Two weeks ago during my trip to Gyeongpo I took up my reading of C. S. Lewis’ The Abolition of Man again and have finished it in the meantime some time back. The Abolition of Man is a much heavier philosophical treatise that Lewis’ other philosophical texts, e.g. Mere Christianity, but it retains his clear logical and practical examples.
I really need to reread The Abolition of Man again before I’ll truly come to terms with the depth of Lewis' argument. However, as is always the case when reading C. S. Lewis, one walks away with a sense of deeper understanding of Life, the Universe and Everything.
What especially struck me about The Abolition of Man had probably more to do with synchronicity than with the text itself. For some time now I’ve been contemplating a couple of ideas. One is about this massive undercurrent in the world, of global powers trying to push people into certain directions, which I’ve been noticing. Part Three of The Abolition of Man talks about such forces (“The Conditioners”) and the threat they are to individual freedom: “[w]e shall in fact be the slaves and puppets…”
Another idea I’ve been contemplating was that of the Tao, and how such a concept fits within the Christian theological framework. Unbeknownst to me, Lewis also saw a connection and uses the Tao to describe the “Natural Law”, i.e. those universal moral laws, such as ‘It is not right to steal’, which is found in practically every society. My interest in the possible connection between Tao and Christianity comes from Jesus’ exhortation that “[He] is the Way, the Truth, and the Life…” Some translations of the Tao is “Way” and “Truth”. If Jesus was speaking to a Far Eastern audience He would probably have uttered: “I am the Tao”.
The Abolition of Man is a good text to read for anyone interested in philosophy, morality or pedagogy.
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