Essay about Abolition Of Man - 833 Words

Every culture ever known has operated under a system of values. Many varied on exact principles, but most applied the idea of Natural Law. Or, as C.S. Lewis would refer to it in his Abolition of Man, the Tao. In this particular book Lewis discusses the implications that would follow could man overcome this basic value system that has been in place since the development of rational thought. However, paradoxical as his opinion may seem, he holds that to step beyond the Tao is to plunge into nothingness. Simply put, it is his claim that to destroy, or even fundamentally change, man’s basic value system is to destroy man himself. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Lewis states late in the book that, â€Å"They are not men at all. Stepping outside the†¦show more content†¦For even when man talks of intrinsic values and emotions, there is validity in these things simply because they are experienced by someone. To say these things have been experienced gives them substance, whether they can be perceived by the senses or not. It seems as though Lewis is arguing that because the Tao is a qualitative substance inherent to man, to strip that would be the reduction of him into nothing. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Perhaps this idea could be better applied when applying it to the observations that are common to most every man. Making the assumption that Lewis is referring to the â€Å"void† as the absence of all qualities defining man, it is simple to compare this idea to the world around us. To borrow a metaphor from the author himself, the reader should imagine a tree. Most would agree upon the most basic components of this object; a trunk, roots, limbs, and leaves. What would happen to the tree if the branches, thereby including the leaves, decided to exist and function separate from the trunk? As most know, this would lead to the destruction of the isolated branches. In essence, to separate this fundamental pair is to cause the destruction of one of its parts. This is the argument that Lewis is making aboutShow MoreRelated The Abolition of Man by C.S. Lewis Essay1198 Words   |  5 PagesThe Abolition of Man by C.S. Lewis      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Abolition of Man is perhaps the best defense of natural law to be   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   published in the twentieth century. The book is outstanding not because   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   its ideas are original, but because it presents so clearly the common   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   sense of the subject, brilliantly encapsulating the Western natural law   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   tradition in all its Greco-Roman and Judeo-Christian glory. Interestingly,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Lewis defense of objective moralityRead More The Abolition of Man as Wake Up Call Essay947 Words   |  4 PagesThe Abolition of Man as Wake Up Call    There are three very important ideas that C. S. Lewis explicates in his book, The Abolition of Man. 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