Dr. Michael Ward, a Catholic priest and Senior Research Fellow at Oxford, delves into C.S. Lewis's profound work, The Abolition of Man. He explains Lewis's critique of moral subjectivism and the concept of the 'Tao' as an objective moral reality that transcends cultures. The discussion unpacks the idea of 'men without chests,' emphasizing the need for emotional development alongside reason. Ward also addresses the moral dilemmas of contemporary society and the importance of shared values in nurturing integrity.
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Objective Value's Importance
C.S. Lewis argues for objective moral values in "The Abolition of Man."
He predicts self-destruction if we embrace subjectivism.
question_answer ANECDOTE
War, Death, and Objective Value
World War II's trauma and Lewis's near-death experience in WWI shaped his view on objective values.
Suffering for values proves their objectivity.
insights INSIGHT
Green Book's Subjectivism
Lewis criticized the Green Book for promoting subjectivism in children's education.
Subjectivism undermines shared values and creates moral confusion.
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Alasdair MacIntyre's "After Virtue" is a highly influential work in moral philosophy that critiques modern ethical theories and proposes a return to virtue ethics. MacIntyre argues that modern moral philosophy has lost its way, leading to a fragmented and incoherent understanding of morality. He traces the historical development of ethical thought, identifying the decline of virtue ethics and the rise of emotivism and other relativistic approaches. MacIntyre proposes a revival of virtue ethics grounded in the Aristotelian tradition, emphasizing the importance of character development and the cultivation of virtuous dispositions. His work has had a profound impact on contemporary ethical debates, inspiring renewed interest in virtue ethics and its application to various social and political issues.
The abolition of man
C.S. Lewis
In 'The Abolition of Man', C.S. Lewis delivers a defense of objective value and natural law, originating from his Riddell Memorial Lectures at the University of Durham in 1943. Lewis argues that education should be conducted within the context of moral law and objective values, which he terms the 'Tao'. He criticizes modern attempts to debunk these values, warning that such actions could lead to a dehumanization of society, resulting in what he calls 'Men without Chests' – individuals whose emotions have not been trained to conform to reason. The book emphasizes the universal nature of traditional moralities across different cultures and warns against the dangers of moral relativism and the reduction of human beings to mere objects of scientific analysis[2][4][5].
After Humanity
Michael Ward
“We make men without chests and expect from them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honor and are shocked to find traitors in our midst.”
While this quote from C.S. Lewis is often cited, few completely understand what Lewis meant by it, nor understand the book from which it was taken, The Abolition of Man, which, unlike Lewis's more popular works of fiction and Christian apologetics, is a broad philosophical treatise aimed at everyone, and perhaps the most admired and yet least accessible of Lewis's writings.
My guest today has written a guide, called After Humanity, that is designed to make The Abolition of Man more understandable to the average reader. His name is Dr. Michael Ward and he's both a Catholic priest and a Senior Research Fellow at Oxford. Michael kicks off our conversation by offering a big picture overview of what The Abolition of Man was about, which centers on Lewis's argument against subjectivism, and for the idea that there exists objective moral values, the denial of which brings destructive consequences. We unpack the case Lewis makes for the existence of a natural order which underlies all religions and cultures, and why he called this universal, objective reality the "Tao." We then get into what Lewis meant by the idea of making "men without chests," the function of a man's chest, and why chests aren't being developed. We end our conversation with why moral debates can seem so shrill and fruitless in a world without agreement upon objective values, and if anything can be done to build the chests of modern men.
The Art of Manliness 
