Drew Burkemper

Theology

C.S. Lewisí Mere Christianity on Human Nature

I.               The Law of Human Nature

a.     Law of Human Nature exists

b.     Law of Human Nature has applied to all men at all points in history

c.     No one is really keeping the Laws of Nature

d.     People cannot face this fact and, thus, try to shift the responsibility

II.             Some Objections

a.     Isnít Moral Law a herd instinct?

                                                     i.     Desires are different from feelings of what should and should not be done

                                                      ii.     Moral Law tells us to side with the weaker of our impulses

                                                        iii.     There are no such things as good and bad impulses

                                                       iv.     The most dangerous thing is take an impulse and set it up as the thing you must follow at all costs

b.     Isnít Moral Law a Social Convention?

                                                     i.     Moral ideas have differed over time, but the central ideas in them have remained the same

                                                      ii.     ìReal Moralityî exists because culture-specific moralities have been compared

III.           The Reality of the Law

a.     The Law of Human Nature tells what human beings ought to and ought not to do

b.     Decent behavior is not just behavior the benefits us

c.     Decent conduct is what pays the human race as a whole

d.     The Law of Human Nature is not man-made, but is pressing on each one of us

IV.           What Lies Behind the Law

a.     Views on beginnings of universe

                                                     i.     Materialist view

                                                      ii.     Religious view

b.     Science

                                                     i.     Watches how things behave and reports that

c.     Lewis discussing how his reasoning is far from involving God or Christianity

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aristotle, Lewis, Happiness, Human Rights, and the U.N.

The great philosopher Aristotle once said that there is one right plan for happiness that pertains to every person. In a more recent example, in 1948 the United Nations created and proclaimed a Universal Declaration on Human Rights. Some people question these bold statements, challenging that morality is subjective and cultural and should not be bounded by what one group believes is correct. C. S. Lewis offers an answer to this challenge in a portion of his book Mere Christianity.

            Lewis argues that there is a Law of Human Nature that governs all people and is the basis of all morality. Comparing several culture-specific moralities revealed that they have similar core values such as honor and courage. If these different moralities are separately founded, how are the similarities explained? One answer is the existence of a Real Morality. This Real Morality is the idea of what is the real Right. This Real Morality exists in everyone living and existed in all those who have ever lived. The Law of Human Nature stems from this as urges inside of each person. These urges tell each person what they ought to do and ought not to do. Following these urges leads a person towards decent conduct. Decent conduct is what pays the human race as a whole. If the whole human race is being paid, then happiness and safety are fostered in each personís life. Lewis concludes that there is a morality that governs all people. This allows for a declaration about what is right and wrong involving a human life in any culture and is also the path that must be followed to achieve happiness.