The Abolition of Man

This was just really enjoyable to read. Quick, certainly, but, oh, such excellent writing! And even clearer philosophy. I feel I must approach the Master with great humility, for his style and thoughts are so much clearer than my own. What right have I to critique him? I'll do it anyway. This would be an excellent introductory book to a class on religions. Lewis displays a convincing argument for the existence of morality, using resources from many different traditions, not just his own Christian one. He is to be commended however for also stating his own tradition, that we might know his biases. (The only flaw is a lack of Islamic sources, perhaps because Lewis tended to know less about that particular religion than others.) It is hard to walk away from the book still convinced that there are no ethics, or that an aethitical system is possible. Those who have read other Lewis works will see echoes here, such as the essay On First Things from God in the Dock, That Hideous Strength, and the Magician's Nephew. Lewis uses his knowledge of literature to show us that morality is necessary if we are to speak realistically at all; that an amoral system of ethics is by nature moral; and that one absent of any morality at all is reduced simply to animal instincts. In this last unit, he preaches of the fear that science will reduce humanity into mere object, rather than into a glorious creation. In no way is this anti-scientific diatribe- but rather cautionary tale of the dangers of excess, if we continue in our current vein of thought. A couple flaws bring the book down. Early on, he takes a swipe at pacifism by implying that there is something wrong with those who argue that men are more righteous if they value peace over war. Happily, this is only momentary. And secondly, he consistently uses the word "man". Lewis is a product of his times, yes, but he also strongly argued against inclusive language or women in the pulpit, and his language reflects this. And so the book's title. As well as the use of the term "redskin" when referring to ancient Native American beliefs at the end of the book. Lewis is at his best when demolishing arguments, using the arguments of his opponents. He does this with tact and compassion, not even mentioning the opponents by name, and constantly complimenting on what they have said- but not being afraid to point out the great tragedy that would result if students of a particular "Little Green Book" were to take the authors seriously. If followed, we would lose something deep within us, the capacity to have passion, and enjoy life, out of which morality springs. For following the guidelines of the Little Green Book, we would no longer be able to say something was good in and of itself, but only that it felt good, as everything is now subjective. But there is an alternative, the Tao, the Way, which we find in all cultures everywhere, and in all religious traditions. The morality, as Lewis has said many times before in many other places, is basically the same in all religious systems; there is only the smallest of differences between them. And this morality is the guiding principle, or can be, or should be, for us all. It is inherent in our . . . very nature.

The Good: First and foremost--the content of this little volume is profound and important. Don't let the following comments deter you from reading this book. Just be forewarned that this particular edition/format has some problems that made me find another source. Second--the Kindle format is a bonus. It makes it easy to quickly find those passages that need to be reviewed and reflected upon. It makes it simple to jot your own thoughts about the questions raised. It makes it a cinch to share. The Bad: Nevertheless, the formatting in the Kindle edition that I bought for three bucks has so many problems that I'm going to try and return it for a refund since there is a pdf available of the text. It is not so messed up that I can't read it, but it is messed up enough that I have to copy certain sections and paste them into Google to find out where sentences end, where commas or highlighting are omitted and where there are other strange goofs. Capitalization, for instance, is almost arbitrary: "The most determined effort which i know" or "dr i. A. Richards". The list includes chunks of misplaced text, and so on. The Final Analysis: In any format this book requires a slow read, so maybe it is just as well that the formatting is so messed up in this particular edition. It has made me read it even more slowly. Still, there is room for improvement, even for three bucks. Read it in this format or in some other format, but definitely give it a read and give it serious thought.

I'm not the biggest C.S. Lewis fan in the world by far, but I loved his religious/theological books for a long time. (The Great Divorce is still insightful for me to think back on.) This book though is a short and to-the-point kind of treatise. It basically aims to show how and why moral relativism is (potentially) leading our societies down the wrong path. Lewis takes aim at a textbook for young boys, that conveys moral relativism and a flat affect. For someone like him, who saw his people fight the Germans not once but twice, and the second time almost lost, and lose liberty in the process, any sort of relativism was disgusting. It should be said that this book when compared to other Lewis classics is small. For that matter, it is mostly composed of quotes taken from the likes of the Roman Seneca and the Chinese Confucius, among others. If you are a guy or gal that likes a good quote, and you believe that moral relativism is a problem that really impacts your life, I'd say give this book a shot. If you really want theology or for your imagination to be taken for a wild ride, then please read The Great Divorce, Mere Christianity, or Miracles. Those made me think.

So many highlights and notes made. Out of few pages unfold an eternity of wisdom. Thought provoking and an incredible work.

The Abolition of Man, by C.S Lewis. Let this be your guide in moral philosophy. Beware moral relativism. There has been, IS TODAY, and must always be objective Natural Law, moral order. The Tao…call it what you will. These are Universal truths, universal “good”….across time, across cultures. Drift and question that fact at your own peril…

Lewis elegantly articulates the need for an objective position that man draws his reasoning from and what the end state of a man without that position is. Lewis doesn’t challenge the religion of a man in this book, he challenges his reasoning to affirm or deny one while demonstrating the destruction of moral subjectivism on mankind. This writing reflects a divide in culture that we see today as new and reminds us that there is now new ideologies, only repackaged ones.

It describes the problems we face today. The things Lewis saw 50 years ago before more and more present in the mind of people. This book shows the problem with that. Should be ready by more people

この“The Abolition of Man”はルイスの他のChristian Apologeticの本とは違って、特別に神とかキリスト教について語っているわけではない。Godという言葉も1度も登場しない。もちろん彼の語っている言葉の根底にそれが流れていることは言うまでもない。この本は教育の問題に始まり、人間は必ず、どんな場合でもどんな背景をもっていても、絶対的にいつでもどこでも正しいあるもの、誰もがそれを基準に行動を考える絶対的な真理をもっていると力説する。その真理を彼はこの本の中では“Tao"と呼んでいる。このTaoという中国語の用語の使い方からも分かるように、彼はこの本の中でどんな宗教だろうと哲学だろうと関係なく、普遍的な人間としての芯はTaoなんだと語る。“Mere Christianity”の1番最初のところでもっとわかりやすく語っているそのことを、別の語り方で彼はこの本の中で語っているのだ。それがなければ“The Abolition of Man”、すでにもう人間性さえ廃たれてしまったということになるというわけだ。

Before reading this book I thought it was impossible to get near a proof of the existence of god via literature only. I was wrong! This book proves the very existence of transcendance in our world on pure literature grounds.

I am amazed that CS Lewis saw so clearly into the future what we have in the present. I will recommend this to all my friends.

This book was written in the shadow of World War II, at a time when right and wrong were fairly clear, even though there still could be some discussion, and when many of the moral issues of our time were barely on the epistemological radar. That CS Lewis is able to foresee where we are now in our time and the challenges that pose our different ideological, political, religious and philosophical perspectives from the depth of several decades is truly remarkable. I cannot say enough about how important it is to read and reread this book, as it lays out nicely the questions that are posed by current thought, as they might have been viewed at a distance, during a time when asking those questions was perhaps unthinkable to the common citizen. As usual, Lewis sees into the future of thought and of popular opinion, and draws lines. A truly important, clearly laid out essay that is helpful for understanding where we were, where we are and still, where we are going collectively in the West.