The Abolition of Man

C.S. Lewis’s Most Prophetic Work of Non-Fiction

“You do you.” “Live your truth.” “Be true to yourself.” These popular mantras would have horrified C.S. Lewis, who saw with remarkable clarity where such radical subjectivism would lead. In late February 1943, as World War II raged across Europe, Lewis traveled from Oxford to Durham to deliver what would become his most celebrated and prophetic work of non-fiction. Published as The Abolition of Man, his lectures offered a stark warning: Western civilization was abandoning its commitment to objective truth and moral value in favor of moral relativism. The consequences, Lewis argued, would be devastating.

Eighty years later, as we navigate bitter culture wars over sexual ethics, gender identity, racial friction, and much more, Lewis’s predictions have proven remarkably accurate. The Abolition of Man may be his most important contribution to Western thought precisely because it so insightfully dissects the philosophical contradictions responsible for our civilizational discord and decline.

To read the full essay at Anglican Compass, click here.