Analysis Of C. S. Lewis The Abolition Of Man

C.S. Lewis did not mince words in regards to the state of Man. Throughout history following the Enlightenment, man became fixated on science and reason to explain natural phenomena instead allowing imagination and self-exploration to define it from an individual’s perspective (Lewis, 1944). Man has been conditioned to be who he is now; he has conditioned the weakest links to survive. Nature no longer serves the same purpose as it did before (1944). We have lost the things that have made us human. That is why I write this letter to you, in hopes that you are not conditioned to think, be, or see the world from the perspective of other, but as you see it for yourself. Writing on courage, temperance, and choice, these are all things that

Each one has expressed the importance of Aristotle’s view of leadership and opposing the way man has been conditioned to accept knowledge through science and reasoning. Levine and Boaks state that “the broadly Aristotelian account… demonstrates that leadership can and should be conceived of as a master virtue that, correctly understood, serves human flourishing” (2013). Keeping in mind that Aristotle’s Responsibility and the Primary Virtues of Character (Sachs, 2002) and Lewis’ The Abolition of Man (1944), in order to be a leader one must be ethically just, or what you will come to find as moral development. This is the concern of goodness and goodwill for your companions and leading because it is a beautiful, chosen virtue (Ethics, III, 1117a, 10). This courageous leadership translates to Lewis’ preservation of Man, not because you are conditioning man, but because you will make sacrifices in order for man to survive. You will come about this moral development, not because it is intrinsic or tacit, but through reasoning. As you continue to grow and begin to feel out virtue and choice, you will be moved by the different stages of moral development (Kohlberg, 1976). It can be debated that being a leader is an aspect of Aristotelian virtues, but that is not what I am hoping you accomplish or to prove this wrong (Grint, 2007). I reiterate the idea that living virtuously through

Additionally, I do not want to place any unfair pressure on you to live up to a certain expectation. My expectation of you is to live a moral life full of virtue rather than someone deciding for you who you are supposed to be. It is a challenge I pass onto you to live each day understanding that the world is as you see it, not how anyone else tells you to (Lewis, 1944). You are capable of being a great leader by living a virtuous, wholesome life as you see it from your perspective. It may be challenging to wrap your head around the things discussed throughout this letter, but I share it because I know you are capable to harnessing the vision that Aristotle has shared, an idea removed at the time of the Enlightenment. Remember what I told you about Aristotle’s strengths of leadership; techné, episteme, and phronesis (Sachs, 2002 and Grint, 2007). Gaining an understanding of what choice is and how that decides your actions and being exposed to opportunity and knowledge in order to achieve moral development. Something that will be difficult to break away from is the mistakes Man has made and continue to make (1944). But I very much believe that you can act in accordance with the virtues of Aristotle (Sachs, 2002), the warnings of Lewis (1944), the moral development theory of Kohlberg (1976), and become an individual in a society that has condemned individuality to the point of being condition a certain way