) and take(oxygen), such is life, find balance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-williams/breathing-is-give-carbon-dioxide-and-take-oxygen-such-is-life-find/) [Marcel Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-williams/) > [I'll probably be writing as long as I'm breathing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kris-kristofferson/i-ll-probably-be-writing-as-long-as-i-m-breathing/) [Kris Kristofferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kris-kristofferson/) > [For me writing is like breathing. I could not live without breathing and I could not live without writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/for-me-writing-is-like-breathing-i-could-not-live-without-breathing/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [I’m in, Cat. I’d never leave you. Especially when you’ve got death breathing down your neck.” “Very funny,” I retorted, since Bones was inches…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeaniene-frost/i-m-in-cat-i-d-never-leave-you-especially-when-you-ve-got-death/) [Jeaniene Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeaniene-frost/) > [Splutter, splutter. Yes - we're off - we're rising. But why start off with an engine like that? But it smooths out now, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/splutter-splutter-yes-we-re-off-we-re-rising-but-why-start-off-with/) [Anne Morrow Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/) > [He’d moved toward me again. His hands released mine and moved to my waist, and I noticed I wasn’t the only one breathing heavily.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/he-d-moved-toward-me-again-his-hands-released-mine-and-moved-to-my/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) > [My worry is that opera will become an historic art form as opposed to a living, breathing thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renee-fleming/my-worry-is-that-opera-will-become-an-historic-art-form-as-opposed-to/) [Renee Fleming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/renee-fleming/) > [I'm really fascinated and you know I've been wondering about that usage of language, various breathing techniques and why in these practices language is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-acker/i-m-really-fascinated-and-you-know-i-ve-been-wondering-about-that/) [Kathy Acker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-acker/) > [I’m exactly right for you, Bella. It would have been effortless for us — comfortable, easy as breathing. I was the natural path your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephenie-meyer/i-m-exactly-right-for-you-bella-it-would-have-been-effortless-for-us/) [Stephenie Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephenie-meyer/) [Browse all 1,666 Breathing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breathing/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The naturalists have been engaged in thinking about Nature. They have not attended to the fact that they were thinking. The moment one attends to this it is obvious that one's own thinking cannot be merely a natural event, and that therefore something other than nature exists. The Supernatural is not remote or abstruse; it is a matter of daily and hourly experience, as intimate as breathing.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "C. S. 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