--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is certain that no culture can…" description: "\"“It is certain that no culture can flourish without narratives of transcendent origin and power”\" — Neil Postman" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96e/neil-postman-1598_culture_it-is-certain-that-no-culture-can-flouri_2426771.jpg" --- # It is certain that no culture can flourish without… ![“It is certain that no culture can flourish without narratives of transcendent origin and power” quote by Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96e/neil-postman-1598_culture_it-is-certain-that-no-culture-can-flouri_2426771.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96e/neil-postman-1598_culture_it-is-certain-that-no-culture-can-flouri_2426771.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96e/neil-postman-1598_culture_it-is-certain-that-no-culture-can-flouri_2426771.jpg) > ““It is certain that no culture can flourish without narratives of transcendent origin and power”” [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Cultures need powerful origin stories to thrive and give meaning. **In simple terms:** Stories give cultures purpose. Key Takeaway Cultivate meaningful narratives. Themes culture storytelling identity meaning Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical academic When to use this quote - education - media - politics - community building Key Concepts mythic origins social cohesion Questions to Reflect On - What stories shape your worldview? - How can we balance myth and reason? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on narratives can suppress critical thinking. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Transcendent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/transcendent/) ## Related quotes > [“If you fuse knowledge of your transcendent origin with tireless service in and for God, you will come, on earth and in this body,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-harvey/if-you-fuse-knowledge-of-your-transcendent-origin-with-tireless/) [Andrew Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-harvey/) > [I do not know when, but I know that many have come in this century to develop arts and sciences, sow the seeds of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giordano-bruno/i-do-not-know-when-but-i-know-that-many-have-come-in-this-century-to/) [Giordano Bruno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giordano-bruno/) > [In the days before machinery men and women who wanted to amuse themselves were compelled, in their humble way, to be artists. Now they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/in-the-days-before-machinery-men-and-women-who-wanted-to-amuse/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [A national culture, if it is to flourish, should be a constellation of cultures, the constitutes of which, benefiting each other, benefit the whole.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/a-national-culture-if-it-is-to-flourish-should-be-a-constellation-of/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [I mean to suggest that without a transcendent and honorable purpose, schooling must reach its finish, and the sooner we are done with it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/i-mean-to-suggest-that-without-a-transcendent-and-honorable-purpose/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [“theory includes a transcendent idea, as do all great world narratives.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/theory-includes-a-transcendent-idea-as-do-all-great-world-narratives/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [Enough, if something from our hands have power To live, and act, and serve the future hour; And if, as toward the silent tomb…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/enough-if-something-from-our-hands-have-power-to-live-and-act-and/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) > [An encounter with god or with the transcendent, per se, can only occur when we experience the violent side of god.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/an-encounter-with-god-or-with-the-transcendent-per-se-can-only-occur/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [People who reject transcendent authority can no longer persuade one another through rational arguments; everything is reduced to personal opinion. Debates about ideas thus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-colson/people-who-reject-transcendent-authority-can-no-longer-persuade-one/) [Charles Colson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-colson/) > [The thing we long for, that we are For one transcendent moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/the-thing-we-long-for-that-we-are-for-one-transcendent-moment/) [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) > [Marx did not recognize that our desire to connect with a transcendent power runs even deeper than our drive for economic satisfaction. Each of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-klein/marx-did-not-recognize-that-our-desire-to-connect-with-a-transcendent/) Jeffrey Klein > [I cannot escape from the conclusion that the great ages of progress have depended upon a small number of individuals of transcendent ability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/i-cannot-escape-from-the-conclusion-that-the-great-ages-of-progress/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [Plato, the first true pope of philosophy (sorry, Socrates), argued for a World of Forms above the reality-a transcendent plane of perfect essences, pure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-d-wilson/plato-the-first-true-pope-of-philosophy-sorry-socrates-argued-for-a/) [N.D. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-d-wilson/) > [In the particular dwells the tawdry. In the conceptual dwells the grand, the transcendent, the everlasting. Earthly countries and single malignant boys can go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/in-the-particular-dwells-the-tawdry-in-the-conceptual-dwells-the/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“The Transcendent was my morning meal, we had the Eternal at lunch, and I ate a slice of the Infinite at dinner.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huston-smith/the-transcendent-was-my-morning-meal-we-had-the-eternal-at-lunch-and/) [Huston Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huston-smith/) ## More by Neil Postman > [“to whom will the technology give greater power and freedom? 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My literature has a universal concern: I want to bring people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/it-is-not-my-intention-to-explain-turkey-its-culture-and-its-problems/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [I don't think the distinction between high and low culture exists anymore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-scott/i-don-t-think-the-distinction-between-high-and-low-culture-exists/) [Jeremy Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-scott/) > [You get below the Mason-Dixon line and you have some of the best music, culture, the two races, the literature, and it's so rich.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-duvall/you-get-below-the-mason-dixon-line-and-you-have-some-of-the-best/) [Robert Duvall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-duvall/) > [It is proposed that a form of free dialogue may well be one of the most effective ways of investigating the crisis which faces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bohm/it-is-proposed-that-a-form-of-free-dialogue-may-well-be-one-of-the/) [David Bohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bohm/) > [“Being grounded in your lifelong culture and your personal perspective, you are comfortable with the way you see things and may believe it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-c-young/being-grounded-in-your-lifelong-culture-and-your-personal-perspective/) [Susan C. 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