Wednesday, July 29, 2009

The Abolition of Man

In his book titled, The Abolition of Man, CS Lewis persuades his audience of the importance of universal values and warns of the higher educational system's attempt to render such values irrelevant and unprofitable. Lewis speaks of the "doctrine of objective value" which is "the belief that certain attitudes are really true, and others really false to the kind of thing the universe is and the kind of things we are". Until recent modern times all teachers in all civilizations believed in this "doctrine of objective value" or what I am going to call The Morality Code. This Morality Code is the very thing created into all of us that prompts us to recognize what is right and acceptable and what is wrong and unacceptable in regards to mankind's behavior. "All the human beings that history has known acknowledge some kind of morality; that is, they feel towards certain proposed actions the experiences expressed by the words 'I ought' or 'I ought not'". Because of this Morality Code "all men alike stand condemned and are conscious of guilt".


Here is an example of the Morality Code being acknowledged: Why does a husband cheat on his wife in secret? (Better yet, why is it referred to as cheating?) The obvious answer is to prevent his wife and peers from finding out, but why should she care? She cares because she holds her husband to some understood standard that says "a man ought not to sleep with another woman other than his wife". The husband is not naive of this standard because his defense of his actions would not be in the direction that his behavior should be considered acceptable. He simply makes an excuse for breaking the understood standard of "ought to's and ought not's". An excuse on any level is an actual confession by the man that some standard is understood and has been broken.


The Morality Code "is not one among a series of possible systems of value. It is the sole source of all value judgements. There has never been, and never will be, a radically new judgement of value in the history of the world. What pretends to be new systems or 'ideologies', all consist of fragments from the [Morality Code]. The rebellion of new ideologies against the [Morality Code would be like] a rebellion of the branches against the tree". That being said, the higher educational system is attempting to step outside of the Morality Code and condition its pupils to reject the concept of universal values altogether. Lewis explains the mindset of what we are going to call the Conditioners (corrupt teachers and professors);


"We shall probably find that we can get on quite comfortably without values. Let us regard all ideas of what we ought to do simply as an interesting psychological survival: let us step right out of all that and start doing what we like. Let us decide for ourselves what man is to be and make him into that: not on any ground of imagined value, but because we want him to be such. Having mastered our environment, let us now master ourselves and choose our own destiny."


There is a great difference between the old and the new education. "The old dealt with its pupils as grown birds deal with young birds when they teach them to fly; the new deals with them more as the poultry-keeper deals with young birds - making them thus or thus for purposes of which the birds know nothing. In a word, the old was a kind of propagation - men transmitting manhood to men; the new is merely propaganda." The Conditioners propaganda is the assumption that universal values are unimportant and intellect or enlightenment is all that is profitable. The Conditioners conclude that it is best to protect the minds of young people against emotion. Lewis responds to this conclusion by claiming that "for every one pupil who needs to be guarded from a weak excess of sensibility there are three who need to be awakened from the slumber of cold vulgarity. The task of the modern educator is not to cut down jungles but to irrigate deserts". Lewis explains that this conditioning and guarding against any form of emotion is creating "men without chests".


"You can hardly open a periodical without coming across the statement that what our civilization needs is more 'drive', or dynamism, or self-sacrifice, or 'creativity'. In a sort of ghastly simplicity we remove the organ and demand the function. We make men without chests and expect of them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honor and are shocked to find traitors in our midst. We castrate and bid the geldings be fruitful."


So what is the motivation that drives the Conditioners to step out of the Morality Code and to condition its pupils to also reject the concept of universal values? These Conditioners want excess without regulations and so they seek to condition all of mankind in a way that will enable them to gain their desires without being subject to any moral standard. Lewis explains, "For the power of Man to make himself what he pleases means the power of some men to make other men what they please". As they attempt to abolish the universal moral standard (Morality Code), they simply create a new standard governed by nothing more than their own selfish desires. "The Conditioners are motivated simply by their own pleasure." The motivation is a life satisfying of all desires but void of any Higher Accountability. Conditioners seek to control the moral standard rather than obeying it. "The Conditioners, choose what kind of artificial Morality Code they will, for their own good reasons, produce in the Human race." "If you will not obey the Morality Code, or else commit suicide, then obedience to selfish desires is the only course left open."


So what is the Conditioners' approach to establishing their artificial Morality Code? They first must conquer mankind in order to subject it to their own moral standard. So how does one conquer mankind? In order to conquer mankind, the Conditioners must reduce the human race to mere objects of Nature (Darwinism?). Mankind must simply become human material that can be shaped for the pleasures of masters who have no motive but their own selfish desires. "Man's conquest of himself means simply the rule of the Conditioners over the conditioned human material, the world of post-humanity which, some knowingly and some unknowingly, nearly all men in all nations are at present laboring to produce."


Only the universal Morality Code provides a common human law of action which overrules rulers and ruled alike. However, as we have seen through Lewis' work, the universal Morality Code is under heavy attack by those who want to create a world void of any accountability. A world in which man answers to no one but himself and his desires. A world with the Babylonian motto, "I am and there is none besides me". Lewis' book was labeled as being prophetic and we can see now that this may have very well been the case. We are living in a world that is constantly attempting to justify its behavior and actions because of its opposition to the Morality Code. Anything attempting to justify itself is in by doing so admitting rebellion against the original order of things.


Why is gay marriage the union seeking to be justified and not marriage between a man and a woman? (Homosexuality actually clearly rebels against more laws than simply the universal law of morality but that is another topic entirely)


Why do we make such efforts to justify abortion but adoption is not having to plead any case? Both are different from the norm but one seems questionable and the other comes across perfectly acceptable.


Why are we so concerned about what happens in Sin City staying there?


My objective in raising questions like these is to reveal that there is this universal law of morality that all of mankind acknowledges without even recognizing their own awareness of it. It was written on the hearts of the created man by his Creator and has passed down through generations since. It can not be conquered but we need to be aware that it is under attack on all sides by selfish agendas. Be cautious with what you are feeding your head!


-TEvans


8 comments:

waino said...

can you describe what your trying to say about adoption more clearly. I think i'm missing something...

Tanner said...

My point was to contrast two different extremes. Abortion (killing an unwanted child) vs. Adoption (taking in an unwanted child). Both are different from the normal child bearing process but one seems uncomfortable and the other perfectly okay. Abortion seems to have to justify itself where as adoption seems to be honorable. This is an example of the universal morality code written on our hearts that tells us that killing an innocent child is wrong but taking in an unwanted child is right. That make a little more sense?

-TEvans

Anonymous said...

Adopting a child is right. Do you think otherwise? I'm confused bro

Tanner said...

Adoption is good. Abortion is bad. That's what I am expressing here.

-TEvans

Jules said...

That post is heavy, it took me a couple days to muster the strength to read it but now that I have I feel blessed. I need to buy that book. The abortion/adoption thing is missing the point, that was an example of how jacked up our way of thinking is. It showed how we have tried to live and function under our own moral code not the one our Creator branded on our hearts. We (human/man) are constantly trying to control life when God is saying "just live" and glorify Him. I had to reread most of the post multiple times to understand a small portion. Worth it though.

waino said...

so what you're trying to say is that killing is wrong and loving is right! wow...now i get it...profound. Nice work terry "c.s." lewis.
ps...that was to be read with a sarcastic tone...

Tanner said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Tanner said...

Haha, I felt the sarcasm immediately. The whole point is that anything that feels the need to justify itself is more than likely rebelling against the universal law of morality that is written on our hearts. Abortion has always seeked justification because it rebels against what we feel is right or acceptable. Adoption on the other hand has no need to seek justification because it seems perfectly okay and good. Let me explain this one more way...

Something inside of us tells us we "ought not" kill an unwanted child. That same something tells us that we "ought to" adopt a child that is unwanted or has no home. This something inside of us is the universal law of morality that every human on earth possesses. When "conditioners" attempt to justify something that we feel we "ought not" do then they are rebelling against this law and creating their own definition of morality that fulfills their own personal desires and agendas.