We're going to be charting the 2013 year at the January 10th meeting so make a copy of this list or pick eleven that you think would be the best and come and share them with us.
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Monday, December 17, 2012
Reading List for 2013 — Pick Eleven
We're going to be charting the 2013 year at the January 10th meeting so make a copy of this list or pick eleven that you think would be the best and come and share them with us.
Saturday, December 15, 2012
January 10th 2013 Our Book Is: Between Heaven & Hell
On November 22, 1963, three great men died within a few hours of each other: C.S. Lewis, John F. Kennedy, and Aldous Huxley. All three believed, in different ways, that death is not the end of human life. Suppose they were right, and suppose they met after death. How might the conversation go?
Peter Kreeft imagines their discourse as a modern Socratic dialog — a part of The Great Conversation that has been going on for centuries. Does human life have meaning? Is it possible to know about life after death? What if one could prove that Jesus Christ was God?
Combining logical argument and literary imagination, Kreeft portrays Lewis as a Christian theist, Kennedy as a modern humanist, and Huxley as an Eastern pantheist. Their interaction involves not only good thinking but good drama.
The December Party
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
November 8th "Descent Into Hell" By Charles Williams
1. What do you think of the novel in general?
2. How did you react to the changing realities in the neighborhood of Battle Hill?
3. How would you describe the roles of the various characters?
a) Peter Stanhope
b) Catherine Parry
c) Lawrence Wentworth
d) Adela Hunt
e) Hugh Prescott
f) Pauline Anstruther
g) Myrtle Fox
h) others
4. How to the chapter titles contribute to your understanding of the book?
5. Who descended into hell and why?
6. How does Peter Stanhope's agreement with Pauline work?
7. How did you understand the doppelgangers?
8. When all is said and done do you think Williams' novel "worked"?
Those are a few of the questions that popped into my head. If you have any of your own why don't you jot them down and bring them to the meeting. We'll also be talking about the December party which will be on the Friday December 14th at Elizabeth Fiero's house.
We'll talk about the party at the meeting. One of the things we'll do at the party is talk about the plans for next year. Currently the schedule looks like:
December 14: PARTY and Plotting the New Year
January 10, 2013: "Between Heaven and Hell: A Dialog Somewhere Beyond Death with John F. Kennedy, C. S. Lewis & Aldous Huxley" by Peter Kreeft with Peggy leading.
So give some thought to what you'd like to see happen next year. What should the mix be between reading books by C.S. Lewis, reading books by Inklings, reading books from the secondary literature? Are there other things we should be doing? Perhaps some members would like to give talks about things relating to Lewis and the Inkling. Bring your ideas.
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
November 8th We'll Discuss Charles Williams' Descent Into Hell
Lewis wrote an admiring letter to Charles Williams on March 11th, 1936 about his book Place of the Lion, and almost at the same time, Williams wrote Lewis an admiring letter about the Allegory of Love. Lewis invited Williams to come to Inklings meetings. On September 23rd, 1937 Lewis wrote Williams about Descent Into Hell and said of it: "I think this is much the best book you have given us yet."
During World War II Williams, who was an employee of the Oxford University Press in London, came to Oxford to be safe from the nightly German attacks on London. He became an active member of the Inklings and a close friend of C.S. Lewis. When Williams died on May 15th, 1945 his death cast a spell on C.S. Lewis which is reflected in many of his letters written shortly after Williams' death. He found his belief in immortality bolstered and sensed the presence of Williams everywhere for some time.
On November 8th the C.S. Lewis Society of Harrisonburg will meet to discuss Descent Into Hell. The meeting will be at 7:30 p.m. at the Harrisonburg Barnes and Noble and our discussion leader will be Melissa.
Members of the society often meet for a light dinner at Panera's shortly after six p.m. on the day of the meeting. If you drop in at Panera's you'll likely be able to tell who the Lewisians are ... and if not just ask and you'll find us.
Friday, September 14, 2012
October 11th — The Last Battle
Members of the society often meet for a light dinner at Panera's shortly after six p.m. on the day of the meeting. If you drop in at Panera's you'll likely be able to tell who the Lewisians are ... and if not just ask and you'll find us.
Discussion Questions for "The Last Battle"
1. Do you see specific parallels between events in the LB and eschatology as described in the Christian Scriptures?
2. Which characters do you relate with and why?
3. Who are the dwarfs?
4. Do you agree or disagree with the judgments executed upon the characters in the LB?
5. Why does Lewis include all the CN characters in this volume (except Susan, of course)?
6. Aslan permits Emeth into the new Narnia. What does this imply or mean?
7. Is the new Narnia attractive or not? Why or why not?
8. Puzzle and the Shift live out in an isolated place. Would Shift have had
that degree of power if they had not been isolated? This one is totally
out from left field---is Lewis saying anything about isolation and
community, and the dangers of each?
9. I was thinking about the ending to the Lord of the Rings and the ending to
this. Both stories have an ending of an age/era/world but they are very
different. Do you get the same feeling about the elves ending their
sojourn and leaving Middle Earth as you do about, basically all the good
guys dying off in this world, as well as the loss of the old Narnia?
If you want to receive emails about the meetings and get the discussion questions by email just send a quick note with your email address and name to rschneid@bridgewater.edu
Sunday, August 12, 2012
September 13th is Chesterton's Father Brown
Join us in September by reading the Father Brown story "The Chief Mourner of Marne" which can be found HERE. It is a quick and enjoyable read. If you do enjoy it you might consider getting one of the Father Brown complete collections which will provide much more enjoyment.
Monday, August 6, 2012
August 9th Discussion Questions
Friday, July 27, 2012
Sunday, July 15, 2012
The Chronicles of Narnia and Philosophy — Our Book for August 9th
The four sections of the book are:
Part I: Farewell to Shadowlands: Believing, Doubting, and Knowing
Part II: The Tao in Narnia: Morality and the Good Life
Part III: Further Up and Further In; Exploring the Deeper Nature of Reality, and
Part IV: The Deepest Magic: Religion and the Transcendent
You can pick up the book from Barnes and Noble (SEE HERE) or Amazon (SEE HERE)
The C.S. Lewis Society of Harrisonburg meets on the second Thursday of each month at 7:30 p.m. at the Barnes and Noble in Harrisonburg at a little reading nook set up by the philosophy books just outside the DVD section of the story. You don't have to have read the book to join in the discussion but of course it helps. Everyone that is interested in C.S. Lewis and his friends, the Inkings, is very welcome.
Saturday, June 16, 2012
At the Back of the North Wind— for July 12th
Lewis describes the impact that MacDonald's book Phantastes had on him in his autobiography, Surprised by Joy. Lewis acknowledged his debt in MacDonald in many ways. For example he edited an anthology of quotations from MacDonald. (George MacDonald An Anthology)
The C.S. Lewis Society of Harrisonburg meets the second Thursday of each month at the Harrisonburg Barnes and Noble at 7:30 p.m. The meetings run no longer than an hour and a half.
Our discussion leader for the July meeting will be Elizabeth. Some people coming to the meeting have a light dinner or a snack at Panera's a bit after six on the evening of the meetings. If you wish to get emails reminding you of the meetings and sending around the discussion questions ahead of time then just send an email to schneirj@comcast.net.
Discussion Questions Below:
At the Back of the North Wind by George MacDonald
In Greek mythology, the Hyperboreans were a mythical people who lived far to the north of Thrace. The Greeks thought that Boreas, the North Wind, lived in Thrace; therefore, Hyperborea was “back of the north wind” It was considered a perfect land with the sun shinning twenty-four hours a day. Herodotus is the earliest source that mentions Hyperborea in detail. Other works also refer to Hyperborea. Hyperborea was identified with Britain as early as the 4th century B.C. Both Greeks and Romans claimed Hyperborea was a land of complete happiness.
Questions: There are so many dimensions to this book we may want to start with
#7
1. When reading this I kept thinking of the theme “Things are not always what they seem”.
What did you consider the theme of this book and why?
2. North Wind says she has many names, (Chapter 36) like Bad Fortune, Evil Chance, or
Ruin. What other names do you think would fit her or show her real nature?
3. What do you think is the purpose of the visits of the North Wind in the first part of
the book? Why does the North Wind visit very little in the second part of the book?
4. In chapter 36 Diamond Questions North Wind, Diamond asks North Wind an important
question: How am I to know that you (and all experiences connected with you) are not a
dream?
What do you think North Wind is trying to say in her responses?
5. Dreams are very important. What role do they play in the book and in our lives? Do you
think that MacDonald is just talking about the dreams we have when we are asleep? What do
you think of Nanny’s dream?
6. Trust, truth and honesty are the values “back of the North Wind”. What happens when
Diamond lives out these values in the “real” world?
7. What in the book spoke to you?
Saturday, May 19, 2012
The Abolition of Man — Is Our Book for the June 14th Meeting
The last novel in the Space Trilogy, That Hideous Strength, Lewis described as the fictional form of the ideas he presents in The Abolition of Man. So it is appropriate to treat the two works back to back on succeeding monthly meetings.
The Abolition of Man focuses on the universality of values and takes on the modern moral relativism of our times. We will be meeting to discuss it on the second Thursday in June, June 14th at 7:30 p.m. in the Barnes and Noble in Harrisonburg. Ray will be our discussion leader. After that in July, on July 12th we'll meet to discuss At the Back of the North Wind, a work by George MacDonald whom C.S. Lewis described as "... his master." Please come and join us. If you wish to be added to our mailing list you can send a request to Ray Schneider schneirj@comcast.net.
Discussion Questions on The Abolition of Man
Introduction: “The Green Book” by “Gaius and Titius” which C.S. Lewis criticizes in The Abolition of Man are pseudonyms for The Control of Language: A Critical Approach to Reading and Writing (1939) and its authors Alex King and Martin Ketley. The Green book was used as a text for upper form students in British schools.
Professor Peter Kreeft of the University of Boston, in a lecture on Walker Percy lists The Abolition of Man as one of five "books to read to save Western Civilization," alongside Lost in the Cosmos by Walker Percy, Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis, The Everlasting Man by G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton, and Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. (paraphrase from Wikipedia)
TAOM was first delivered at the University of Durham in February 1943 as a series of three lectures. The book which emerged from the lectures is divided into three sections: 1) Men Without Chests, 2) The Way, and 3) The Abolition of Man and an Appendix which illustrates what Lewis means by the Tao, a term he uses to capture the universality of values across time and culture.
Questions:
I. Men Without Chests
1. Why is Lewis against the ideas expressed in the Green Book? If you agree, why? If you
disagree, why? Why does Lewis call it a pons asinorum? (15)
2. What is "the advertisement" and why does Lewis criticize Titius and Gaius for their
treatment of it? How does Lewis suggest they should have proceeded? ((17-18)
3. Is Lewis engaging the modern world when he suggests that Gaius and Titius are "cutting
out the soul" of young people when they are still too young to chose for themselves? (20)
4. Lewis speaks of the pressing educational need of the moment and contrasts it with what
Gaius and Titius are doing? What do you think of the two suggested points of view? (24)
5. How did you react to Lewis's description of The Tao? (29)
6. Lewis suggests that the effect of the Green Book will be to produce Men Without Chests?
Why does he say this? What is the proper action if the Green Book is wrong? (34)
My favorite quote: "We make men without chests and expect of them virtue and
enterprise. We laugh at honour and are shocked to find traitors in our midst. We
castrate and bid the geldings be fruitful."
II. The Way
7. "The practical result of education in the spirit of The Green Book must be the
destruction of the society which accepts it." This sentence leads off the second section
of TAOM. Do you agree with Lewis? What does he mean? What does he offer as the proper
form of education? (39) What values do Gaius and Titius hold? (40)
8. "The Innovator is trying to get a conclusion in the imperative mood out of premises in
the indicative mood: and though he continues trying to all eternity he cannot succeed."
(43-44) This poses the problem of where do we get the ought in our values?
9. Does substituting "instinct" for the Tao help or hurt the search for the source of
values? (45-47)
10. "If nothing is self-evident, nothing can be proved. Similarly, if nothing is
obligatory for its own sake, nothing is obligatory at all." (53) Do you agree with Lewis
that we cannot use instinct to justify values? All oughts are slipped in by a hidden
appeal to the Tao. Does Lewis demonstrate these propositions convincingly? Illustrate.
(53-57)
11. Different kinds of criticism from within and from without. Lewis says that the Tao
can be modified from within but not from without. "This is why Aristotle said that only
those who have been well brought up can usefully study ethics: to the corrupted man, the
man who stands outside the Tao, the very starting point of this science is invisible."
Does Lewis make the case successfully? (59-60)
Favorite quote: "Outside the Tao there is no ground for criticizing either the Tao
or anything else."
III. The Abolition of Man
12. "Man's Conquest of Nature" is a category mistake. "What we call Man's power is, in
reality, a power possessed by some men which they may, or may not, allow other men to
profit by." How does Lewis making this point affect the rhetoric surrounding the concept?
(67-68)
13. Lewis makes much of the influence of time, earlier generations exercising power over
later ones. He uses eugenics as an example. What do you think about Lewis's emphasis on
this power of some men over the rest? (70-71)
14. Lewis characterizes this phase as not a good thing or a bad thing, only a final thing.
Do you agree that this has to be final? "But the man-moulders of the new age will be
armed with the powers of an omnicompetent state and an irresistible scientific technique:
we shall get at last a race of conditioners who really can cut out all posterity in what
shape they please." (73)
15. Lewis sees the conditioners creating an artificial Tao and ultimately not being bound
by the conscience they create. The conditioned continue to operate within the
manufactured Tao which the conditioners stand outside of. Do you see any tendency towards
this state that Lewis predicts? (75-77)
16. "sic volo, sic jubeo" (I want this, I order this.) Man's final conquest is the
abolition of man. The men under the rule of the conditioners are not "... necessarily
unhappy men. They are not men at all: they are artefacts." Lewis sees the final triumph
of the conditioners as a hollow victory since it has destroyed man making of him simply an
artifact like any other construct. What factors in current society do you think are
moving in that direction? What factors are resisting that movement? (77)
17. "Man's conquest of Nature turns out, in the moment of its consummation, to be Nature's
conquest of Man." "Ferum victorem cepit" (captured her savage conqueror) ends
Lewis's dystopian vision of man's ultimate surrender to the conditioners and hence
ultimately to base nature. This is a case of unintended consequences. Such consequences
often attend policies which begin with the best of intentions. From what aspect of the
human psyche do such things stem? Is there a way to keep the good and eliminate the bad?
How? (80-82)
18. Lear, Bacon, and Faust are all invoked as Lewis explores the deification of knowledge
and the uncomfortable truce between magic and science. He confesses that he has not
solution to the problem – "But if the scientists themselves cannot arrest this process
before it reaches the common Reason and kills that too, then someone else must arrest it."
How do you think this can be achieved? (90)
Quotation: "A dogmatic belief in objective value is necessary to the very idea of a
rule which is not tyranny or an obedience which is not slavery." (84-85)
Friday, May 4, 2012
Introduction and Discussion Questions for our May 10th Meeting
That Hideous Strength
INTRODUCTION: “Tidies and fuglemen…………I sheel foor that we all – er- most steeply rebut……..Vood wooloo…Bot are you blammit?........Bundlemen, bundlemen……..Eh? Blotcher bulldoo?” I couldn’t resist beginning with some of the results of the curse of Babel on those esteemed masters of bureaucratic bull do-do, the leaders of NICE. (National Institute for Coordinated Experiments, ostensibly applied science for the greater good of all, but actually a front for sinister supernatural forces, the Macrobes.)That Hideous Strength (THS), published in 1945, is the third and longest, book in CS Lewis’s space trilogy. Unlike Out of the Silent Planet and Perelandra, all the action takes place on planet earth. This time Ransom stays home and the planetary beings visit him- and also Merlin. As described by the author, THS is a modern fairy-tale for grown-ups. In the preface, he writes:”This is a tall story” about devilry, though it has behind it a serious ‘point’ which I have tried to make in my Abolition of Man…the outer rim of that devilry had to be shown touching the life of some ordinary profession. I selected my own profession, not….because I think fellows of colleges more likely to be corrupted than anyone else, but because my own is the only profession I know well enough to write about.”
Lewis credits conversations with a scientific colleague for sparking one of the central ideas of the tale. This inspiration was later enhanced by the works of Olaf Stapledon. Lewis said that he admired Stapledon’s invention, though not his philosophy. The influence of Lewis’ friend, Charles Williams, is also evident- especially in the Arthurian elements.
Note: The first-time reader of THS may feel overwhelmed by the numerous elements and characters as well as the frequent back and forth from the two main characters and two main settings. Wikipedia has an 8 page article on THS which provides plot summary, context in Space Trilogy, and brief descriptions of the characters. Although I have read THS several times, I still found this helpful, despite a few minor errors.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. One of the main points in The Abolition of Man is that modern education and philosophy tend to create “men without chests”, or people lacking in discernment, loyalty, the ability to distinguish between good/bad; straight/crooked; right/wrong, etc.; not having the courage of their convictions, nor even any fixed convictions. The story line in THS alternates between the different paths of Mark and Jane Studdock, who have had thoroughly modern educations and pride themselves on being progressive. In what ways do Mark and Jane illustrate the idea of “men without chests?”
2. THS has remained in print since its first publication (1945) and has many devotees who re-read it regularly, finding something new and thought-provoking in it each time. Others, like George Orwell (author of another modern classic, 1984), have found much to like in THS, and much to dislike. Below are some excerpts from a variety of reviews. Which statements would you endorse?
“a morality tale about the dangers of unchecked ambition, a modern day Tower of Babel, a warning that totalitarianism can take many forms….rather than a seamless whole …more the quality of patchwork…maybe it’s not great literature, but – I really liked it.
[it has] shrewdness about human nature and human institutions…and a wicked sense of humor.”
“ a clever attack on moral relativism.”
“I do find the whole Arthur and Merlin thing a rather disappointing way to end it.”
“quite different from the first two books, both better and worse … more down to earth in the two main characters and presents the temptation of Mark ….believably.”
“more timely today than when the book was published….a thrilling story that I enjoy more each time”
“the action is contrived, the characters one-dimensional, and the tone didactic”
“a realistic description of what eventually happens when people make technology their lord”
“Lewis at his satirical best- an uppercut landed to the jaw of secular, anti-family, “post-Christian” society”
“too many words, Clive, too many words”
3. “Matrimony” is the first word in THS, as Jane Studdock contemplates her own marriage- expectations, disappointments, frustrations. THS ends with Jane walking toward the lodge where her husband Mark waits for her. In between there is much talk about marriage and gender roles, hierarchy, duties, promises, obedience. What is your reaction to the “old-fashioned ideas” of the Director (Ransom/ Mr. Fisher-King) and his Masters? How does Jane react? Why did Jane, an avowed feminist, choose the poetry of John Donne as the subject of her thesis? (see Donne quote beginning ‘Hope not for minde in women…”p. 16)
4. Mark and Jane do eventually end up in the same place (at least for the night) after parallel, but quite different, journeys. In what ways do each of them under-go re-education? Is there genuine transformation and/or redemption?
5. What makes Mark so vulnerable to the lure of “that hideous strength?” How does he over-ride his own misgivings and fears? In contrast, Jane is initially repulsed by her own non-returnable “gift” of vision and the invitation to join the group (or company) at St. Anne’s. (p. 61-68, 112-17) What finally draws her in?
6. What leads Mark to try to escape from Belbury? (page 259 on)What happens next? What leads him to finally, irrevocably, rebel? What form does his rebellion take? What role does the tramp play in this? (page 259 on, especially 311-14)
7. One might say that Mark and Jane, for much of the book, inhabit different worlds. Mark is drawn into the inner circle of NICE, located at Belbury. Jane is drawn into the smaller and much nicer circle located at St. Anne’s. What are the differences between the two worlds (Belbury and St. Anne’s) in the following areas: (a) methods of maintaining order and securing obedience (b) ambiance / atmosphere (c)gardens (pages 61-62; 101-02) (d)leadership (e) view of death (p. 229-30, 233; for Filostrato’s extreme views,p. 174)) (f)the rooms in which new members are initiated (p. 142; 296-299) (g) clarity vs. confusion (h) honesty vs. dishonesty (i) free, informed choice vs. coercion
8. The tramp (whose clothes Merlin took) is presumed by the leaders of NICE at Belbury to be the real Merlin, fresh from Arthurian times after a LONG sleep. Why is Wither (the DD) so puzzled by the tramp? (p. 313-14) What is the tramp’s reaction to the Banquet at Belbury? (p. 343-45) Why does the real Merlin join forces with the group at St. Anne’s?
9. Ransom, the hero of the first two books in the trilogy, plays a smaller role in THS. Why is he also called Mr. Fisher-King or the Pendragon? What is Logres?
10. If one could ever pin down the leaders of NICE to definitions, how would they define: progressive element; diehards; sound men; experiment vs. experimental; red tape; remedial treatment; elasticity.
11. Do you have a favorite quote from THS? Favorite character? Favorite scene?
Friday, April 13, 2012
"That Hideous Strength" Is Our Book for May 10th
This volume of the Space Trilogy illustrates the point of Lewis's non-fiction work, The Abolition of Man. Come and join us at the Harrisonburg Barnes and Noble on the second Thursday of May at 7:30 p.m. and we'll be discussing this remarkable book.
Then in June we'll be reading The Abolition of Man with That Hideous Strength still fresh in our minds and we'll hopefully be able to get insight into what was troubling C.S. Lewis about our modern society. Our schedule for the rest of the year is given below. (There may be changes in the schedule. In particular we are considering changing the book for July to one of George MacDonald's novels, so stay tuned.)
Schedule for the Remainder of the Year