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The Abolition Of Man Lewis Analysis

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Currently, the world faces many problems involving education. Including, expensive college tuition, lack of math and science but more importantly unequal global education. For example, women in the Middle East have minimal education and the enormous lack of modern education in third world countries. But in his novel The Abolition of Man C.S. Lewis points out that our modern education system is not flawless. Lewis presents an argument about how the modern education is inferior to the postmodern education. The Abolition of Man by C.S. Lewis successfully employs rhetoric to prove that the Tao is no longer a part of modern education which is leading to the abolition of human nature. In the novel Lewis argues that modern education is no longer …show more content…

He believes that not teaching the Tao causes individuals to base their lives on instinct and work rather than the Tao. This creates Men without Chests. Lewis describes Men without Chests as losing your heart and humanity. As a society, students learn to depend on their instinct and intelligence rather than the Tao. Lewis describes this as “In a sort of ghastly simplicity we remove the organ and demand the function. We make men without chests and expect of them virtue and enterprise.” (26). Simply put, society still expect citizens to distinguish right from wrong, despite not teaching students the Tao. Since intellects are not teaching the Tao, students do not contemplate the actual truth that is the Tao. Therefore they do not know to base their life on morals and emotion. Instead our education conditions us to live our life according to our instinct and own beliefs. No longer are we emotional beings, but rather animals of reason and instinct. Thankfully, Lewis provides a solution to the problem. As a society we need to reestablish the educational system to include teaching the Tao. If education includes the Tao, once again students will follow the Tao as it was in postmodern education. If citizens follow the Tao then Men without Chests will not exist. Meaning that society will once again have citizens basing their lives around the …show more content…

Also, I agree that the modern tendency to base our lives on knowledge and instinct is leading society away from heart and humanity. Unfortunately, I find his argument slightly offensive. His argument causes me to feel that my education is useless because I do not study the Tao. And I am hopeful that my student debt is not accumulating for nothing. Lewis should be careful as to not offend his readers who are individuals in the modern education system. These people most likely read his book and can change the system, so he should provide a positive observation too. More importantly, larger educational problems exist in the world. For example, in the Middle East women still do not receive a decent education by any standards. And in poverty stricken countries, countless illiterate children never step inside a classroom. Why should the world care about perfecting the modern education system if the whole world in does not have access to modern education? The Tao centers around common morals found around the world, but global access to modern education is not universal. If access to modern education is not worldwide then is the not learning the Tao actually our biggest problem in

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