ABSTRACT
The themes of C. S. Lewis's The Abolition of Man include philosophy, morality, and education. Lewis was particularly concerned with the philosophical ideas that were popular in Britain in the 1940s. Lewis looks back centuries, even millennia, to major thinkers and ideas from many past cultures, taking in Ancient Greek philosophy, Hinduism, Christianity, mythology, and English poetry. The Abolition of Man reflects Lewis's love of ancient tradition and myth and his belief that human understanding is not a matter of scientific analysis but one of universal morality-that is, the idea that there is a natural law defined by constant, universal moral principles, which must be followed if we are to make good moral judgments. For Lewis, this is a belief that is present in a number of ancient religions, schools of thought and traditions, including the ancient Chinese practice and philosophy of Taoism, and the philosophies of Aristotle and Plato.
