{"id":4998,"date":"2018-06-21T12:19:03","date_gmt":"2018-06-21T20:19:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/?p=4998"},"modified":"2018-06-21T12:19:03","modified_gmt":"2018-06-21T20:19:03","slug":"the-abolition-of-man-chapters-one-and-two","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2018\/06\/21\/the-abolition-of-man-chapters-one-and-two","title":{"rendered":"The Abolition of Man: Chapters One and Two"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_4990\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4990\" style=\"width: 201px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-4990\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/the-abolition-of-man-e1529364708709-201x300.jpg?resize=201%2C300&#038;ssl=1\" alt width=\"201\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/the-abolition-of-man-e1529364708709.jpg?resize=201%2C300&amp;ssl=1 201w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/the-abolition-of-man-e1529364708709.jpg?w=420&amp;ssl=1 420w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 201px) 85vw, 201px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4990\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Abo\u00adli\u00adtion of Man by C. S. Lewis<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><em>Blog read\u00aders: Chi Alpha @ Stan\u00adford is engag\u00ading in our annu\u00adal sum\u00admer read\u00ading project. As we read through three books by C. S. Lewis, I\u2019ll post my thoughts here (which will large\u00adly con\u00adsist of excerpts I found insight\u00adful). They are all tagged <a href=\"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/tag\/summer-reading-project-2018\">sum\u00admer-read\u00ading-project-2018<\/a>. The sched\u00adule is <a href=\"https:\/\/xastanford.org\/summer-reading\">online<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Wel\u00adcome to week one of the Chi Alpha sum\u00admer read\u00ading project!<\/p>\n<p>Some resources that may prove use\u00adful to you:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/lewisiana.nl\/abolquotes\/\">Quo\u00adta\u00adtions and Allu\u00adsions in The Abo\u00adli\u00adtion of Man<\/a> \u2014 Lewis quotes from or alludes to a lot of exter\u00adnal writ\u00adings. This shows you what he\u2019s talk\u00ading about.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=tX5e6eSkaMc\">C. S. Lewis Doo\u00addles: Men With\u00adout Chests<\/a>: a delight\u00adful YouTube chan\u00adnel where\u00adin a nar\u00adra\u00adtor reads Lewis aloud while an illus\u00adtra\u00adtor doo\u00addles what is being said.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>On to Lewis\u2019s argu\u00adment. He noticed a fea\u00adture in an Eng\u00adlish text\u00adbook which great\u00adly both\u00adered him: the authors teach that val\u00adue judg\u00adments about the world are state\u00adments of feel\u00ading rather than state\u00adments of fact. Lewis points out that this is a very pow\u00ader\u00adful form of indoc\u00adtri\u00adna\u00adtion and adds that this is an enor\u00admous dif\u00adfer\u00adence from the past.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Until quite mod\u00adern times all teach\u00aders and even all men believed the uni\u00adverse to be such that cer\u00adtain emo\u00adtion\u00adal reac\u00adtions on our part could be either con\u00adgru\u00adous or incon\u00adgru\u00adous to it \u2014 believed, in fact, that objects did not mere\u00adly receive, but could <em>mer\u00adit<\/em>, our approval or dis\u00adap\u00adproval, our rev\u00ader\u00adence or our con\u00adtempt. (page 699 in our anthol\u00ado\u00adgy)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>He gives sev\u00ader\u00adal exam\u00adples and lumps them togeth\u00ader under the com\u00admon name of the Tao:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>This con\u00adcep\u00adtion in all its forms, Pla\u00adton\u00adic, Aris\u00adtotelian, Sto\u00adic, Chris\u00adt\u00adian, and Ori\u00aden\u00adtal alike, I shall hence\u00adforth refer to for brevi\u00adty sim\u00adply as \u2018<em>the Tao<\/em>\u2019.\u2026 what is com\u00admon to them all is some\u00adthing we can\u00adnot neglect. It is the doc\u00adtrine of objec\u00adtive val\u00adue, the belief that cer\u00adtain atti\u00adtudes are real\u00adly true, and oth\u00aders real\u00adly false, to the kind of thing the uni\u00adverse is and the kind of things we are. Those who know the <em>Tao <\/em>can hold that to call chil\u00addren delight\u00adful or old men ven\u00ader\u00ada\u00adble is not sim\u00adply to record a psy\u00adcho\u00adlog\u00adi\u00adcal fact about our own parental or fil\u00adial emo\u00adtions at the moment, but to rec\u00adog\u00adnize a qual\u00adi\u00adty which <em>demands <\/em>a cer\u00adtain response from us whether we make it or not. I myself do not enjoy the soci\u00adety of small chil\u00addren: because I speak from with\u00adin the <em>Tao <\/em>I rec\u00adog\u00adnize this as a defect in myself \u2014 just as a man may have to rec\u00adog\u00adnize that he is tone deaf or colour blind. And because our approvals and dis\u00adap\u00adprovals are thus recog\u00adni\u00adtions of objec\u00adtive val\u00adue or respons\u00ades to an objec\u00adtive order, there\u00adfore emo\u00adtion\u00adal states can be in har\u00admo\u00adny with rea\u00adson (when we feel lik\u00ading for what ought to be approved) or out of har\u00admo\u00adny with rea\u00adson (when we per\u00adceive that lik\u00ading is due but can\u00adnot feel it). (pages 701\u2013702)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>It is worth think\u00ading about his illus\u00adtra\u00adtion. I sus\u00adpect some of you will strong\u00adly dis\u00adagree with it with\u00adout quite know\u00ading why. Here it is in bare form: <strong>not lik\u00ading chil\u00addren is a moral defect<\/strong>. It is not \u201cjust the way you are.\u201d It is the way you have become, and you have an oblig\u00ada\u00adtion to try to become some\u00adone bet\u00adter. And even if your dis\u00adlike of chil\u00addren was a mat\u00adter of your genet\u00adics of some\u00adthing else beyond your con\u00adtrol it would not stop being a moral defect.<\/p>\n<p>But our cul\u00adture rejects these moral oblig\u00ada\u00adtions along with many oth\u00aders; more than that, we refuse to seri\u00adous\u00adly con\u00adsid\u00ader that they might actu\u00adal\u00adly be moral oblig\u00ada\u00adtions instead of per\u00adson\u00adal choic\u00ades. We teach that val\u00adues are mat\u00adters of opin\u00adion. And this leads to the stun\u00adning per\u00adora\u00adtion of the first lec\u00adture:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>In a sort of ghast\u00adly sim\u00adplic\u00adi\u00adty we remove the organ and demand the func\u00adtion. We make men with\u00adout chests and expect of them virtue and enter\u00adprise. We laugh at hon\u00adour and are shocked to find trai\u00adtors in our midst. We cas\u00adtrate and bid the geld\u00adings be fruit\u00adful. (page 704)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>In light of Lewis\u2019 argu\u00adment, reflect on this recent essay about an arti\u00adcle in the pres\u00adti\u00adgious pub\u00adli\u00adca\u00adtion <em>For\u00adeign Pol\u00adi\u00adcy<\/em>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.getreligion.org\/getreligion\/2018\/6\/6\/should-amazon-tribes-be-allowed-to-kill-their-young-foreign-policy-isnt-sure\">Should Ama\u00adzon tribes be allowed to kill their young? For\u00adeign Pol\u00adi\u00adcy edi\u00adtors aren\u2019t sure<\/a> (Julia Duin, GetRe\u00adli\u00adgion):<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cIn recent years, cer\u00adtain tribes in the Ama\u00adzon region have been in the news because of their unpleas\u00adant habit of killing deformed or hand\u00adi\u00adcapped chil\u00addren as well as twins, and even off\u00adspring of sin\u00adgle moms, soon after birth. They also may kill trans\u00adgen\u00addered indi\u00advid\u00adu\u00adals. I thought the con\u00adsen\u00adsus was pret\u00adty clear that such prac\u00adtices were evil. But along came an arti\u00adcle (it was a month ago, but I\u2019m only get\u00adting around to it now) in <em>For\u00adeign Pol\u00adi\u00adcy <\/em>mag\u00ada\u00adzine that argued how sav\u00ading the lives of these chil\u00addren was a west\u00adern val\u00adue that didn\u2019t fit with the cus\u00adtoms and lifestyle of these tribes.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>If he read that arti\u00adcle, Lewis would not be sur\u00adprised. Reject\u00ading the Tao opens the door to mad\u00adness.<\/p>\n<p>In the sec\u00adond chap\u00adter, \u201cThe Way\u201d, Lewis points out that many peo\u00adple attempt to hold on to objec\u00adtive ethics with\u00adout admit\u00adting that they are doing so.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>A great many of those who \u2018debunk\u2019 tra\u00addi\u00adtion\u00adal or (as they would say) \u2018sen\u00adti\u00admen\u00adtal\u2019 val\u00adues have in the back\u00adground val\u00adues of their own which they believe to be immune from the debunk\u00ading process. They claim to be cut\u00adting away the par\u00ada\u00adsitic growth of emo\u00adtion, reli\u00adgious sanc\u00adtion, and inher\u00adit\u00aded taboos, in order that \u2018real\u2019 or \u2018basic\u2019 val\u00adues may emerge. I will now try to find out what hap\u00adpens if this is seri\u00adous\u00adly attempt\u00aded. (page 706)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>The most com\u00admon attempt to find a source of val\u00adues apart from the Tao is to appeal to human nature. When I talk with skep\u00adtics on cam\u00adpus they most com\u00admon\u00adly try to ground moral\u00adi\u00adty in evo\u00adlu\u00adtion\u00adary psy\u00adchol\u00ado\u00adgy. But it doesn\u2019t work. Lewis explains:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>From propo\u00adsi\u00adtions about fact alone no prac\u00adti\u00adcal con\u00adclu\u00adsion can ever be drawn. <em>This will pre\u00adserve soci\u00adety<\/em> can\u00adnot lead to <em>do this<\/em> except by the medi\u00ada\u00adtion of <em>soci\u00adety ought to be pre\u00adserved<\/em>. <em>This will cost you your life<\/em> can\u00adnot lead direct\u00adly to <em>do not do this<\/em>: it can lead to it only through a felt desire or an acknowl\u00adedged duty of self-preser\u00adva\u00adtion. The Inno\u00adva\u00adtor is try\u00ading to get a con\u00adclu\u00adsion in the imper\u00ada\u00adtive mood out of pre\u00admiss\u00ades in the indica\u00adtive mood: and though he con\u00adtin\u00adues try\u00ading to all eter\u00adni\u00adty he can\u00adnot suc\u00adceed, for the thing is impos\u00adsi\u00adble. (page 707)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>In oth\u00ader words, the only way to derive moral\u00adi\u00adty is to pre\u00adsup\u00adpose moral\u00adi\u00adty. Just as the sum of two num\u00adbers will itself be a num\u00adber, facts can only pro\u00adduce moral oblig\u00ada\u00adtions if moral oblig\u00ada\u00adtions are them\u00adselves facts.<\/p>\n<p>Lewis says a lot more in these chap\u00adters, but this email is already too lengthy.<\/p>\n<p>Those are the things that stood out to me. What stood out to you?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Blog read\u00aders: Chi Alpha @ Stan\u00adford is engag\u00ading in our annu\u00adal sum\u00admer read\u00ading project. As we read through three books by C. S. Lewis, I\u2019ll post my thoughts here (which will large\u00adly con\u00adsist of excerpts I found insight\u00adful). They are all tagged sum\u00admer-read\u00ad\u00ading-project-2018. The sched\u00adule is online. Wel\u00adcome to week one of the Chi Alpha \u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2018\/06\/21\/the-abolition-of-man-chapters-one-and-two\" class=\"more-link\">Con\u00adtin\u00adue read\u00ading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> \u201cThe Abo\u00adli\u00adtion of Man: Chap\u00adters One and Two\u201d<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[8],"tags":[229,231],"class_list":["post-4998","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-resources-reviews","tag-summer-reading-project-2018","tag-the-abolition-of-man"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6Ded-1iC","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4998","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4998"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4998\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5003,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4998\/revisions\/5003"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4998"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4998"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4998"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}