About this title: C.S. Lewis here argues that objective value actually exists and that to believe otherwise is to create nonsense. Human beings appreciate values such as beauty and goodness because such things are part of reality. If absolute morality is denied there will not be any progress for mankind as the things that matter most will be explained away. "I am very doubtful whe ther history shows us one example of a man who, having stepped outside traditional morality and attained power, has used that power benevolently."
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Edition: Later Printing (20th and over)
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Macmillan Pub Co, New York, New York, U.S.A.
ISBN-13:9780020867906ISBN:0020867905
Description: Acceptable. No Dust Jacket as Issued. 12mo-over 6¾"-7¾" tall. Good readers copy****Book shows moderate to heavy wear/ spine tight, pages clean/ covers creased and soiled; moderate edge wear/ top of spine and top of book stained/ / corners and spine hinge creased/ several pages and page tips creased/ several pages slightly soiled. read more
Edition: Edition Unstated
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Macmillan Pub Co, New York, New York, U.S.A.
Date Published: 1978
ISBN-13:9780020867906ISBN:0020867905
Description: Good. As issued No Jacket. Spine lean, corner bumps, stains to the left edge of the front cover, corner creases to the front cover, some scuffs and scratches to the rear, and other light shopwear. Text is clean. read more
Edition: 13th Printing
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Macmillan Company, New York
Date Published: 1975
Description: Good. No Dust Jacket as Issued. 12mo-over 6¾"-7¾" tall. Book shows moderate wear/ spine tight, pages clean/ covers creased and scuffed; moderate edge wear/ corners and spine hinge creased/ spine slightly soiled/ several pages and page tips creased. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: COLLIER BOOKS
Date Published: 1962
Description: Acceptable. Overall below average used book. May have highlighting, underlining, notes, price sticker on cover, or be an ex-library book. read more
Edition: Edition Unstated
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Macmillan Pub Co, New York, New York, U.S.A.
ISBN-13:9780020867906ISBN:0020867905
Description: Good+ As issued No Jacket. Spine leana, corner bump, small stain to bottom edge of the book, some scuffs and scratches to covers, and other light shopwear. The text is clean. "How education develops man's sense of morality. " read more
Description: Fine. 0060652942 Ships next business day. NEW/UNREAD! ! ! Text is Clean and Unmarked! --Be Sure to Compare Seller Feedback and Ratings before Purchasing. Has a small black line on bottom/exterior edge of pages. May have light shelf wear to cover from storage, if any. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Touchstone Books
Date Published: 1996
ISBN-13:9780684823713ISBN:0684823713
Description: Very Good. Text pages clean & tight with no markings or highlighting. Reflections on education, society & nature. Very readable copy. read more
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Collier Books
Date Published: 1986
ISBN-13:9780020867906ISBN:0020867905
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. Front cover shows light diagonal crease at top corner. A few pages about mid book have bottom corners diagonally creased. Clean and unmarked text, NO crease to spine, tight binding. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. Riddell Memorial Lectures, 15. Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Macmillan
Date Published: 1975
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. mmpb Glued binding. Riddell Memorial Lectures, 15. Audience: General/trade. acceptable copy. read more
Edition: Twenty-First Printing
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Macmillan Publishing Co., New York, NY, U.S.A.
Date Published: 1955
ISBN-13:9780020867906ISBN:0020867905
Description: Good. Brief summary of condition and content available on request by e-mail. read more
"Amazing! CS Lewis argues concisely for objective truth in the world. Lewis' point is that when we remove belief in objective truth we end up with nothing. At less than 100 pages this book can be read in one afternoon sitting!
My favorite quote: "This thing which I have called for convenience the Tao, and which others may call Natural Law or Traditional Morality or the First Principles of Practical Reason or the First Platitudes, is not one among a series of possible systems of value. It is the sole source o all value judgments. If it is rejected, all value is rejected. If any value is retained, it is retained...The rebellion of new ideologies against the Tao is a rebellion of the branches against the tree...the human mind has no more power of inventing a new value than of imagining a new primary color, or, inded, of creating a new sun and a new sky for it to move in" (43-4)."
"EVERY Educator should read this book. And every parent who's capable. Lewis talks about the classical purpose of education: introducing our children to the wonders of being part of the Human race; as opposed to a modern shift in the purpose of education: to produce a product to spec for use by a ruling elite. He compares it to the difference between a bird teaching its children to fly and a farmer raising poultry for slaughter.
Well, I kind of made it sound like a conspiracy theory book, which it's definitely not. Although Lewis doesn't hide his convictions, he makes it abundantly clear that he doesn't just speak to christians, but appeals in his appendix to the great traditional codes of all civilizations east and west to show that his case is universally supported by the the weight of all mankind through history."
"The Abolition of Man is probably the most philosophical of lewis' works and maybe the most relevant. He's absolutely prophetic of the our post-modern times.
In the classical view the head ruled over the passions through chest. The chest represents our heart or affections. The mind was to inform and direct the will toward the good and thus suppress the lower passions.
Today the direction of influence is reversed. Our hearts are no longer nourished by permanent truths. Relativism has ripped out the chest. The lower passions are released and corrupt the mind. Reason justifies sin and puts all hope in technological progress to save us from the consequences. There's no need to reform our behavior because we've got medical cures for everything from unwanted pregnancies to sadness.
Man has been abolished! While Lewis' classical understanding of man is biblically informed, I would say that reason is not necessarily the highest or ruling faculty in man. It is already as sinful and self-justifying as the passions. Sometimes we will what is right when our minds cannot grasp the truth and must bow to faith. "The heart has its reasons which the mind knows not," said Pascal. Sometimes Lewis was too Platonic for his own good, but I fully agree with his thesis that the image of God is effaced more and more as we think we can define ourselves and create our own good."
"A great book. Very short, very difficult. I give it 3 stars mostly because of its difficulty - it takes a while to wade through the vocabulary to get to his point. The best part of the book is definitely the third section where he gets to his point. The thing that impresses me most about this book is the accuracy of his predictions. He writes in chapter 3 about what he feels the "modern" line of thinking will bring, and we have already seen many of the things that he predicted. My favorite quote comes at the very end of the book, where he writes about cynicism or "explaining away" things: "If you see through everything, then everything is transparent. But a wholly transparent world is an invisible world. To 'see through' all things is the same as not to see." I recommend this if you have a little while on a flight or train and a LOT of mental energy to digest it."
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