--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The fantastic postulates that there are…" description: "\"“The fantastic postulates that there are forces in the outside world, and in our own natures, which we can neither know nor control, and these forces m..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11d/franz-rottensteiner-62800_creativity_the-fantastic-postulates-that-there-are_2368153.jpg" --- # The fantastic postulates that there are forces in the… ![“The fantastic postulates that there are forces in the outside world, and in our own natures, which we can neither know nor control, and these forces may even constitute the essence of our existence, beneath the comforting rational surface. The fantastic is, moreover, a product of human…” quote by Franz Rottensteiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11d/franz-rottensteiner-62800_creativity_the-fantastic-postulates-that-there-are_2368153.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11d/franz-rottensteiner-62800_creativity_the-fantastic-postulates-that-there-are_2368153.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11d/franz-rottensteiner-62800_creativity_the-fantastic-postulates-that-there-are_2368153.jpg) > ““The fantastic postulates that there are forces in the outside world, and in our own natures, which we can neither know nor control, and these forces may even constitute the essence of our existence, beneath the comforting rational surface. The fantastic is, moreover, a product of human imagination, perhaps even an excess of imagination. It arises when laws thought to be absolute are transcended, in the borderland between life and death, the animate and the inanimate, the self and the world; it arises when the real turns into the unreal, and the solid presence into vision, dream or hallucination. The fantastic is the unexpected occurrence, the startling novelty which goes contrary to all our expectations of what is possible. The ego multiplies and splits, time and space are distorted.”” [Franz Rottensteiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-rottensteiner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The fantastic emerges when unknown, uncontrollable forces intersect with human imagination, breaking ordinary expectations and blurring reality with dreamlike visions. **In simple terms:** Imagination meets unknown forces, creating unexpected, surreal experiences. Key Takeaway Embrace uncertainty and let imagination reshape perception. Themes imagination uncertainty reality creativity Mood wonder curiosity intrigue Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - writing fiction - artistic design - psychological counseling - philosophical debate Key Concepts metaphysics psychology literary theory Questions to Reflect On - How do you recognize the boundary between imagination and reality? - What role does uncertainty play in creative work? A Different Perspective The concept can be too abstract for practical application without grounding. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) [Excess Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excess-imagination-1473022/) [Fantastic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fantastic/) [Fantastique](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fantastique/) [Fantasy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fantasy/) [Horror](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/horror/) [Human imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-imagination/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Imagination Arises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination-arises-5822755/) [Imagination Excess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination-excess-5822756/) [Life and death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-and-death/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Outside world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/outside-world/) [Supernatural](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/supernatural/) [Time and space](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time-and-space/) ## Related quotes > [“Nevertheless, the potential and actual importance of fantastic literature lies in such psychic links: what appears to be the result of an overweening imagination,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-rottensteiner/nevertheless-the-potential-and-actual-importance-of-fantastic/) [Franz Rottensteiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-rottensteiner/) > [“Fantastic literature has been especially prominent in times of unrest, when the older values have been overthrown to make way for the new; it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-rottensteiner/fantastic-literature-has-been-especially-prominent-in-times-of-unrest/) [Franz Rottensteiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-rottensteiner/) > [“As has already been noted, fantastic literature developed at precisely the moment when genuine belief in the supernatural was on the wane, and when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-rottensteiner/as-has-already-been-noted-fantastic-literature-developed-at-precisely/) [Franz Rottensteiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-rottensteiner/) > [We miss the real by lack of attention, and create the unreal by excess of imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/we-miss-the-real-by-lack-of-attention-and-create-the-unreal-by-excess/) [Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/) > [“Many of the best fantastic stories begin in a leisurely way, set in commonplace surroundings, with exact, meticulous descriptions of an ordinary background, much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-rottensteiner/many-of-the-best-fantastic-stories-begin-in-a-leisurely-way-set-in/) [Franz Rottensteiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-rottensteiner/) > [ Hitler \[had an\] excess of imagination, which very frequently foresaw what would happen but also very often went astray. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-jodl/hitler-had-an-excess-of-imagination-which-very-frequently-foresaw/) [Alfred Jodl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-jodl/) > [“Henry,' at last said one, again dipping the spoon into the flaming spirit, 'hast thou read Hoffman?' 'I should think so,' said Henry. 'What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hain-friswell/henry-at-last-said-one-again-dipping-the-spoon-into-the-flaming/) [Hain Friswell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hain-friswell/) > [“He hoped and feared,' continued Solon, in a low. mournful voice; 'but at times he was very miserable, because he did not think it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fitz-james-o-brien/he-hoped-and-feared-continued-solon-in-a-low-mournful-voice-but-at/) [Fitz James O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fitz-james-o-brien/) > [“The shifting sands of the world... show how much the surrealists were drawn towards an interrogation of what reality actually is. Unlike fabulists of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-richardson/the-shifting-sands-of-the-world-show-how-much-the-surrealists-were/) [Michael Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-richardson/) > [“The fantastic in literature doesn't exist as a challenge to what is probable, but only there where it can be increased to a challenge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lars-gustafsson/the-fantastic-in-literature-doesn-t-exist-as-a-challenge-to-what-is/) [Lars Gustafsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lars-gustafsson/) > [Surrealism, then, neither aims to subvert realism, as does the fantastic, nor does it try to transcend it. It looks for different means by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-richardson/surrealism-then-neither-aims-to-subvert-realism-as-does-the-fantastic/) [Michael Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-richardson/) > [“The fantastic is in complicity with the realist model, in the claims that realism makes to represent the true face of reality. It points…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-richardson/the-fantastic-is-in-complicity-with-the-realist-model-in-the-claims/) [Michael Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-richardson/) > [“The fantastic cannot exist independently of that 'real' world which it seems to find frustratingly finite.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosemary-jackson/the-fantastic-cannot-exist-independently-of-that-real-world-which-it/) [Rosemary Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosemary-jackson/) > [“Human beings across every culture I know about require such stories, stories with cool winds and wood smoke. They speak to something deep within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-straub/human-beings-across-every-culture-i-know-about-require-such-stories/) [Peter Straub](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-straub/) > [“There are... otherwise quite decent people who are so dull of nature that they believe that they must attribute the swift flight of fancy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-t-a-hoffmann-2/there-are-otherwise-quite-decent-people-who-are-so-dull-of-nature/) [E.T.A. Hoffmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-t-a-hoffmann-2/) ## More by Franz Rottensteiner > [“As has already been noted, fantastic literature developed at precisely the moment when genuine belief in the supernatural was on the wane, and when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-rottensteiner/as-has-already-been-noted-fantastic-literature-developed-at-precisely/) [Franz Rottensteiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-rottensteiner/) > [“Many of the best fantastic stories begin in a leisurely way, set in commonplace surroundings, with exact, meticulous descriptions of an ordinary background, much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-rottensteiner/many-of-the-best-fantastic-stories-begin-in-a-leisurely-way-set-in/) [Franz Rottensteiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-rottensteiner/) > [“Nevertheless, the potential and actual importance of fantastic literature lies in such psychic links: what appears to be the result of an overweening imagination,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-rottensteiner/nevertheless-the-potential-and-actual-importance-of-fantastic/) [Franz Rottensteiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-rottensteiner/) > [“Fantastic literature has been especially prominent in times of unrest, when the older values have been overthrown to make way for the new; it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-rottensteiner/fantastic-literature-has-been-especially-prominent-in-times-of-unrest/) [Franz Rottensteiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-rottensteiner/) [Explore all 5 Franz Rottensteiner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-rottensteiner/) ## More Creativity quotes > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. 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