Theism and Humanism : The Book That Influenced C. S. Lewis

by Arthur James Balfour; Michael W. Perry

• ISBN13: 9781587420009
• ISBN10: 1587420007
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-06-01
• Publisher: Inkling Books

Summary

In 1962, Christian Century asked C. S. Lewis to name the books that had most influenced his thought. Among those that Lewis listed was Theism and Humanism, the published version of Arthur J. Balfour's 1914 Gifford Lectures at the University of Glasgow. Long out of print, the book is now available in this newly typeset and greatly enhanced edition.

Author Biography

Arthur James Balfour British Prime Minister, 1902-1905 President of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, 1904 Author of the Balfour Declaration that created the State of Israel

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. 5
Preface	p. 9
Introductory	p. 11
Metaphysics and the 'Plain Man'	p. 11
Inevitable Beliefs and 'Common Sense'	p. 16
The Character of the Theism To Be Established	p. 18
What the Argument Is Not	p. 21
An Argument to Design	p. 25
Design and Selection	p. 25
Argument from Values	p. 33
Aesthetic and Theism	p. 39
Aesthetic Described	p. 39
Whence Comes It?	p. 40
Values and the Higher Emotions	p. 43
Natural Beauty	p. 50
Aesthetic of History	p. 52
Ethics and Theism	p. 59
Ethics Described	p. 59
Egoism, Altruism and Selection	p. 61
Selection and the Higher Morality	p. 65
Same Subject Matter Continued	p. 70
Theism and the Collision of Ends	p. 72
Intellectual Values	p. 77
Retrospect	p. 77
Reason and Causation	p. 78
Leslie Stephen and Locke's Aphorism	p. 79
Reason and Empirical Agnosticism	p. 84
Perception, Common Sense and Science	p. 87
Common Sense and the External World	p. 87
Science and the External World	p. 89
Primary and Secondary Qualities	p. 91
Perception as a Causal Series	p. 92
Perception as a Cognitive Act	p. 94
An Irresistible Assumption	p. 97
Probability, Calculable and Intuitive	p. 101
Mathematicians and Probability	p. 101
Calculable Probability	p. 103
Intuitive Probability	p. 108
Uniformity and Causation	p. 111
Habit, Expectation, Induction	p. 111
Regularity, Causation	p. 112
The Principle of Negligibility	p. 114
Causation and Foreknowledge	p. 118
Tendencies of Scientific Belief	p. 123
Beliefs that We Are Inclined to Hold	p. 123
Atomism. Beliefs of Conservation	p. 125
Epilogue	p. 133
Summary and Conclusion	p. 137
Humanism and Theism	p. 137
The Doctrine of Congruity	p. 138
Is this Systematic Philosophy?	p. 143
Conclusion	p. 146
A Distinctively Christian Setting	p. 151
An Epilogue on the Incarnation	p. 151
Our Significance in the Cosmic Drama	p. 152
Our Ethical Needs	p. 155
Our Material Bodies	p. 156
Our Difficulties with Evil	p. 157
A Catechism for Naturalism	p. 161
The Evolution of Belief	p. 163
The Discrepancy Between Religion and Science	p. 173
Changes from the 1915 Text	p. 179
Notes	p. 181
Glossary	p. 189
Index	p. 195
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