Contemporary Perspectives on C.S. Lewis’ 'The Abolition of Man': History, Philosophy, Education, and Science PDF
Preview Contemporary Perspectives on C.S. Lewis’ 'The Abolition of Man': History, Philosophy, Education, and Science
Contemporary Perspectives on C.S. Lewis’ Th e Abolition of Man i Also available from Bloomsbury A Philosophical Walking Tour with C.S. Lewis , Stewart Goetz C.S. Lewis and the Church , edited by Judith Wolfe and Brendan N. Wolfe ii Contemporary Perspectives on C.S. Lewis’ Th e Abolition of Man History, Philosophy, Education, and Science Edited by Tim Mosteller and Gayne John Anacker Bloomsbury Academic An imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc LONDON • OXFORD • NEW YORK • NEW DELHI • SYDNEY iii Bloomsbury Academic An imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc 50 Bedford Square 1385 Broadway London New York WC 1B 3 DP NY 10018 UK USA www.bloomsbury.com BLOOMSBURY and the Diana logo are trademarks of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc First published 2017 © Tim Mosteller, Gayne John Anacker, and Contributors, 2017 Tim Mosteller and Gayne John Anacker have asserted their right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identifi ed as the Editors of this work. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publishers. No responsibility for loss caused to any individual or organization acting on or refraining from action as a result of the material in this publication can be accepted by Bloomsbury or the editors. British Library Cataloguing-i n-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN : HB : 978-1-4742-9644-1 e PDF : 978-1-4742-9647-2 ePub: 978-1-4742-9645-8 Library of Congress Cataloging-i n-Publication Data A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. Cover image © Marcus Robinson/EyeEm/Getty Images Typeset by Refi neCatch Limited, Bungay, Suffolk iv To Adiel Brasov, in friendship—T.M. v vi Contents Introduction 1 1 Philosophy in Th e Abolition of Man Adam C. Pelser 5 2 Natural Law in Th e Abolition of Man Micah Watson 25 3 Education in Th e Abolition of Man Mark Pike 47 4 So How Should We Teach English? Charlie W. Starr 63 5 Is Th e Abolition of Man Conservative? Francis J. Beckwith 83 6 Th eology in Th e Abolition of Man Judith Wolfe 97 7 Science in Th e Abolition of Man : “Can Science Rescue Itself?” David Ussery 111 8 Th e Abolition of Man and British Techno-Futurism James A. Herrick 135 9 Metaphors of Meaning: Th e Dance of Truth and Imagination in Th at Hideous Strength Scott B. Key 155 Index 175 vii viii Introduction Tim Mosteller California Baptist University Th e purpose of this book While I have been a fan of C.S. Lewis since my childhood, I have been teaching C.S. Lewis’ Th e Abolition of Man regularly in my undergraduate philosophy courses, both at the introductory and advanced levels for nearly twenty years. While I make no claims to being a C.S. Lewis scholar, it seems reasonable to me to say that Th e Abolition of Man is very diff erent from Lewis’ other works in the following ways: its level of diffi culty, its logical rigor, its breadth of analysis, and its prescience. Perhaps it is the fi rst of these diff erences from Lewis’ other works that has created a lacuna in the literature of C.S. Lewis scholarship regarding Th e Abolition of Man . One would hope that aft er seventy- fi ve years since its initial publication, some book- length treatment would be available to guide students through the text as well as to provide critical scholarship in order to advance the ideas contained in it. My co- editor, Gayne Anacker and I hope that Contemporary Perspectives on C.S. Lewis’ Th e Abolition of Man will do just that. Our book presents critical scholarship and appraisal of C.S. Lewis’ seminal lectures for the 75th anniversary of their presentation. Th e book has fi ve main features that we hope will help readers further their knowledge of Lewis’ work. First, the book is inter- disciplinary. It consists of scholars across academic disciplines off ering an assessment and elaboration of the central ideas in Th e Abolition of Man . Each chapter focuses on the major areas of thought which are raised in the lectures, including: philosophy, natural law, education, literature, politics, theology, science, biotechnology, and the 1
The list of books you might like
