The Abolition of Man, That Hideous Strength, Till We Have Faces. CS Lewis as prophet of dark times

A discussion with Jason Baxter, Nicholas Colloff and Mark Vernon.

The Abolition of Man is a series of three lectures given by C.S. Lewis in defence of objective value, arguing that modernity has undermined our humanity by uncoupling intellect from instinct. With hearts divorced from minds, first the world empties of presence, then life empties of meaning and people become “men without chests”.

That Hideous Strength is a fictionalised version of the abolition, exploring the impact of transhumanism, aggressive rationalism, absent gods, and an inability to contemplate and know reality as it is.

Till We Have Faces also tells of a world in which humanity is veiled and power rules, though in which gods make unexpected appearances and humanity is restored by learning to bear the weight of being once more.

How do these works account for today? What remedies do they offer? Why might we keep reading them?

0:00 Introductions
01:47 The core ideas of The Abolition of Man
04:46 All truths cannot be relative!
09:38 The need for an aesthetic education
12:13 Owen Barfield on objectivity and subjectivity 
20:02 Chivalry and recovering spiritual practices
28:25 A time in which everything is real
30:56 The core ideas in That Hideous Strength
39:48 The uninvited powers of material times
41:48 The need for wisdom communities
44:25 Why the Arthurian weaves in the story?
49:10 Learning about and learning from
53:21 Lewis's violence and the eruption of power
56:48 The core ideas in Till We Have Faces
59:45 The retelling of the myth of Cupid and Psyche
01:01:52 When truth is too much to bear
01:04:07 The recovery of humanity and the face of God
01:06:02 The value of myth and moving from the linear
01:09:30 Remaking or merely copying? A thought on Notre Dame
01:11:17 Emptying and the fullness of divine presence
01:12:58 Jane and Mark in the bridal chamber
01:15:35 When everything is the face of God

Jason is Professor and Director of Center for Beauty and Culture, Benedictine College. For more - www.jasonmbaxter.com
For more on Nicholas Colloff - https://ncolloff.blogspot.com
For more on Mark Vernon - www.markvernon.com