--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If men were ever in a state in which they…" description: "\"“If men were ever in a state in which they did not want to know or could not perceive truth (facts or evidence),” Tolkien said in that same 1939 lectur..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a57/kurt-andersen-8221_fantasy_if-men-were-ever-in-a-state-in-which-the_529833.png" --- # If men were ever in a state in which they did not want to… ![“If men were ever in a state in which they did not want to know or could not perceive truth (facts or evidence),” Tolkien said in that same 1939 lecture, “then Fantasy would languish until they were cured. If they ever get into that state (it would not seem at all impossible), Fantasy will perish.”…” quote by Kurt Andersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a57/kurt-andersen-8221_fantasy_if-men-were-ever-in-a-state-in-which-the_529833.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a57/kurt-andersen-8221_fantasy_if-men-were-ever-in-a-state-in-which-the_529833.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a57/kurt-andersen-8221_fantasy_if-men-were-ever-in-a-state-in-which-the_529833.png) > ““If men were ever in a state in which they did not want to know or could not perceive truth (facts or evidence),” Tolkien said in that same 1939 lecture, “then Fantasy would languish until they were cured. If they ever get into that state (it would not seem at all impossible), Fantasy will perish.” It turns out he was half right. Many Americans now are in a state in which they don’t want to know or can’t perceive factual truth, yet the perishing of fantasy featuring elves and orcs and superheroes and zombies and angels is nowhere in sight.”” [Kurt Andersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-andersen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. When societies reject truth, imagination suffers, yet fantasy persists despite denial of facts. **In simple terms:** Truth denial threatens imagination. Key Takeaway Guard truth to protect imagination. Themes truth fantasy media society Mood critical concerned Type analytical commentary When to use this quote - Political discourse - media consumption - education - creative writing Key Concepts Cognitive bias cultural resilience Questions to Reflect On - Why do we cling to fantasy? - How does truth shape imagination? A Different Perspective Fantasy may become escapist without critical thought. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fantasy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fantasy/) [Fantasy Perish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fantasy-perish-2076744/) [Impossible Fantasy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impossible-fantasy-3558220/) [Perishing Fantasy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perishing-fantasy-4453864/) [Tolkien Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tolkien-said-4453865/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Truth Perishing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth-perishing-4453866/) ## Related quotes > [“Fantasy is a natural human activity. It certainly does not destroy or even insult Reason; and it does not either blunt the appetite for,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-r-tolkien-2/fantasy-is-a-natural-human-activity-it-certainly-does-not-destroy-or-2/) [J. R. R. Tolkien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-r-tolkien-2/) > [ As \[John\] Tolkien himself said, the story \[Lord of the Ring \] is not allegorical. He said so when people tried to make analogies… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viggo-mortensen/as-john-tolkien-himself-said-the-story-lord-of-the-ring-is-not/) [Viggo Mortensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viggo-mortensen/) > [“Fantasy is a natural human activity. It certainly does not destroy or even insult Reason; and it does not either blunt the appetite for,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-r-tolkien/fantasy-is-a-natural-human-activity-it-certainly-does-not-destroy-or/) [J.R.R. Tolkien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-r-tolkien/) > [The more we're governed by idiots and have no control over our destinies, the more we need to tell stories to each other about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-rickman/the-more-we-re-governed-by-idiots-and-have-no-control-over-our/) [Alan Rickman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-rickman/) > [Culturally we're shown an impossible fantasy of how women should present themselves, how they should behave with men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-martin/culturally-we-re-shown-an-impossible-fantasy-of-how-women-should/) [Stacy Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-martin/) > [“Perhaps Nesta will take up the blood-drinking habit, too. I certainly believe her threat to rip out my throat. Maybe she'll enjoy the taste.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-j-maas/perhaps-nesta-will-take-up-the-blood-drinking-habit-too-i-certainly/) [Sarah J. Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-maas/) > [“When we let go of our battles and open our heart to things as they are, then we come to rest in the present…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kornfield/when-we-let-go-of-our-battles-and-open-our-heart-to-things-as-they/) [Jack Kornfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kornfield/) > [I'm a geek - I read fantasy novels, I play 'World of Warcraft,' I'm a massive gamer, I have 'Star Trek' outfits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kazinsky/i-m-a-geek-i-read-fantasy-novels-i-play-world-of-warcraft-i-m-a/) [Robert Kazinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kazinsky/) > [My first three manuscripts were epic fantasy - like high fantasy - and then the fourth one was a historical fantasy about Mozart as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-lu/my-first-three-manuscripts-were-epic-fantasy-like-high-fantasy-and/) [Marie Lu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-lu/) > [“(Evil people) do not believe in forgiveness. Their transgressions are either punished or not punished. That is the only result that matters.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-mchugh/evil-people-do-not-believe-in-forgiveness-their-transgressions-are/) [Daniel McHugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-mchugh/) > [“Metal makes everything magical. Just ask a unicorn.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sybrina-durant/metal-makes-everything-magical-just-ask-a-unicorn/) [Sybrina Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sybrina-durant/) > [I like fantasy, but I don't live and breathe fantasy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-schmidt-hissrich/i-like-fantasy-but-i-don-t-live-and-breathe-fantasy/) [Lauren Schmidt Hissrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-schmidt-hissrich/) > [We don't make glamorous movies today. Everything now is very realistic, artistic - and depressing. When is the last time you you saw a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-head/we-don-t-make-glamorous-movies-today-everything-now-is-very-realistic/) [Edith Head](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-head/) > [I avoided nudity unless a film couldn't be told without those scenes. If you look at my films, few of them have that element,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greta-scacchi/i-avoided-nudity-unless-a-film-couldn-t-be-told-without-those-scenes/) [Greta Scacchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greta-scacchi/) > [“I am awake. I know what you took. I am coming for you. Vengeance is mine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-burks/i-am-awake-i-know-what-you-took-i-am-coming-for-you-vengeance-is-mine/) [Robin Burks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-burks/) ## More by Kurt Andersen > [“Since the turn of the century, American fundamentalists had reveled in their sense of persecution by an infidel elite, but in the 1960s the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-andersen/since-the-turn-of-the-century-american-fundamentalists-had-reveled-in/) [Kurt Andersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-andersen/) > [“If I think it’s true, no matter why or how I think it’s true, then it’s true, and nobody can tell me otherwise.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-andersen/if-i-think-it-s-true-no-matter-why-or-how-i-think-it-s-true-then-it-s/) [Kurt Andersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-andersen/) > [“Libertarianism used to have a robust left wing as well. Both disliked government. Both were driven by a fantastically nostalgic conviction that a country…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-andersen/libertarianism-used-to-have-a-robust-left-wing-as-well-both-disliked/) [Kurt Andersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-andersen/) > [“But what other place on Earth has been more congenial to believers and promoters of mad dreams and schemes of so many kinds? California…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-andersen/but-what-other-place-on-earth-has-been-more-congenial-to-believers/) [Kurt Andersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-andersen/) > [“The antisharia movement lobbied states to pass statutes and constitutional amendments banning the use of sharia in their courts and legal systems, a fantasy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-andersen/the-antisharia-movement-lobbied-states-to-pass-statutes-and/) [Kurt Andersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-andersen/) > [I'm comparing Americans to international peers in terms of GDP, educational system - the sort of benchmarks we used to designate a so-called developed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-andersen/i-m-comparing-americans-to-international-peers-in-terms-of-gdp/) [Kurt Andersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-andersen/) > [TED was simply wonderful, an intellectual spa, a 21st-century Chataqua, superb and singular.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-andersen/ted-was-simply-wonderful-an-intellectual-spa-a-21st-century-chataqua/) [Kurt Andersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-andersen/) > [“The early advocates of universal literacy and a free press…did not foresee…the development of a vast mass communications industry, concerned in the main neither…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-andersen/the-early-advocates-of-universal-literacy-and-a-free-press-did-not/) [Kurt Andersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-andersen/) > [“EVEN PAUL GOODMAN, beloved by young leftists in the 1960s, was flabbergasted by his students in 1969. “There was no knowledge,” he wrote, “only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-andersen/even-paul-goodman-beloved-by-young-leftists-in-the-1960s-was/) [Kurt Andersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-andersen/) > [“IN ADDITION TO having become a distinctly Christian party, the GOP is more than ever America’s self-consciously white party. The nationalization of its Southern…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-andersen/in-addition-to-having-become-a-distinctly-christian-party-the-gop-is/) [Kurt Andersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-andersen/) > [“Sixteen hundred years ago Saint Augustine instructed, basically, Don’t be stupid. “Shall we say, then,” he wrote about Genesis, “there was such a sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-andersen/sixteen-hundred-years-ago-saint-augustine-instructed-basically-don-t/) [Kurt Andersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-andersen/) > [“After more than three decades and many hundreds of studies, the overwhelming scientific consensus is that GMO foods are safe to eat. The National…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-andersen/after-more-than-three-decades-and-many-hundreds-of-studies-the/) [Kurt Andersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-andersen/) > [“P. T. Barnum was the great early American merchandiser of exciting secular fantasies and half-truths. His extremely successful precircus career derived from and fed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-andersen/p-t-barnum-was-the-great-early-american-merchandiser-of-exciting/) [Kurt Andersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-andersen/) > [I am proud to be American. We wouldn't have our big dreams without this quality, but if we can't agree on the shape of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-andersen/i-am-proud-to-be-american-we-wouldn-t-have-our-big-dreams-without/) [Kurt Andersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-andersen/) > [“In 1848 the Homeopathic Medical College was founded in Philadelphia, eventually becoming the Drexel University College of Medicine. Homeopathic M.D. degrees were issued by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-andersen/in-1848-the-homeopathic-medical-college-was-founded-in-philadelphia/) [Kurt Andersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-andersen/) [Explore all 83 Kurt Andersen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-andersen/) ## More Fantasy quotes > [“I am awake. I know what you took. I am coming for you. Vengeance is mine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-burks/i-am-awake-i-know-what-you-took-i-am-coming-for-you-vengeance-is-mine/) [Robin Burks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-burks/) > [I avoided nudity unless a film couldn't be told without those scenes. If you look at my films, few of them have that element,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greta-scacchi/i-avoided-nudity-unless-a-film-couldn-t-be-told-without-those-scenes/) [Greta Scacchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greta-scacchi/) > [We don't make glamorous movies today. Everything now is very realistic, artistic - and depressing. When is the last time you you saw a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-head/we-don-t-make-glamorous-movies-today-everything-now-is-very-realistic/) [Edith Head](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-head/) > [I like fantasy, but I don't live and breathe fantasy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-schmidt-hissrich/i-like-fantasy-but-i-don-t-live-and-breathe-fantasy/) [Lauren Schmidt Hissrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-schmidt-hissrich/) > [“Metal makes everything magical. Just ask a unicorn.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sybrina-durant/metal-makes-everything-magical-just-ask-a-unicorn/) [Sybrina Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sybrina-durant/) > [“(Evil people) do not believe in forgiveness. Their transgressions are either punished or not punished. That is the only result that matters.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-mchugh/evil-people-do-not-believe-in-forgiveness-their-transgressions-are/) [Daniel McHugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-mchugh/) > [My first three manuscripts were epic fantasy - like high fantasy - and then the fourth one was a historical fantasy about Mozart as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-lu/my-first-three-manuscripts-were-epic-fantasy-like-high-fantasy-and/) [Marie Lu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-lu/) > [I'm a geek - I read fantasy novels, I play 'World of Warcraft,' I'm a massive gamer, I have 'Star Trek' outfits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kazinsky/i-m-a-geek-i-read-fantasy-novels-i-play-world-of-warcraft-i-m-a/) [Robert Kazinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kazinsky/) > [“When we let go of our battles and open our heart to things as they are, then we come to rest in the present…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kornfield/when-we-let-go-of-our-battles-and-open-our-heart-to-things-as-they/) [Jack Kornfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kornfield/) > [“Perhaps Nesta will take up the blood-drinking habit, too. I certainly believe her threat to rip out my throat. Maybe she'll enjoy the taste.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-j-maas/perhaps-nesta-will-take-up-the-blood-drinking-habit-too-i-certainly/) [Sarah J. Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-maas/) > [I like to play people that are real, a real person, and then something that's interesting with that person. I think it's a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/devon-bostick/i-like-to-play-people-that-are-real-a-real-person-and-then-something/) [Devon Bostick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/devon-bostick/) > [It's a hindrance in trying to get a serious acting role. The minute a producer has a script and my name comes up, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbi-benton/it-s-a-hindrance-in-trying-to-get-a-serious-acting-role-the-minute-a/) [Barbi Benton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbi-benton/) > [No one will ever write a fantasy novel better than The Hobbit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/no-one-will-ever-write-a-fantasy-novel-better-than-the-hobbit/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I've always loved sci-fi and fantasy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olly-alexander/i-ve-always-loved-sci-fi-and-fantasy/) [Olly Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olly-alexander/) > [“I will always be within reach if you need me, little one...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-r-von/i-will-always-be-within-reach-if-you-need-me-little-one/) [A.R. Von](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-r-von/) [Browse all 5,469 Fantasy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fantasy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“If men were ever in a state in which they did not want to know or could not perceive truth (facts or evidence),” Tolkien said in that same 1939 lecture, “then Fantasy would languish until they were cured. If they ever get into that state (it would not seem at all impossible), Fantasy will perish.” It turns out he was half right. 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