Latest / The Grammar of Classical Education / Week 146: The Way: Examining What’s Underneath | The Abolition of Man #6

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Week 146: The Way: Examining What’s Underneath | The Abolition of Man #6 · The Grammar of Classical Education

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SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the Grammar of Classical Education,
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SPEAKER_00: a podcast that examines the philosophical foundations of classical education,
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SPEAKER_00: and then seeks to help classically minded educators bring those ideas to life
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SPEAKER_00: in their classroom, co-op, or homeschool settings.
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SPEAKER_00: I'm your host,
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SPEAKER_00: Dr. Darlene Gomes, from Leading to Wonder, and I am so glad you've joined us today.
0:37
SPEAKER_00: Welcome back, or welcome if you're joining us for the first time.
0:42
SPEAKER_00: I'm so glad you're here.
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SPEAKER_00: I hope that you have your water wings on as we are getting ready to jump into
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SPEAKER_00: the deep end right off the bat.
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SPEAKER_00: If you're new here,
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SPEAKER_00: I'm really glad you've joined us,
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SPEAKER_00: but I would probably recommend going back a few episodes to get yourself acclimated
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SPEAKER_00: to the water.
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SPEAKER_00: The first episode of The Abolition of Man is a great place to start.
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SPEAKER_00: Wade in and join us there and you'll be ready for Chapter 2 in The Deep End.
1:21
SPEAKER_00: For those of you who were with us last week, Wow, that was a pretty rough start.
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SPEAKER_00: You know I've said many times that the abolition of man is not for the faint of heart.
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SPEAKER_00: It's actually quite shocking to remember that this Lewis,
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SPEAKER_00: the one for whom we've had to read the same paragraph three or four times,
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SPEAKER_00: is the same Lewis that crafted the entire world of Narnia,
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SPEAKER_00: And look at us, willing to traverse that span together.
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SPEAKER_00: I say together because I too am trudging through some of his ideas.
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SPEAKER_00: In another moment of honesty,
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SPEAKER_00: I have to say this section is getting easier after multiple readings and listenings
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SPEAKER_00: and slogging.
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SPEAKER_00: It may sound funny,
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SPEAKER_00: but I think it actually really helped when I would read a few paragraphs out loud
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SPEAKER_00: and then try to describe them to myself.
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SPEAKER_00: I'm glad no one was around,
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SPEAKER_00: but it really helped to read just a bit and try to put it into my own words.
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SPEAKER_00: You should give it a try.
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SPEAKER_00: It goes slower, but the understanding seems to stick a little better.
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SPEAKER_00: Now, you may remember last week,
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SPEAKER_00: Lewis started out Chapter 2 with the idea that if we follow Gaius and Titius
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SPEAKER_00: to their end conclusion,
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SPEAKER_00: we are setting ourselves up to be demolished as a human race.
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SPEAKER_00: Hence, the abolition of man, the ending, the elimination of man.
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SPEAKER_00: This week, we are jumping into the first two propositions Lewis presents in this chapter.
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SPEAKER_00: Again, many thanks to the C.S.
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SPEAKER_00: Lewis Institute's series on the abolition of man.
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SPEAKER_00: Brian Holland's lectures have been an excellent resource and really have served as
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SPEAKER_00: a great jumping off point.
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SPEAKER_00: That being said, water wings attached, let's jump into the deep end together.
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SPEAKER_00: So the first proposition that Lewis makes is that the authors of the Green Book,
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SPEAKER_00: Gaius and Tydeus,
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SPEAKER_00: in their book appear to be saying that Moral values are very subjective and have
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SPEAKER_00: to be seen,
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SPEAKER_00: therefore,
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SPEAKER_00: as personal preferences, which are really kind of leaning toward relativism.
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SPEAKER_00: And because they're all relative, they're all acceptable as the individual's preference.
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SPEAKER_00: One value or tradition or moral stand is not better than another.
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SPEAKER_00: But by the mere fact that they have written a book that presents that idea shows
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SPEAKER_00: that they believe that there is a best way to establish a moral value.
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SPEAKER_00: And that is by not establishing it.
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SPEAKER_00: Making moral values relative.
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SPEAKER_00: Let that sink in for a second.
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SPEAKER_00: By Gaius and Titius saying that moral value rests in the hands of the observer,
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SPEAKER_00: they are saying that the best assessment of everything is done through man's view.
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SPEAKER_00: Man is indeed the measure of all things.
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SPEAKER_00: So is that really being subjective in how to view value?
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SPEAKER_00: They've picked the way it should be viewed.
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SPEAKER_00: Their way is the best way.
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SPEAKER_00: Again, it might be a little hard to grasp, but when it hits you, it makes perfect sense.
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SPEAKER_00: The overarching objective truth is either based on man's view or on the Tao,
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SPEAKER_00: the way, as Lewis refers to it in this book.
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SPEAKER_00: Gaius and Titius are saying there is no objective truth.
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SPEAKER_00: Is actually them saying our view?
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SPEAKER_00: Now Lewis takes time to point out this major flaw in their philosophy.
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SPEAKER_00: And it made me kind of giggle to think of it this way,
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SPEAKER_00: but it also made it a little more visual and thus a little more understandable,
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SPEAKER_00: at least to me.
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SPEAKER_00: Everyone is familiar with a Tootsie Pop.
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SPEAKER_00: At least, I hope everyone is.
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SPEAKER_00: If you're not, you can probably run to your local Target or grocery store and find them there.
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SPEAKER_00: Well, a Tootsie Pop on the outside looks like a plain lollipop.
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SPEAKER_00: Unwrapped,
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SPEAKER_00: it may even be a bit challenging to distinguish between the Tootsie Pop and
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SPEAKER_00: a regular lollipop.
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SPEAKER_00: But...
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SPEAKER_00: The more you lick away at the Tootsie Pop,
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SPEAKER_00: you will find that you eventually reach the Tootsie Roll Center.
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SPEAKER_00: The Green Book,
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SPEAKER_00: a la Gaius and Titius,
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SPEAKER_00: are presenting this very strong and sweet presentation of subjective value
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SPEAKER_00: or relativism,
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SPEAKER_00: But when you consider it deeply enough,
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SPEAKER_00: when you lick the Tootsie Pop long enough,
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SPEAKER_00: you will get to their real view, like you eventually get to the Tootsie Roll Center.
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SPEAKER_00: And believe me, their real view is not nearly as sweet.
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SPEAKER_00: But they don't want you to spend too much time considering what they say because
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SPEAKER_00: when you do, you see the center faster.
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SPEAKER_00: And in his second proposition, Lewis doesn't just take a few extra licks.
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SPEAKER_00: He takes a sizable chunk out of their outer shell.
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SPEAKER_00: A much more serious view of it was presented by Brian Holland of the C.S.
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SPEAKER_00: Lewis Institute when he said Lewis's second proposition is,
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SPEAKER_00: quote, reason is value laden, end quote.
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SPEAKER_00: Or in everyday terms,
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SPEAKER_00: there is a distinct connection between reason and Facts and Values,
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SPEAKER_00: specifically objective moral values,
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SPEAKER_00: which remember is represented by the Tao or the Way.
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SPEAKER_00: Lewis demonstrates this connection and takes a bite out of the idea of Gaius
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SPEAKER_00: and Titius by presenting an argument that would have been very up close and personal
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SPEAKER_00: to his audience in 1943.
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SPEAKER_00: World War II had been going on for almost four years and
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SPEAKER_00: And I am sure his entire audience had heard of or even experienced personally
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SPEAKER_00: the loss of life that comes with war.
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SPEAKER_00: Lewis brings this connection between reason and morality and thus a connection
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SPEAKER_00: to objective values right to the doorstep of the war.
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SPEAKER_00: In fact, Lewis calls this the Experimentum Crucius, if I'm saying that correctly.
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SPEAKER_00: Of course, I had absolutely no idea what that meant.
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SPEAKER_00: And Lewis obviously knows his audience does and probably assumes his readers do too.
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SPEAKER_00: So off I went to research what an Experimentum Crucius actually was.
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SPEAKER_00: I could only assume it had something to do with an experiment and the crux or a tipping point.
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SPEAKER_00: Yay for identifying Latin roots.
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SPEAKER_00: Let's take a little scientific jaunt to better understand the importance
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SPEAKER_00: of Lewis's proposition before we look at what he actually said.
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SPEAKER_00: Once you understand this part, it makes the proposition itself somewhat easier to grasp.
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SPEAKER_00: An experimental crucius,
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SPEAKER_00: or critical crucial experiment,
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SPEAKER_00: dates back to Francis Bacon under a slightly different term.
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SPEAKER_00: It was actually an experiment that would be done to prove once and for all
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SPEAKER_00: that one theory is correct and all the others are wrong.
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SPEAKER_00: The experimentum crucius that might be easiest
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SPEAKER_00: to understand is Isaac Newton's experiment with light.
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SPEAKER_00: Newton's theory was that white light was made up of various colors and
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SPEAKER_00: a prism was able to separate out those colors.
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SPEAKER_00: The other main theory of the time was that white light was just white and
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SPEAKER_00: the prism actually changes the light into colors.
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SPEAKER_00: So Newton performed the Experimentum Crucius by shining light from a small hole in
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SPEAKER_00: a window shutter through a prism,
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SPEAKER_00: was able to see all the colors coming out,
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SPEAKER_00: and then isolated one color through another prism,
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SPEAKER_00: which should have changed the color or made it white if the prism was doing anything
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SPEAKER_00: to the light.
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SPEAKER_00: However, The red light that went into the prism came out red.
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SPEAKER_00: The prism wasn't changing anything.
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SPEAKER_00: Thus, it could be determined that white light is actually comprised of many colors.
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SPEAKER_00: So, after that little scientific foray back to the abolition of man,
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SPEAKER_00: Lewis uses the idea of death for a good cause as his experimentum crucius.
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SPEAKER_00: It is a very vivid way of showing the reality of objective moral value and
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SPEAKER_00: the reason-morality connection.
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SPEAKER_00: The question can be asked, why is someone willing to die for their country?
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SPEAKER_00: Is it truly logical or rational to do so?
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SPEAKER_00: As Lewis points out, it may be said that it is for the good of the country.
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SPEAKER_00: But self-preservation kicking in would make man say, But is it good for me?
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SPEAKER_00: And some may even say, why is it that I have to be the one to die?
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SPEAKER_00: Why not someone else?
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SPEAKER_00: You see,
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SPEAKER_00: it comes down to the fact that our morality and our reason have to work under
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SPEAKER_00: an objective moral value.
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SPEAKER_00: You can't have reason without morality or morality without reason and both have
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SPEAKER_00: to work under the Tao, an objective moral value outside of man.
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SPEAKER_00: According to Gaius and Titius,
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SPEAKER_00: the action of Nazi aggression does not lead
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SPEAKER_00: to young men willingly sacrificing their lives.
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SPEAKER_00: There is the, is it good for me?
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SPEAKER_00: Why not someone else?
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SPEAKER_00: But...
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SPEAKER_00: When we realize that there is something outside of ourselves
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SPEAKER_00: that establishes our objective moral values, we see the rationality.
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SPEAKER_00: We see the reason why today young men and young women sacrifice their time,
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SPEAKER_00: energy, and even their lives to protect our freedom.
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SPEAKER_00: But it's not just in the big things.
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SPEAKER_00: Under the objective moral values,
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SPEAKER_00: we see the reason why it is good to spend time with our children just as a family.
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SPEAKER_00: We see the reason why we sacrifice our time to worship on Sundays.
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SPEAKER_00: Internal logic may not see the reason.
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SPEAKER_00: But objective values gives us a basis from which to determine what is actually good.
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SPEAKER_00: Reasoning based on facts alone without judgment of value can often lead us very awry.
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SPEAKER_00: So what do Gaius and Titius and those followers of the Green Book feel will lead man correctly?
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SPEAKER_00: Lewis is going to get into that in his next proposition,
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SPEAKER_00: which we'll cover next week as I hope we'll finish chapter 2.
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SPEAKER_00: But I want to tell you now,
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SPEAKER_00: just so it will give you a good perspective as you continue to read
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SPEAKER_00: through chapter 2 for next week,
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SPEAKER_00: those of Gaius and Tidius' ilk will say
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SPEAKER_00: that man is Can just let his instinct guide him.
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SPEAKER_00: Yep.
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SPEAKER_00: Let's rely on human instinct.
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SPEAKER_00: That should work out just fine.
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SPEAKER_00: The inner impulses of a fallen, sin-filled man most definitely is not going to be a good guide.
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SPEAKER_00: I'm sure we can all agree on that, but more on that from Lewis next week.
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SPEAKER_00: Until then, keep slogging your way through chapter 2.
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SPEAKER_00: If you're listening to it, just one or two listens through the week can really help.
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SPEAKER_00: If you're reading it, again, just a few pages a day.
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SPEAKER_00: Remember, you are indeed doing the hard stuff.
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SPEAKER_00: Yes, it is called the hard stuff because it isn't easy.
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SPEAKER_00: It's hard.
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SPEAKER_00: It requires rigor.
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SPEAKER_00: But not rigor for rigor's sake.
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SPEAKER_00: But rather rigor because the best teachers are continual students.
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SPEAKER_00: Even if they're just learning one little slogging step at a time.
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SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much for joining us today.
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SPEAKER_00: I trust that whatever your teaching situation,
18:41
SPEAKER_00: whether it's in a classroom or co-op or homeschooling,
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SPEAKER_00: that you have found these ideas not only encouraging, but challenging as well.
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SPEAKER_00: You can listen to all of the episodes of The Grammar of Classical Education
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SPEAKER_00: on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
19:03
SPEAKER_00: I also have available a weekly teacher's newsletter that includes some teacher tips
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SPEAKER_00: and freebies.
19:11
SPEAKER_00: You can sign up for that at the Leading to Wonder newsletter found at darlenegomes.substack.com.
19:21
SPEAKER_00: To learn more about me and Leading to Wonder, please visit the website leading2wonder.com.
19:29
SPEAKER_00: No spaces.
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SPEAKER_00: I encourage you to reach out if you have any questions or if you're interested in
19:38
SPEAKER_00: the virtual or in-person workshops that I offer for schools,
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SPEAKER_00: co-ops, homeschool educators, and parent groups.
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SPEAKER_00: Again, my name is Darlene Gomes and thank you for joining us.
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SPEAKER_00: Until next week, remember, as E.B.
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SPEAKER_00: White said, Always be on the lookout for the presence of wonder.