Morality In C. S. Lewis Mere Christianity

Generally, people hold one of two views about morality; they either believe in the Postmodern view or the Christian view. The Postmodern view of morality states that morals come from a person’s external environment. This view is incorrect. As C. S. Lewis explains in his book Mere Christianity, every individual is born with an innate sense of right and wrong. Some, however, argue that morality is taught at a young age or that it is just instinct. The universal sense of moral law proves that morality is not these things. Morality is not something that is taught. Each person is born with a sense of right and wrong. From a young age, people use the concept of “fairness” to judge someone’s actions. To a certain extent, children do not need to be taught what is fair because they possess an unlearned sense of morality. Additionally, people feel guilty when they do wrong because they broke the universal standard of right and wrong that applies to all people. When people make remarks such as, “You promised” or

The first reason morality is not purely instinct is that instincts are not always moral. Multiple, conflicting instincts may occur at once. In this case, a person must decide which instinct to follow. Lewis gives the example of a man in danger. If a person hears a cry for help, they will feel three emotions. Originally, they will feel a desire to help the person in need, but they will quickly want to save themselves from danger. These two are instincts. The final emotion is that the first feeling, to help others, is correct and the second, no matter how strong, is incorrect. The third emotion is outside of the instincts; the two are separate. Lewis explains it like this: “The Moral Law is not any one instinct or set of instincts: it is something which makes a kind of tune (the tune we call goodness or right conduct) by directing the instincts” (p. 11). This example shows that moral behavior is more than just