Can you say a waterfall is sublime? Or are you just describing your feelings?
C.S. Lewis thought this question mattered more than it looks. In the first chapter of The Abolition of Man, he argues that modern education smuggles in a dangerous idea: that value judgments are just reports of emotion. Nothing to debate. Nothing to get right or wrong.
Caleb and Michael work through Lewis’s argument in this first episode of a series on the book. They cover his case for objective value, what he calls the Tao, and his warning about producing “men without chests” — people with sharp intellects, strong appetites, and nothing in between.
(00:00) Introduction: C.S. Lewis and The Abolition of Man
(06:30) The Green Book and the Waterfall
(10:10) Emotivism, Expressivism, and Subjectivism
(13:40) The Fact vs Opinion Distinction
(19:00) Education as Cultivating the Right Feelings
(25:40) The Way, the Tao
(28:50) The Head, the Belly, and the Chest
(34:50) Dulce et Decorum Est
(43:20) Are Aesthetic Judgments Objective?
(47:50) Men Without Chests
(52:00) Takeaways
Download the Stoa app (it’s a free download): https://stoameditation.com/pod
If you try the Stoa app and find it useful, but truly cannot afford it, email us and we’ll set you up with a free account.
Listen to more episodes and learn more here: https://stoameditation.com/blog/stoa-conversations/
Thanks to Michael Levy for graciously letting us use his music in the conversations:
