The Abolition Of Man Lewis Summary

In CS Lewis book, ‘The Abolition of Man’ is focused on the concept of Natural Law, a moral standard known to all human communities. Whereas the other book, ‘Mere Christianity – I, is focused on the universal human conception about right and wrong. In the first section of Mere Christianity, Lewis illustrates “Law of Nature” by which he defines one’s moral sense of what is right and what is wrong. He states that this law is same as the physical law, like gravitation except for the significant difference of human have the power of breaking this law of nature (C.S. Lewis, 1952, p. 5). Lewis mentions that in every culture, human say about doing one thing, but actually do something else. However, the author states an important point of human having

According to the author, “You might as well say that the sheet of music which tells you, at a given moment, to play one note on the piano and not another, is itself one of the notes of the keyboard. The moral law tells us the tune that we have to play: our instincts are merely the keys” (C.S. Lewis, 1952, p. 10). Further, he adds that the moral sense is usually in the position of encouraging the weaker instinct but not the stronger. Lewis also rejects the claims that the moral law could be simple a social convention for two main reasons. Firstly, he states that anyone who believe human morality has ever developed should also believe that there is a standard, independent of society invents, where the society’s morality can grow closer or farther away. Secondly, the author claims that a common thread of values is identifiable in every culture. Like how the law of gravity tell us about behavior of physical objects, the author contrasts the moral law with the natural law which tells us how to behave (C.S. Lewis, 1952, p. 17). Lewis states that moral law exists and is independent. The moral law presses upon us to do the decent thing, even if it causes us discomfort. The natural law directs the objects that exists whereas the moral law controls on how we behave towards others, how we live our lives and so on (C.S. Lewis, 1952, p. 20). Lewis had divided all human beliefs into either materialistic, stating there is absolutely no point to anything and the existence of universe is coincidence or the religious where there is a purpose for everything (C.S. Lewis, 1952, p. 26). In the last chapter this book I, Lewis states that the law of morality shows the weakness of humanity and inclination towards selfishness, immorality, and manipulation, hate, deceit and pride,