The Chronicles of Narnia and Philosophy The Lion, the Witch, and the Worldview

by Bassham, Gregory; Walls, Jerry L.; Irwin, William

• ISBN13: 9780812695885
• ISBN10: 0812695887
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-09-15
• Publisher: Ingram Publisher Services, Inc.

Summary

The Chronicles of Narnia series has entertained millions of readers, both children and adults, since the appearance of the first book in 1950. Here, scholars turn the lens of philosophy on these timeless tales. Engagingly written for a lay audience, these essays consider a wealth of topics centered on the ethical, spiritual, mythic, and moral resonances in the adventures of Aslan, the Pevensie children, and the rest of the colorful cast. Do the spectacular events in Narnia give readers a simplistic view of human choice and decision making? Does Aslan offer a solution to the problem of evil? What does the character of Susan tell readers about Lewis’s view of gender? How does Lewis address the Nietzschean “master morality” embraced by most of the villains of the Chronicles? With these and a wide range of other questions, this provocative book takes a fresh view of the world of Narnia and expands readers’ experience of it.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	x
Abbreviations	xi
Narnia and the Enchantment of Philosophy	xiii
Jerry L. Walls
Part I Farewell to Shadowlands: Believing, Doubting, and Knowing	1	(64)
Aslan's Voice: C.S. Lewis and the Magic of Sound	3	(12)
Stephen H. Webb
Virtue Epistemology: Why Uncle Andrew Couldn't Hear the Animals Speak	15	(12)
Kevin Kinghorn
Trusting Lucy: Believing the Incredible	27	(14)
Thomas D. Senor
Breaking the Spell of Skepticism: Puddleglum versus the Green Witch	41	(12)
Steven Lovell
At Any Rate There's No Humbug Here: Truth and Perspective	53	(12)
Bruce R. Reichenbach
Part II The Tao in Narnia: Morality and the Good Life	65	(102)
Worth Dying For: Narnian Lessons on Heroism and Altruism	67	(12)
Laura Garcia
Work, Vocation, and the Good Life in Narnia	79	(15)
Devin Brown
The Tao of Narnia	94	(12)
Tim Mosteller
Extreme Makeover: Moral Development and the Encounter with Aslan	106	(13)
Bill Davis
Is It Good to Be Bad? Immoralism in Narnia	119	(11)
Janice Daurio
Narnia and the Moral Imagination	130	(13)
Gayne J. Anacker
Beasts, Heroes, and Monsters: Configuring the Moral Imaginary	143	(12)
Wendy C. Hamblet
No Longer a Friend: Gender in Narnia	155	(12)
Karin Fry
Part III Further Up and Further In: Exploring the Deeper Nature of Reality	167	(52)
Plato in Narnia	169	(11)
Gareth Matthews
Different Worlds, Different Bodies: Personal Identity in Narnia	180	(13)
Timothy Cleveland
Why Eustace Almost Deserved His Name: Lewis's Critique of Modern Secularism	193	(11)
Angus Menuge
Time Keeps on Ticking, Or Does It? The Significance of Time in The Chronicles of Narnia	204	(15)
Michael
Adam Peterson
Part IV The Deepest Magic: Religion and the Transcendent	219	(68)
Aslan the Terrible: Painful Encounters with Absolute Goodness	221	(10)
Erik J. Wielenberg
Worthy of a Better God: Religious Diversity and Salvation in The Chronicles of Narnia	231	(14)
James F. Sennett
The Atonement in Narnia	245	(15)
Charles Taliaferro
Rachel Traughber
The Green Witch and the Great Debate: Freeing Narnia from the Spell of the Lewis-Anscombe Legend	260	(13)
Victor Reppert
Some Dogs Go to Heaven: Lewis on Animal Salvation	273	(14)
Gregory Bassham
The Adventurers	287	(6)
The Marsh-wiggle's Index	293