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Subjectivism In The Screwtape Letters

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Subjectivism
C. S. Lewis “The Screwtape Letters” tells the story of Screwtape, a devil in Hell, writing letters to his nephew, Wormwood, who is trying to guide a patient towards Hell over God and Heaven. Lewis has in other works described his thoughts on subjectivism and an objective truth and how an objective truth is better than subjectivism. However, in “The Screwtape Letters”, Lewis is describing the view of the devil and therefore the descriptions most often become the opposite of Lewis’ beliefs. Yet, in some circumstances an objective truth applies to the devil as well. The elements in the novel describe how Screwtape uses an objective truth and reality as a means of pushing the patient towards Hell compared to Heaven, which in Scretape’s …show more content…

Bring us back food, or be food yourself” (Lewis 272), Screwtape wants Wormwood to understand how important it is to convert the patient; otherwise he will become the food himself. It does not matter how Wormwood sees the world and the fact that his patient is difficult; there is an objective truth about the rules in Hell, and if he cannot complete his task, he will be punished himself. Those are the rules of Hell and they are objectively true for everyone. Screwtape’s view on justice, reality, and Hell, shows the fact that Screwtape sees Hell as an objective truth compared to Heaven as an illusion of subjectivism. Screwtape believes that only Hell can show reality yet has primarily a negative perspective, which is what Lewis would disagree with, due to the fact that Hell is not the only place for reality just because it is a negative place surrounded by …show more content…

Screwtape has an idea that there is a distinction between what is real and what is not; an objective truth is real and subjectivism is just a fantasy: “[…] is that in al experiences which can make them happier or better only the physical facts are ‘real’ while the spiritual elements are ‘subjective’” (Lewis 274), Screwtape believes that if Wormwood can get the patient to believe in what is real, which is the gore of the war and the fact of the war, then Wormwood can get the patient on his side, by believing in the reality of the war, which according to Screwtape is the worst-case scenario. The worst-case scenario of the war will help Wormwood and his patient towards Hell, because it will make the patient loose faith in God. Subjectivism on the other hand, believes in a fantasy, religion, spiritual, and sentiment, which according to Screwtape include anything good, that the people tell themselves to get through the day. Subjectivism is what people wish things to be, compared to how they really are and it is an illusion of reality compared to an objective truth that is in fact reality. Screwtape goes on about how subjectivism is a bad thing compared to objective truths, and states that “[…] but the loveliness of a loved person is merely a subjective haze concealing a ‘real’ core of sexual appetite or economic association. Wars and poverty are ‘really’ horrible; peace and plenty

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