In the first excerpt from the text Mere Christianity, C.S Lewis makes an argument for the existence of a Law of Human Nature using deductive reasoning. Deductive reasoning begins with a broad statement and comes to a conclusion about an individual idea. In the excerpt given from chapter one, Lewis introduces the concept of law, the physical and biological laws humans cannot disobey which is a universal concept. He makes the claim that there is a law “peculiar to his human nature, the law he does not share with animals or vegetables or inorganic things,” and this law people can choose to disobey. In this quote, he is shifting from general laws to the idea of a law of Human Nature. He makes his opinion known when he states “they thought that the human idea of decent behavior was obvious to everyone. And I believe they were right.” Through deductive logic, Lewis allows the reader to contemplate these natural laws, which he uses as the basis to his argument for the existence of a Law of Nature. Moreover, through experience, Lewis claims that everyone has an idea as to what decent behavior looks like or should be. He replies to the objection that different civilizations have different moralities by asserting that they are actually more similar than …show more content…
Also, everyone is biased in some way and convincing the reader of the validity of one’s opinion(s) is hard per se. Logical persuasion needs to have ample and rational evidence to back up an idea, more than just experience. Lewis provides statements based on experience but I do not think it was enough. First, everyone perceives experience differently. Second, he gave too little examples that did not provide enough support for his argument. In order to persuade the reader, the author must give more than one or two sources with efficient support or examples and the argument must make
Authors and speakers alike use some type of persuasion on their intended audience. They often try to make you agree with their argument before considering other factors. Persuasive writing often has a copious amount of logical fallacies, defined by the Perdue Online Writing Lab as “errors in reasoning that will undermine the logic”, despite that they tend to have success with sympathetic audiences. Wendell Berry’s essay “The Whole Horse” is an example. Berry is likely to persuade his conservationist audience because of his use of emotive language.
What we see is not the truth, but rather our interpretation and distortion of the things we struggle to perceive, as our imagination fuses with our conception of reality. We conceptualize these omnipotent forces through our uses of symbols – to create an understandable world through abstractions – in order to explain what these forces are. [INTRODUCE CAPRA]
“Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it” (Lewis, “Mere Christianity”). C.S. Lewis, a renowned broadcaster, essayist, lecturer, novelist, theologian, and Christian apologist, used his writing to create a significant effect on the Christian movement. During his lifetime, Lewis went through an amazing transformation from an avid Atheist to a strong Christian, and dedicated his career to sharing the truths of Christianity in his writing. Lewis utilized Christian apologetics to explain and defend his views of Christianity, and made the idea of Christianity more accessible to
C.S. Lewis begins his book, “Mere Christianity”, by introducing the Law of Right and Wrong or the Laws of Nature. This, however, arises a question. What is the Law of Nature? The Law of Nature is the known difference between right and wrong. That is, mans distinction between what is right and what is wrong. “This law was called the Law of Nature because people thought that everyone knew it and did not need to be taught it”(18). Lewis relates the law to how we treat others. We treat others the way we want to be treated and if they treat us poorly in return we become agitated and annoyed with them. He states that we become a society of excuses when something goes wrong. He goes on to say that we want to behave in a certain way when in reality we do the opposite of what is right or what is wrong. We are humans and humans have primal instincts. We are all capable of using our instincts to do right or wrong. Lewis uses an example of a drowning man to prove this point. When one sees a man in trouble two desires or instincts kick into play, to save the man or ignore him because the situation at hand could endanger you. However, there in another impulse that says help the man. With this comes a conflict of instincts. Do you run and forget about it or do you jump in and help. Most people will help even if the situation is going to endanger their life. This is just one way of seeing moral law. The right in a situation will mostly always prevail over the wrong. “Men ought to be unselfish, ought to be fair. Not that men are selfish, nor that they like being unselfish, but they ought to be”(30). We are creatures of habit and logic. Lewis believes that the moral law is not taught to us rather known by us instinctively. He also believes that the law is real. The law is our behaviors in life via good or bad. Lewis states, “there is something above and beyond the ordinary facts of men’s behavior”(30). This opens Lewis to believe that the natural law is both alive and active in mans life today. Lewis goes on to say that the law must be something above mans behavior. He begins to relate this to the creation of the world.
I believe that in Lewis’s view people reject God because of the choices that they make, for some it is by their actions, others it is self-fulfillment, but for all it is their choice of how they interact with God. People reject God when they choose to remain separate from God instead of fully embracing a life with God. Lewis introduces us to many ghosts who make decisions resisting heaven and returning to hell. They get stuck in their decisions because they are lost, for one reason or another; they are unable to completely and fully accept God in their lives. They believe it is easier, “better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven.” (71 ) Lewis explains “There is always something they prefer to joy” (71). We are introduced
In chapter five, Lewis brings up sexual morality. First of we should talk about how the world makes sex. They makes sex seem as though it is only to please the body, but that is wrong. It is not bad to have pleasure when having sex but that is not all that is was made for. What sex is really for is to make children, not to pleasures your ever lust.
During a time of great tribulations, each colonist would be forced to chose a side. Their options were either to fight for their rights and freedom or stay loyal to the royal monarchy of Britain. Both sides had support from people of great power. Two men by the names of Thomas Paine and James Chalmers wrote to defend their position and influence others to do the same with pamphlets titled Common Sense and Plain Truth, respectively. After reading, re-reading and analyzing both of the documents, it is clear that each hold debatable arguments, however, when pinned against each other and set side by side, Common Sense holds more power and influence, whereas Plain Truth highlights greater intellectual and logical arguments.
Making a good and persuasive argument is very much an acquired skill. It requires much practice and perfecting. It takes more than just having passion and making good points. Just because a person is passionate about the topic or has supporting details does not mean they can make a successful argument. Much more thought and skill is required. Gordon Adams, in his letter to the Arizona State University standards committee, demonstrates this quite well. Gordon Adams writes a passionate argument, yet his argument lacks several critical aspects.
Have you ever wanted to free yourself from the terrors and troublesome times of modern society and escape to a magical place? Clive Staples Lewis, or C.S. Lewis as he is better known, created such a place, in his extremely popular children’s series The Chronicles of Narnia. In these books, Lewis has an underlying message about Christianity. He represents four key aspects of Christianity in this series: Christ and God, evil in the world, and faith.
1. Explain what Lewis means by the “Law of Nature” or the “Law of Human Nature.”
In the novel, Mere Christianity, by C.S. Lewis, he discusses the foundation to which all Christians stand on and believes in. He sets a goal to explain and defend the belief that has been common to all Christians from many generations by providing and constructing a theology based upon that very foundation. The novel consists of four different books: Right and wrong as a clue to the meaning of the universe, what Christians believe, Christian behavior, and beyond personality: or first steps in the doctrine of the trinity. He provides a gateway for those who believe and do not believe in Christ, so that they can still hear the powerful message and basis for the Christian faith.
I know that not everyone ever realizes this, but the moment when you realize how amazing it is to sit and read a book, to immerse yourself in a world other than your own, for the very first time is a truly magical moment. I remember when I was just starting kindergarten, and, having learned to read from my parents very early on, starting to read chapter books all by myself. While my brother and his friend were in the pool in the summer, I would take one of CS Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia books from my brothers collection, which I remember as a vast, overwhelming utopia of books, but in reality was just a couple shelves with a few books in it, and sit and read. Did I understand Lewis’s deep Christian allegory and symbolism at the time? Of course not. But that didn’t keep me from loving a story about four children not much older than myself becoming kings and queens. I was a reader.
The rise of Christianity in western civilization is arguably among the most important memories in history. There is no denying what the spread of Christianity has done for the world, for better or worse. Its impact on western civilizations is unrivaled and unprecedented. Christianity slowly became something for many individuals to turn to; in times of hurt its provided comfort, in times of pleasure it has given thanks. The will and belief for salvation has driven individuals to be better, and to have a reference while in need. The rise of Christianity more than 2000 years ago provided necessary building blocks for the future. Without Christianity there would be no cathedrals, no monasteries, no music from one Johann Sebastian Bach, no paintings from Michelangelo, nor no philosophy from Saint Augustine (Backman 205). There are countless times in history, whether good or bad, that can be credited to
James Williams does not justify religious faith. One argument Williams made for believing in God was: If you believe god and he exists you go to heaven, if you believe and he doesn’t exist you just die. If you don’t believe in god and he exists you go to hell, and if you don’t believe in god and he doesn’t exist you just die. My counter to this is that, what happens if you follow Christianity but the God that exists is the Muslim version of God? Will a Christian still go to heaven? Someone may respond that by just believing in God that is enough and by at least adhering to a religion is enough to go to Heaven. My response is that every religion has core values that are the foundation of the religion, a Christian would not follow the core values
of right and wrong buried within him. This sense guides people, culture, and even whole countries to act in certain ways. Thomas Aquinas called this innate sense the natural law. The natural law is established by God in order to make men more virtuous. When examined closely it is found that the natural law contains the precept of all law and, is at odds with certain laws that exist today, specifically abortion.