The Abolition of Man
by C. S. Lewis · first published 1943
56% recommend44% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Short, accessible argument against moral subjectivism, built around the idea of men without chests. Suits readers who want to think about objective values, education, and technology without needing a religious framework.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
C. S. Lewis sets out to persuade his audience of the importance and relevance of universal values such as courage and honor in contemporary society.
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…rejection of Christianity, which, for millenia in the west, has insisted that there is such a thing as objective beauty. https://www.catholic.com/magazine/print-edition/ugly-as-sin I'd also recommend "The Abolition of Man" by CS Lewis (not explicitly christian, but Lewis was obviously extremely devout and a major apologist) It remains to be seen if the west will develop a sense of objective beauty without a shared moral…
on “Why can't we build nice neighborhoods anymore?” ↗"Orthodoxy" - GK Chesterton "The Abolition of Man" - CS Lewis "The Master and Margarita" - Mikhail Bulgakov "The Brothers Karamazov" - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
on “Ask HN: What are the books that changed the perspective of your life?” ↗The artist doesn't get to choose how people react to their art. C.S. Lewis takes on the issue of subjectivism in his book "The Abolition of Man". He takes a pretty close look at the ethical repercussions of moral subjectivity. It's a fairly quick read and I think it's even available online because it's out of copyright. It's not by any means…
on “With No Inkling of the Contents: Viewing Narnia Through a Hindu Lens” ↗You might really enjoy the short book "The Abolition of Man" by CS Lewis. It's not a fantasy or apologetics book like he's known for, doesn't presume any christian or theistic view point, but it describes a very similar phenomenon to your observations, what he…
on “How Loneliness Is Tearing America Apart” ↗"The problems of philosophy" by Bertrand Russell. ~8 times. "The abolition of man" by "C.S. Lewis" 3 times. "The Reign of Quantity and the Signs of the Times" by René Guénon. 3 times, and planning to set a weekend for another re-read soon.
on “Ask HN: Which books have you read more than once?” ↗I'd suggest reading The Abolition of Man by C.S. Lewis for a short but succinct alternative viewpoint. It's not specifically about whether or not to have children, but it talks about what connects the visceral aspect of man with the rational…
on “Ask HN: What are the benefits to having children nowadays?” ↗…school). As for the "advertising immunization shots" the author of the article talks about, the authors experience is beautiful confirmation of what C.S. Lewis writes in the first few chapters of "The Abolition of Man".
on “How to Teach a Child to Argue” ↗C.S. Lewis's Abolition of Man takes this question and turns it into a rather full thought-experiment.
on “The Morality Apocalypse: An Open Letter to Bill and Melinda Gates” ↗…on-demand list building like this, but I strongly agree about a few of the other things mentioned here: Meditations by Marcus Aurelius Godel, Escher, Bach by Hofstadter Orthodoxy by GK Chesterton The Abolition of Man by CS Lewis Walden by Thoreau A few of the better and more philosophical bits out of the bible (especially in a good modern translation), including Ecclesiastes and 1 Corinthians 13 To this list, I…
on “Ask HN: What are the books that changed the perspective of your life?” ↗For a short book-length explanation of this, see "The Abolition of Man" by C. S. Lewis.
on “An alarm about the influence of standardized tests on American society” ↗I would recommend "The Abolition of Man" by C.S. Lewis. He argues that in all (classical) religions, there is a common core of morality, and that it is foundational. All our modern "ideologies" are an over-focus on one aspect or another of…
on “Ask HN: Any books/talks on cultural conditioning?” ↗The Abolition of Man, also by C. S. Lewis. Not explicitly Christian, it's a defense of classical ethics.
on “Ask HN: Mind bending books to read and never be the same as before?” ↗…obviously, just because something is in the realm of possibility doesn't imply that we should do it. May I recommend a short book by C. S. Lewis (the author of The Chronicles of Narnia)? It's called "The Abolition of Man", with the intended meaning of "Man" being just the mankind/humanity in general. A central argument of the book is that a level of technological progress which enables arbitrary conditioning of human…
on “George Church lab creates functional ovary tissue from adult human stem cells” ↗The Abolition of Man - C. S. Lewis All Things Considered - G. K. Chesterton Some others I daren't mention. Category Theory for Programmers - Bartosz Milewski The Design of Relational Databases - Heikki Mannila, Kari-Jouko…
on “Ask HN: What nonfiction books do you keep rereading?” ↗…their works such that simply reading their books makes it possible to know them pretty well. If you haven't tried it, I strongly suggest it :) Since you called out Lewis -- one of my favorites is his The Abolition of Man and its narrative counterpart That Hideous Strength. They describe in exquisite, arguably prophetic detail many of the evils of the modern left, particularly how it has ushered in a progressive downfall…
on “Federal Government's letter to Harvard demanding changes [pdf]” ↗