Men with Chests

In this chapter Feverstone, an important member of the National Institute for Co-ordinated Experiments (N.I.C.E.), explains the purpose of the institute to Mark. In so doing he reveals what the institute wants Mark to do for them - write propaganda pieces. As the chapter ends, Mark and Jane head their separate ways on two very different journeys.  

Today I discuss gender, as portrayed in Lewis's Ransom Trilogy, with Dr. Crystal Hurd. This topic is a central theme that unites the three books of the trilogy, though it may not be recognized at first. Dr. Hurd is the author of  The Leadership of C.S. Lewis.  She is also the author of an article on Jane Studdock, which forms the main source of our discussion. It can be found here: https://pi...

Chapter 1 of That Hideous Strength introduces us to some of the key characters and ideas that we'll be exploring over the next 17 weeks; the draw of the Inner Ring, the nature of reality, the relation between magic and science, and more. Like The Abolition of Man, this is a serious book. Don't be fooled by its categorization as fiction. As Aristotle advised, the art of storytelling can b...

Fitting for the week of the first C.S. Lewis Reading Day, I'm joined by the hosts of The C.S. Lewis Book Club. We discuss That Hideous Strength along with the rest of the Ransom Trilogy, their show, and more! The guys are now on to The Pilgrim's Regress. Check out their podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-c-s-lewis-book-club/id1677020346

In honor of the inaugural C.S. Lewis Reading Day, I present Lewis's essay "Is Progress Possible?" The article first appeared in The Observer on July 20, 1958, under the title "Willing Slaves of the Welfare State." Men with Chests began by covering The Abolition of Man , Lewis's most prophetic non-fiction work. In this episode, we cover what is likely his most propheti...

"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." -- C.S. Lewis, in the Preface to That Hideous Strength. We've made it! In That Hideous Strength, Lewis illustrates in story form the dire consequences that are likely to come about if the trends he noted in Abolition were to continu...

In this episode, I talk to Dr. Dorothy Logan, founder of the Freedom Academy and author of  Black and White:  An Essay on Critical Theory, Freedom, and the Pursuit of Happiness. We discuss Natural Law, Maoism and its parallels to current American society, Hegel and Marx, and more. You can find Dr. Logan's books at https://www.freedomacademy-dorothy.com/.  

"Men do not long continue to think what they have forgotten how to say." Lewis wrote that sentence to close his essay "The Death of Words." The abuse of language is a problem dating back to antiquity. In this episode, we look at the connection between language and power and how to return to a stable discourse.  Interact with the show's content on Instagram or Twitter @Menw...

In this Socratic Hour, I'm joined by podcaster and author Spencer Klavan. Spencer earned his Ph. D. in ancient Greek literature from Oxford, making him a perfect guest to talk about thumos (the chest). He is also the creator of a new Tolkienesque language for the upcoming show "The Pendragon Cycle" from the Daily Wire. We discuss the chest, education, the importance of language, art...

In this episode, we finish Marcuse's An Essay on Liberation. In the final chapter, Marcuse calls for a new solidarity. Instead of solidarity amongst the proletariat, which was a feature of traditional Marxism, solidarity is now to be found among those who have had their consciousnesses raised into Marcuse's new sensibility complete with its transvaluation of values.  An Essay on Liberati...

Soren is the VP of partnerships at Classic Learning Test. We discuss his background as a native German, he explains the purpose of CLT, and we look at Lewis's painfully true essay "Democratic Education." 

An Essay on Liberation began with Marcuse putting forth a foundation for utopia, a foundation based upon a physiological and psychological manipulation that would produce dysfunction in the human being who didn't have their new biological "needs" met. Marcuse then looked to art and language as the means to instill a new sensibility in his biologically altered people. In this episode...

In this episode, I'm joined by Shane Morris, host of the Upstream podcast at the Colson Center. We discuss his background, the Colson Center, Abolition of Man, Lewis's essay "Talking About Bicycles," unicycles, scuba diving, and more. Upstream: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/upstream/id1526456111?i=1000631599586

In chapter two, Herbert Marcuse explains that the physiologically and psychologically altered people from chapter one will have a "new sensibility." What this sensibility entails is so bizarre that you just have to listen to the episode. To write it out here in a summary fashion would likely induce incredulity.  https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/marcuse/works/1969/essay-liberati...

Brian McGreevy joins me on today's Socratic Hour episode to discuss The Abolition of Man and That Hideous Strength. Rev. McGreevy puts on a class at St. Philips in Charleston where he covers Lewis's works.  

In this episode, we begin our short series covering a book by America's most influential Critical Theorist, Herbert Marcuse. Marcuse and his "critical" adaptation of Marx's theory form a poignant and eye-opening contrast to the understanding of human nature we saw on display in Lewis's The Abolition of Man.  Link to An Essay on Liberation: https://www.marxists.org/referenc...

In this episode, I'm joined by John West, the VP of the Discovery Institute and the editor of The Magician's Twin, a book on what Lewis thought about science, scientism, and society. We discuss topics related to Chapter 3 of The Abolition of Man, including what Lewis meant when he said that magicians and scientists were born as twins.  

In this episode, we see how science and magic grew up together as twins in the 16th century. And we complete The Abolition of Man with the memorable wisdom that to see through all things is the same as not to see. 

If man's conquest of nature reduces man to mere nature, does the gain outweigh what is lost? In Chapter 3 of The Abolition of Man, Lewis explains that this dim prospect is not only underway in Socialist regimes but is also to be found in Western democracies. 

In this episode, we cover the one place where the phrase "abolition of man" is used in the text.  We see an illustration of what it looks like to be in the void by looking at  Wither from That Hideous Strength. And we find that the attempt to conquer nature turns out different than expected. 

We begin chapter 3, which bears the same title as the book itself, The Abolition of Man, and we see the dual meaning of the phrase "abolition of man." In the opening pages of chapter 3, Lewis begins to spell out the consequences that will come about should mankind continue in its insatiable quest to conquer Nature.  

In this Socratic Hour, I'm joined by David Bates, the originator of the Pints with Jack podcast. David and I discuss Lewis's The Great Divorce and its connection to The Abolition of Man. We also get into David's show and what his plans are for Pints with Jack in the future. 

In this episode, the last of chapter 2, Lewis continues to expound upon the necessity of standing within the Tao if real progress is to be possible. He also sums up the importance of accepting objective values as perceived by our Practical Reason (intellectus). We then get a prelude of the future should mankind attempt to step outside the Tao. To illustrate the point, we examine an essay by Lewis...

In this episode, we discuss the consequences that follow when one particular axiom of Natural Law is prioritized above all the rest. And we see the inevitable outcome that occurs when mankind attempts to stand completely outside the Tao. 

In this episode, we explore the possibility that our value judgments are derived from the instinct to preserve posterity. Then, we investigate Alvin Plantinga's fascinating argument known as the evolutionary argument against Naturalism. Can we find grounds for objective values as mere animals?