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Title: The Abolition of Man by C. S. Lewis ISBN: 0-06-065294-2 Publisher: Harper SanFrancisco Pub. Date: 20 March, 2001 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $8.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.46 (57 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: The intellectual bankruptcy of ethical relativism.
Comment: The book contains three closely related essays on ethical relativism. As different as Eastern philosophy (Chinese and Indian) may be from Western philosophy (Greco-Roman and Judeo-Christian), all seriously reasoned and internally consistent systems of ethics (i.e., morality) accept the true existence of an absolute Good. In The Abolition of Man, C.S. Lewis, a thinker deeply versed in philosophy, philology, and ancient literature, calls this universal ethical reference system 'the Tao' (borrowing a generalization from Confucius). He exposes the logical self-contradictions and the human negation of modern dogmas of moral relativism.
From 'Men without Chests': "The task of the modern educator is not to cut down jungles but to irrigate deserts. The right defense against false sentiments is to inculcate just sentiments. By starving the sensibility of [students] we only make them easier prey to the propagandist ... a hard heart is no infallible protection against a soft head."
From 'The Way': "An open mind, in questions that are not ultimate, is useful. But an open mind about the ultimate foundations either of Theoretical or of Practical Reason is idiocy. If a man's mind is open on these things, let his mouth at least be shut."
From 'The Abolition of Man': "It is not that [propagandists of ethical relativism] are bad men. They are not men at all. Stepping outside of the Tao, they have stepped into the void. Nor are their subjects necessarily unhappy men. They are not men at all: they are artifacts. Man's final conquest has proven to be the abolition of Man."
We accept relativism in modern physics because reason has led us to it. But popularized ideas of relativism in ethics, while sometimes transparently parading as 'intellectualism' (this label attempts to discourage critical examination), must take a course which leads far from consistent logic, and which ultimately turns against itself. This book is an outstanding offering from the wonderful mind of C.S. Lewis.
Rating: 3
Summary: Explains, shows the consequences but little argument
Comment: I read this book after a few different sources mentioned it as a book that deals with moral relativism. After reading the book, I don't know if I can honestly agree with many of the other reviewers. I have read two other books by C.S. Lewis, "Mere Christianity," and, "The Screwtape Letters," so I think I have some idea what his approach is. I can only hope that I am failing to grasp his ideas or that I am misunderstanding him.
Definitions: moral relativism: The position that there are no moral absolutes, no moral right and wrongs. The philosophical position that all points of view are equally valid and that all truth is relative to the individual.
moral objectivism/absolutism: The position that there are universally binding moral principles that apply to all persons, at all places and at all times.
The book discusses the consequences of moral relativism and shows the difficulty of replacing absolute ethics with relative ones. However, I don't come away from the book thinking, "All right. I know how I can show moral relativism is false in a debate. I now know how to defend absolute ethics against objections." Perhaps this simply was not the objective of the book.
The first essay (it was originally a lecture) titled, "Men Without Chests," was probably the best in my opinion. Lewis examined a common elementary level school English textbook and looked at the philosophy that it taught. The implication of the wording and the subtle way in which relativism was communicated is prophetic. This same analysis could no doubt be applied to our current trends of political correctness.
In his essay titled, "The Tao," Lewis provides much argument to show that a moral system cannot be based on instincts. However, much of his argument seems to reduce to: moral objectivism is axiomatic. He argues that there are simply moral first principles, analogous to the three laws of logic, which cannot be denied. However, I think there are many people who would deny that moral objectivism is self-evident. If I were a moral relativist, I would hardly be convinced by Lewis' arguments here.
The last section is titled, "Illustrations of the Tao." Lewis calls natural law or moral objectivism the Tao. This section simply provides excerpts from different books around the world (e.g. ancient Egyptian, ancient Chinese, Roman and Jewish) to show the universality of certain ethics.
I would have liked a book that looked at the founders of moral relativism and their opponents. Then, a point-by-point analysis of their position followed by some examples of how moral relativism fails. I would much prefer the rigorous argumentation of Dr. William Lane Craig to this. I just honestly think that relativism is false but this book does not show that fact. I am going to read and review, "Relativism: Feet Firmly Planted in Mid-Air," by Francis J. Beckwith, Gregory Koukl; I think this book may be better at refuting relativism.
Rating: 5
Summary: Habermas repeats this argument in Future of Human Nature
Comment: I read this on the advice of one friend and was encouraged by another. It starts out in a very surprising way. But of course! Considering this would be written to be published in 1944 a perspective of this sort on values surprises me only to the extent that it has a target at all. I at first thought the real target must be G.E. Moore but he specifically mentions Nietzsche later in the text. (This resulted in a reading of Moore's "The Refutation of Idealism" leading to a review of some of Berkeley's work...) I found his discussion of the non-dulce character of death (p. 22) interesting in light of what he would later write in "A Grief Observed." (Did anyone ever figure out who he meant by Gaius and Titius?) I also read a BMR review of The Future of Human Nature by Jurgen Habermas, and noticed that the basic form of most of Habermas' argument followed that of C.S. Lewis in this book. While Habermas (in translation) is concerned with the relationship hypothetical "programmers" would have with the "objects" of their efforts, Lewis refers to the "conditioners" but the reasoning is the same. I suppose this reflects the change from using behaviorism as the tool of control to our more contemporary set of computer metaphors. Notice also that Lewis uses the expression "post-humanity" p. 75. This is revisited in Fukuyama's book "Our Posthuman Future".
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Title: The Weight of Glory by C. S. Lewis ISBN: 0060653205 Publisher: Harper SanFrancisco Pub. Date: 20 March, 2001 List Price(USD): $10.95 |
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Title: The Great Divorce by C. S. Lewis ISBN: 0060652950 Publisher: Harper SanFrancisco Pub. Date: 05 February, 2001 List Price(USD): $9.95 |
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Title: Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis ISBN: 0060652926 Publisher: Harper SanFrancisco Pub. Date: 05 February, 2001 List Price(USD): $10.95 |
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Title: The Problem of Pain by C. S. Lewis ISBN: 0060652969 Publisher: Harper SanFrancisco Pub. Date: 05 February, 2001 List Price(USD): $9.95 |
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Title: The Four Loves by C.S. Lewis ISBN: 0156329301 Publisher: Harvest Books Pub. Date: 29 September, 1971 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
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