Not As Unwise but as Wise

Episode 6: Not as Unwise but as Wise: Reflections from C.S. Lewis's The Abolition of Man and That Hideous Strength This week we look at how some of Lewis's predictions in "Men Without Chests" about the results of the loss of objective value were fulfilled in the 20th century by the work of Jacques Derrida and Michel Foucault, which has spawned a cultural revolution in academia. We also begin our journey into Chapter 2, "The Way," where Lewis explains the role of the Tao.

One of the beauties of this book is the way that Lewis marshals evidence for his argument from sources as diverse as Shelley's Aeolian harp to Plato's Republic. In this episode, we unpack some of that imagery and also take a look through a parallel lens at the way that Lewis expresses this same argument in the first section of Mere Christianity, "Right and Wrong as a Clue to the Meaning of the Universe."

"Men Without Chests" focuses on the concept and critical importance of objectivity of value. In this episode, we explore that concept through some thematic analysis and through looking at the Tao of sentiment, with a quick trip to Narnia to look at Eustace Scrubb and Experiment House.

"Men Without Chests" is the first chapter in The Abolition of Man; Lewis focuses on what he views as a dangerous assumption about feelings as opposed to objective value as reflected in educational materials. In this episode we look at Gaius and Titius and The Green Book and discuss Lewis's use of the image of the waterfall as a sort of proxy for the beauty of Natural Law.

In The Abolition of Man, Lewis addresses some developments of grave concern in the area of education. As background for understanding Lewis's points, in this episode we will look at the history of the liberal arts tradition, the contributions of St. Augustine and his idea of rightly-ordered loves to education, the historic role of the Church in education, the importance of the study of philosophy, and the pernicious influence of Pragmatism on the educational enterprise. We will also look at Psalm 19 and its beautiful linkage of Natural Law and the Word of God.

The Abolition of Man has been named by the National Review as one of the ten most important books of the 20th century, and Lewis expressed the same tenets fictionally in That Hideous Strength. In this episode, we will explore how C.S. Lewis came to write these two books, what was the context at the time, and how the two books are connected. In this series. we will seek to unpack the meaning of Lewis’s works, explore their remarkable relevance for today, and consider how we can respond with practices of Hope and Wisdom rooted in the Scriptures.