It is almost cliché to have C. S. Lewis as your favorite author… but I don’t care. He is mine. Clichés usually become so because there is something true about them which makes people instantly understand why you use them. C. S. Lewis, for myself and many others, resonates with our souls on many levels. If you haven’t gotten into C. S. Lewis then it is high time you gave him a go.
Admittedly, though I think his book The Abolition of Man, is among the finest of his works it is probably not the one I would recommend as a first introduction to C. S. Lewis for most people. For fiction I would definitely recommend The Chronicles of Narnia (which begins with The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe no matter what other lies you may have heard) to anyone as a great place to start. Although the Chronicles are “written for children” I promise you it is written for your heart no matter how old you find yourself and it should be read numerous time and at different stages of life to be enjoyed in all its depth. As Lewis, Tolkien, and many other great authors of children’s literature, will tell you if a book isn’t worth reading again as an adult then it wasn’t really worth reading as a child. The Screwtape Letters, or the Ransom Trilogy is also a great place to dive in for more mature readers, or even Til We have Faces.
For Lewis’ non-fiction many people start with Mere Christianity, which is a basic apologetical defense of Christianity as well as an overview of basic Christian belief and practice. He also has many great shorter pieces which were collected into anthologies like God in the Dock and Christian Reflections. He was truly prolific and there is far more to read than from him than I have made mention of here. Lewis’ use of analogy to illuminate truth is unparalleled among writers in the modern period. He had a unique ability to speak to any audience; from children to adults, from blue collar worker to ivory tower profs, C. S. Lewis had something to say to everyone and he said it in a way they could relate to.
The Abolition of Man, if I were to make a scale of difficulty for Lewis’ books with 1 being the easiest to understand and 10 the most difficult, would probably be a 6 or 7. Lewis definitely has some heavier hitters as far as academic style, length, or just more obscure in subject matter (for most audiences), but as far as his works that may still be considered a more “popular” treatment of an issue this one can be a challenge for some. Even so, The Abolition of Man is probably one of Lewis most important and powerful entries in his own canon of writings. It is accessible enough that anyone who wants to mine its truths will be able to with a bit of patience and concentration. And, as is often true, we may get the most out of our journey if we go with an experienced guide.
In short, The Abolition of Man is a book about the importance of classical education as opposed to more modern conceptions. One of the defining characteristics of classical education is that it is not merely “utilitarian,” that is to say, it does not start by asking, “what can I do with this information?” Modern education is largely about learning how to do functions so as to make money so as to get stuff. It’s not hard to see that this thinking captivates the minds of parents when they seek an education for their kids with the sole object of them getting into the best colleges so they can get the jobs that make the most money. But classical education doesn’t ask (at least not as of first importance) “what can I do with this?” or “when will I ever use this in my job?” Classical education asks, “Is it true? Is it good? Is it beautiful?” Further, classical educators seek to provide education that isn’t all about what we will use it for but, rather, it is about how it shapes us as people. We want our students to become good virtuous people, who love the truth, who want to make the world better and more beautiful.
Lewis believes, along with the ancients, that education starts with the forming of human affections to love what they ought to love and to hate what they ought to hate. In this great book Lewis talks about the dangers of ignoring education’s true purpose. When we yield to the idea that education is about shaping soles but merely about function and doing, we lose something very important, we lose our humanity.
So, allow me to be your Virgil as we descend into a short but heavy hitting treatise by C. S. Lewis on the need for Classical Christian Education.
Part One: Men Without Chests
Part Two: The Way
Part Three: The Abolition of Man