Rating: 
Summary: The TRUTH shall let you BE...
Review: C.S. Lewis is recognized as one of the most acessible "popular" theologians and philosophical writers of the 20th century. THE ABOLITION of MAN is his most succinct and direct exposition on the nature of man and the importance of objective TRUTH to the preservation of human nature. His choice of the "eastern" term TAO (for the profoundly resonant Western idea, LOGOS) to frame comments on human nature; free will; science and what is sometimes viewed as evolution of TRUTH in the "light" of scientific achievement is archly ironic. The essay is a defense of WESTERN MAN as a reality "actualized" by adherrence to metaphysical premises advanced by classical (and yes, extremely dead)thinkers of the Greek persuasion; and ethical values advanced by Judaeo-Christian theologians. Lewis contends that the purpose of these Western ideas is a civilization that is recognizably and enjoyably HUMAN. In contrast, he identifies the conflict we now label POST MODERNISM which denies subsistent truths (except PM's 1st Axiom: there is no TRUTH); the reality of human nature and concomittant ethics, as linguistic fictions or assertions of power. WILL to POWER is, of course, identified as the governing "non-value" that is hyper-driving the Post Modern ("Men without Chests")to what Lewis terms THE ABOLITION OF MAN...that is: his own literal DECONSTRUCTION as a spiritually reflective entity. A student of Ideas is familiar with names like Schopenhauer, Nietzsche; Heiddeger and Foucault who foresaw or promoted notions of anti-Tao/Logos. C.S. Lewis essay delineates the consequences of an intellectual nihilism whose effects are now manifest as controlling realities in our society's most basic institutions. There is a glib assertion proposing a "new" religion, a Scientism where... with the aid of computer implants and genetic/eugenic manipulation ...the Human race can be redesigned. The members of this "Brave New World" will know more and more, about less and less until they know everything...about NOTHING. And they will have "become what they beheld and were beholden to." One does not have to agree with C.S. Lewis to at least acknowledge the force of his arguments. THE ABOLITION of MAN is a deceptively profound book. It contains, perhaps, one or two of those special truths that...it is asserted... "shall set you free." In this Age of Deconstruction, knowledge of such TRUTH may determine if you can BE anyone at all. This book is also a manifesto that asserts it is crucial to try.
Rating:
Summary: The Abolition of Man
Review: I would recommend this title for either of two types of reader. The academic minded reader who has neither the time nor patience for fiction or allegory will find a concise treatment covering most of Lewis' core thinking. Lewis fans of a less intellectual bent may find this an excellent introduction to the academic disciplines. Here are all the same concepts introduced in Lewis' children's books and science fiction but rendered for the Oxford crowd. Being familiar with the concepts you may find the process of translation much more manageable than you have found with other scholarly texts. Of course the basic problems of critical thinking and moral responsibility are as timeless as ever. With a careful reading I believe you will find more challenging questions than pat answers.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Buy
Review: Many are familiar with Lewis' cutting wits and keen ability to make difficult concepts comprehensible. This book is another case where Lewis does a fantastic job in analyzing trends in education and society. The issues he discusses are still very alive today, and his views are worth considering.
Rating: 
Summary: WARNING: HARD BOOK!
Review: I am a huge C.S. Lewis fan. I have read most of his works and I think they are great. This one is, on a scale from 1 to 10 in ease (1 being Dr. Suess and 10 being a Neurologists formal report) about a 9. Much more in depth than his other works I have read. A lot of backround knowledge is required. If you are a beginner I would suggest something easier and more fun to read such as "The Screwtape Letters" or "Out of the Silent Planet", for intermidiate I would suggest "The Great Divorce" or "The Four Loves". If you are advanced then go ahead and buy this one, I'll be puzzling over it for the next month.
Rating:
Summary: Great book, compare it with "Brave New World"
Review: Peter Kreeft, one of my favorite authors, suggests reading "The Abolition of Man" together with Huxley's "Brave New World". What a great combo. My copy of "The Abolition of Man" is all marked with passages I contuine to go back and reread. A must read.
Rating: 
Summary: Men without chests
Review: With this book, C.S. Lewis became a prophet. A great deal of the things that have transpired in education and society in the last 40-50 years were predicted here. I exhort educators as well as all those concerned with the current state of western civilization to read this book and take its lessons to heart.
Rating:
Summary: Bio-engineers, read this book!
Review: A timely and prophetic defense of the authority of moral absolutes. (Prophetic not in the sense of foreseeing the future -- though a little of that too -- but of boldly speaking unpopular truths to a culture that sorely needs to hear them.) Just a few months ago Francis Fukuyama actually used the phrase "abolition of man" in a positive way to describe the effect of upcoming advances in genetic engineering and computer technology on the human race. God save us from ourselves. The Puget Sound reader who, in an otherwise cogent critique, complained that Lewis' use of the word "Tao" to describe traditional morality is "presumptuous," couldn't be more wrong. The word's original non-metaphorical meaning (road or path) was first expanded by Confucius (not Lao Zi), who used it in precisely that sense. ("Our Master's Tao is simply this: conscientiousness and consideration.") In Lao Zi, though some passages can be interpretted as antinomian (if you favor letter over spirit), I think that as with Jesus, it was not goodness Lao Zi meant to rebuke, but people who think they can legislate it. Indeed, the history of Taoism nicely illustrates Lewis' thesis about the universality of the moral code. By the end of the second century, mainstream Daoism was interpreting Lao Zi's attack on moral rules to mean you need to follow the right rules. By the Fifth Century lists of sins appear that could have been written by a Southern Baptist preacher with Sierra Club leanings: "The sin to throw food or drink into fresh water. . . to eat by yourself when among a group. . . to abort children or harm the unborn . . to be nasty to beggars. . . to worship ghosts and spirits." (!) Yes, there are differences, as Lewis admitted, yet the similiarities are not "superficial," but show morality is universal truth rather than an arbitrary convention. How great is the danger Lewis writes of? I am not sure. But certainly this remains a timely warning against relativism, a reductionist approach to man and to nature, and all the sordid machinations of realpoliticians and social engineers around the world. My only serious complaint is the book too short. ....
Rating: 
Summary: The toxicity of political correctness, eloquently explained.
Review: Using the clever vehicle of critiquing a presumptuous Britishtextbook, Lewis de-bunks the use of scientific method to analyzehumanity, claiming instead that humans must trust their cumulative culture and their gut feelings. The three chapters are the record of three lectures he delivered toward the end of WWII; there is an undercurrent of distress regarding a society's willingness to sacrifice its sons for its own ironic preservation. These lectures pre-date his more well-known works of 'mere Christianity' and thinly veiled allegory and fantasy, and his tone is scholarly and patient while trying to wade through some very thick philosophy. More than 3 stars for graduate student readers, but 3 stars for anyone hoping to find a clear direction for designing learning expriences that result in noble citizens with altruistic charcter. Screwtape Letters communicate the same theories in much more digestible form. Perhaps his multi-cultural references, finding superficial similarity in the spiritual works of many cultures and historic eras, must be considered very much ahead of the current era's hypersensitivity to eurocentric assumptions, but his use of 'the tao' as a generic term for traditional morality might be considered as presumptuous as the textbook he mercilessly skewers throughout the series..
Rating:
Summary: A perfectly-reasoned defence of morality
Review: A perfectly reasoned defence of morality and natural law, and one of the few books quite indispensible for anyone who wishes to be morally-educated in the modern world. It does not preach or push a particular line, but simply proves certain facts about morality by logic. A short work, it is written is a clear lucid style and anyone who finds it "difficult" is obviously of such low intellect that they should take up a metally-undemanding trade.
Rating:
Summary: A difficult read.
Review: While the premise of the book is true, I found Lewis' writing style difficult to follow. I cannot recommend it to the average reader. Perhaps it would make a good supplement to a university level philosophy course.
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