The Abolition of Man

by Lewis, C. S.

• ISBN13: 9780060652944
• ISBN10: 0060652942
• eBook ISBN(s): 9780061949135
• Edition: Revised
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-02-09
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publications
• More Book Details

About This Book

The Abolition of Man by C.S. Lewis is a thought-provoking and timeless work that delves into the importance of universal values in contemporary society. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in philosophy, morality, and education.

Who Uses It?

Primarily, The Abolition of Man is used by students and educators in philosophy and literature courses at the college and university levels. It is also a valuable resource for anyone interested in understanding traditional moral virtues and their impact on society.

History and Editions

First published in 1943, The Abolition of Man has been a cornerstone of philosophical discourse for over seven decades. The 2001 edition, which is widely available, includes three essays that reflect on society and nature, arguing for the necessity of instilling universal values in education. This edition has been praised for its clarity and relevance, making it a staple in many educational institutions.

Author and Other Works

C.S. Lewis was a renowned author, philosopher, and theologian. He is best known for his works such as Mere Christianity, The Chronicles of Narnia, and The Space Trilogy. His writing style is characterized by his ability to make complex ideas accessible to a broad audience. Lewis's contributions to literature and philosophy have had a profound impact on Western thought.

Key Features

• Universal Values: The book persuasively argues for the importance of universal values such as courage and honor in contemporary society.
• Educational Insights: Lewis offers reflections on education with special reference to the teaching of English in the upper forms of schools, providing valuable insights into effective teaching methods.
• Philosophical Depth: The book is a perfectly reasoned defense of Natural Law (Morality), making it a rich source for philosophical discussions.

Detailed Information

ISBNs and Formats

Hardcover: ISBN-13: 9780060652944

Paperback: ISBN-10: 0060652942, ISBN-13: 9780060652944 (The ebook for "The Abolition of Man" is available right here on eCampus.com!)

eBook: ISBN-13: 9780060652944 (The ebook for "The Abolition of Man" is available right here on eCampus.com!)

Loose-leaf: Not available (Note: All books are available for rental through eCampus.com)

Publication Details

Publisher: HarperOne

Publication Date: 2001

Number of Pages: 128

Language: English

Other Editions and Formats

• 2001 Edition: This is the most commonly available edition, which includes three essays on education and morality.
• 2015 Edition: Also available, this edition is published by HarperOne and includes the same content as the 2001 edition.

Related ISBNs:

• ISBN-10: 0060652942
• ISBN-13: 9780060652944

Rental Options:

Rental options are available through eCampus.com with various rental durations.

Table of Contents

Men Without Chests	1	(26)
The Way	27	(26)
The Abolition of Man	53	(30)
Appendix-Illustrations of the Tao	83	(20)
Notes	103

Excerpts

The Abolition of Man

Chapter One

Men Without Chests

So he sent the word to slay
And slew the little childer.
Traditional carol

I doubt whether we are sufficiently attentive to the importance of elementary text books. That is why I have chosen as the starting-point for these lectures a little book on English intended for 'boys and girls in the upper forms of schools'. I do not think the authors of this book (there were two of them) intended any harm, and I owe them, or their publisher, good language for sending me a complimentary copy. At the same time I shall have nothing good to say of them. Here is a pretty predicament. I do not want to pillory two modest practising schoolmasters who were doing the best they knew: but I cannot be silent about what I think the actual tendency of their work. I therefore propose to conceal their names. I shall refer to these gentlemen as Gaius and Titius and to their book as The Green Book. But I promise you there is such a book and I have it on my shelves.

In their second chapter Gaius and Titius quote the well-known story of Coleridge at the waterfall. You remember that there were two tourists present: that one called it 'sublime' and the other 'pretty'; and that Coleridge mentally endorsed the first judgement and rejected the second with disgust. Gaius and Titius comment as follows: 'When the man said This is sublime, he appeared to be making a remark about the waterfall...Actually...he was not making a remark about the waterfall, but a remark about his own feelings. What he was saying was really I have feelings associated in my mind with the word "Sublime", or shortly, I have sublime feelings.' Here are a good many deep questions settled in a pretty summary fashion. But the authors are not yet finished. They add: 'This confusion is continually present in language as we use it. We appear to be saying something very important about something: and actually we are only saying something about our own feelings.'

Before considering the issues really raised by this momentous little paragraph (designed, you will remember, for 'the upper forms of schools') we must eliminate one mere confusion into which Gaius and Titius have fallen. Even on their own view -- on any conceivable view -- the man who says This is sublime cannot mean I have sublime feelings. Even if it were granted that such qualities as sublimity were simply and solely projected into things from our own emotions, yet the emotions which prompt the projection are the correlatives, and therefore almost the opposites, of the qualities projected. The feelings which make a man call an object sublime are not sublime feelings but feelings of veneration. If This is sublime is to be reduced at all to a statement about the speaker's feelings, the proper translation would be I have humble feelings. If the view held by Gaius and Titius were consistently applied it would lead to obvious absurdities. It would force them to maintain that You are contemptible means I have contemptible feelings: in fact that Your feelings are contemptible means My feelings are contemptible. But we need not delay over this which is the very pons asinorum of our subject. It would be unjust to Gaius and Titius themselves to emphasize what was doubtless a mere inadvertence.

The schoolboy who reads this passage in The Green Book will believe two propositions: firstly, that all sentences containing a predicate of value are statements about the emotional state of the speaker, and secondly, that all such statements are unimportant. It is true that Gaius and Titius have said neither of these things in so many words. They have treated only one particular predicate of value (sublime) as a word descriptive of the speaker's emotions. The pupils are left to do for themselves the work of extending the same treatment to all predicates of value: and no slightest obstacle to such extension is placed in their way. The authors may or may not desire the extension: they may never have given the question five minutes' serious thought in their lives. I am not concerned with what they desired but with the effect their book will certainly have on the schoolboy's mind. In the same way, they have not said that judgements of value are unimportant. Their words are that we 'appear to be saying something very important' when in reality we are 'only saying something about our own feelings'. No schoolboy will be able to resist the suggestion brought to bear upon him by that word only. I do not mean, of course, that he will make any conscious inference from what he reads to a general philosophical theory that all values are subjective and trivial. The very power of Gaius and Titius depends on the fact that they are dealing with a boy: a boy who thinks he is 'doing' his 'English prep' and has no notion that ethics, theology, and politics are all at stake. It is not a theory they put into his mind, but an assumption, which ten years hence, its origin forgotten and its presence unconscious, will condition him to take one side in a controversy which he has never recognized as a controversy at all. The authors themselves, I suspect, hardly know what they are doing to the boy, and he cannot know what is being done to him.

Before considering the philosophical credentials of the position which Gaius and Titius have adopted about value, I should like to show its practical results on the educational procedure.

The Abolition of Man. Copyright © by C. Lewis . Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Available now wherever books are sold.

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Excerpted from The Abolition of Man: Reflections on Education With Special Reference to the Teaching of English in the Upper Forms of Schools by C. S. Lewis
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.