- Paperback: 96 pages
- Publisher: Fount; (Reissue) edition (7 Jun 1999)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0006281397
- ISBN-13: 978-0006281399
- Product Dimensions: 18.8 x 12.4 x 1 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,030,540 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
The Abolition of Man
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Product Description
Product Description
C S Lewis’s philosophical defence of Natural Law (absolute morality) – without which human beings are reduced to less than fully human, and are, thus ‘abolished’.
CS Lewis 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 – but 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 whether history shows us one example of a man who, having stepped outside traditional morality and attained power, has used that power benevolently.’
From the Back Cover
“ If someone were to come to me and say that, excepting the Bible, everyone on earth was going to be required to read one and the same book, and then ask what it should be, I would with no hesitation say 'The Abolition of Man'. It is the most perfectly reasoned defence of Natural Law (Morality) I have ever seen, or believe to exist. If any book is able to save us from future excesses of folly and evil, it is this book.”
WALTER HOOPER
“No review can do justice to C.S. Lewis: his writing has a clarity and authority that are impossible to convey. He must be read.”
CHURCH OF ENGLAND NEWSPAPER
“It is a real triumph. There may be a piece of contemporary writing in which precision of thought, liveliness of expression and depth of meaning unite with the same felicity, but I have not come across it.”
OWEN BARFIELD
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First Sentence
I doubt whether we are sufficiently attentive to the importance of elementary text books. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
I doubt whether we are sufficiently attentive to the importance of elementary text books. Read the first page
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Concordance
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
37 of 37 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
There are not many books which I think everyone should read. This slim volume is one of them. Here C. S. Lewis explains in the clearest way imaginable why all the attempts to "debunk" humankind are flawed. E.g. attempting to reduce humans to the product of evolution, or to our psychology and social background. The essential argument is this: if we argue that our innate sense of right and wrong is arbitrary and so seek to replace it with something else, where do we get the belief that our new morality is desirable from? Must it not, in the end, be justified from the innate morality it seeks to replace? (The alternative is that it is not justified at all.) This is a compelling and exciting book. Don’t take my word for it: read it yourself!
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
After Mere Christianity I think this is C.S.Lewis' greatest book. This is not at all a treatise on Christianity. In fact he employs his alacrity with the other schools of religious thought to better make his points. Its focus is on subtle turns of phrases employed in school texts that diminish and undermine the the man's unique ability to impute quality of character, nobility, and beauty to objects and events. One chapter called Men Without Chests is a phrase that will haunt you time and again as you think back on this book when discussing why things seem better than ever in the world today... yet people feel more shallow and empty and don't know why. The book discusses how man is teaching away his humanity. It is inspired by a simple line quoted from a school text book about a waterfall. At first it is difficult to see what C.S. Lewis feels so passionate about but well before the end of the book you understand clearly. This is a book that can bring you into focus and may have a lasting impact on the way you look at the world. By the books end you may find yourself even more human than when you began.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
In this terse discussion about ethics, specifically how education develops man's sense of morality, Lewis argues that there are indeed objective values, denying the relativistic viewpoint of those who postulate that all values are fictional creations from the subjective mind of mankind. He also convincingly demonstrates how those who educate the young inevitably influence students' views on the matter by the very language used in their schoolbooks. Far from being an abstruse topic that has little bearing on our every day lives, subjective relativism has long term adverse consequences for members of society who come under its influence. Given wide enough application, it could ultimately destroy mankind. The appendix to THE ABOLITON OF MAN is quite helpful, listing examples of common values held by people of many different societies and cultures, pointing to an objective law, or "Tao". It does indeed show that there is a desire for a way of life that is better and more just, for mercy and kindness, which is seen in the different cultures around the globe. If there were not divine law and objective values, then we humans would be - as the animals seem to be - satisfied with any 'ole way of living. This book is just a bit dense in spots (which is why I rate it with a 9 instead of 10), but still readable and quite peritinent to today's western society. For related material in a little less left brained presentation, see Lewis's THAT HIDEOUS STRENGTH or MERE CHRISTIANITY.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
The Tao of C.S. Lewis
C.S. Lewis pulls no punches in this book, "The Abolition of Man". Since I disagree with Lewis on virtually everything (I'm a feminist, for starters), reading this book was a real... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Ashtar Command
Universal rules for knowing what to do or not to do
INTRODUCTION
This famous 50-page survey of Natural Law thinking is one of Professor Lewis's tougher but more important works and with the current revival of NL thinking it... Read more
This famous 50-page survey of Natural Law thinking is one of Professor Lewis's tougher but more important works and with the current revival of NL thinking it... Read more
Published 17 months ago by Michael JR Jose
Prophetic, thoughtful - I wish it was longer
Like many reviewers, I have seen a prophetic element to Lewis' apologetics in Abolition.
He offers a deep insight into the nature of man, his ambitions as they relate to... Read more
He offers a deep insight into the nature of man, his ambitions as they relate to... Read more
Published 18 months ago by CY
Disappointed
I was highly recommended to this book, but found it opinionated, cruel to anonymised writers of "The Green Book" and not at all to the credit of someone who is widely regarded as a... Read more
Published on 18 Mar 2009 by Prof John Cowan
I Love Lewis
Wonderful apologetic and definitely still applicable in today's post modern society i think. If you're an average reader like me you may need to go through it with a highlighter... Read more
Published on 3 July 2008 by Timothy Kwant
So old, yet so relevent!
CS Lewis' book here is an incredible prophesy of how he saw the western world moving forward, a world where what was triumphed as 'man's power over nature' turned into 'man's power... Read more
Published on 19 May 2006 by Mr. P. Hart
Western Civilization is Falling.
...and The Abolition of Man explains why. We have become materialists and sacrificed all the most important spiritual beliefs that make us something other than mere animals. Read more
Published on 26 Jan 2001
The toxicity of political correctness, eloquently explained.
Using the clever vehicle of critiquing a presumptuous Britishtextbook, Lewis de-bunks the use of scientific method to analyze humanity, claiming instead that humans must trust... Read more
Published on 16 Aug 1999
A perfectly-reasoned defence of morality
A perfectly reasoned defence of morality and natural law, and one of the few books quite indispensible for anyone who wishes to be morally-educated in the modern world. Read more
Published on 17 Jun 1999
A difficult read.
While the premise of the book is true, I found Lewis' writing style difficult to follow. I cannot recommend it to the average reader. Read more
Published on 20 May 1999
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