The Abolition of Sanity: C.S. Lewis on the Consequences of Modernism by Dr. Steve Turley

Author:Dr. Steve Turley [Turley, Dr. Steve]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Turley Talks Publishing
Published: 2019-04-05T07:00:00+00:00

The Irony of Idolatry

Lewis ends with the cruel irony behind all of this. In his work, The Great Divorce, we meet a character who actually becomes her sin; she was transforming from being a mere grumbler to be a grumble; the dehumanizing nature of idolatry is that we actually become what we worship. Lewis finishes The Abolition of Man with this very observation: Humanity’s obsession with conquering nature has, in fact, reduced all of humanity to mere nature. Indeed, in reducing humanity to mere biological and chemical causal processes, we reduce humanity to just another natural by-product. Even the Conditioners can now only make their decisions according to nature-given desires and impulses. At that moment, then, of Man's total victory over Nature, we find the whole human race, including the Conditioners themselves, operating solely by cause-and-effect natural impulses. In attempting to conquer nature, Nature has conquered man.

Thus, Lewis concludes by calling back to the only possible solution to this inevitable abolition of our humanity:

We have been trying, like Lear, to have it both ways: to lay down our human prerogative and yet at the same time to retain it. It is impossible. Either we are rational spirit obliged for ever to obey the absolute values of the Tao, or else we are mere nature to be kneaded and cut into new shapes for the pleasures of masters who must, by hypothesis, have no motive but their own ‘natural’ impulses. Only the Tao provides a common human law of action which can over-arch rulers and ruled alike. A dogmatic belief in objective value is necessary to the very idea of a rule which is not tyranny or an obedience which is not slavery. (80-81)

Lewis’ solution is for us to re-embrace the Tao, the doctrine of objective values as the only source for our true humanity. Scientific man who believes he has evolved beyond our infantile past has been served a summons by Lewis: become once again as little children, born anew.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.