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The Abolition of Man  By  cover art

The Abolition of Man

By: C. S. Lewis
Narrated by: Douglas Gresham
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Publisher's summary

Both astonishing and prophetic, The Abolition of Man remains one of C. S. Lewis's most controversial works. Lewis sets out to persuade his audience of the ongoing importance and relevance of universal objective values, such as courage and honor, and the foundational necessity of natural law. He also makes a cogent case that a retreat from these pillars of our educational system, even if in the name of "scientism", would be catastrophic. National Review lists it as number seven on their "100 Best Nonfiction Books of the 20th Century".

©1947 C.S. Lewis Pte. Ltd. Copyright renewed (P)2014 HarperCollins Publishers

What listeners say about The Abolition of Man

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Lewis the philosopher, not the theologian

The performance is flawless.
The book is well written, but more mentally taxing than most of Lewis, as it is, in a sense, a philosophical critique of modern science.


This book was nothing that I expected. Not that I had any idea what it was going to be about when I started listening to it. I chose it because it's Lewis, and I have loved everything he's written. And as with his other work, I was expecting this to be a theological work.

It is not.

I am sure it's influenced by his Christian values, but this is rather a philosophical critique of modern society's obsession with progress. Of how Lewis' culture was losing its appreciation of a thing in its pursuit of understanding it.

I would recommend this book, as I think I agree with Lewis' point, and feel it's still valid today, however, with a caveat. This was at times difficult to follow/understand for someone expecting another theological discussion.

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22 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Classic

This is a classic work from Lewis. Helpful in understanding the importance of a real, objective morality.

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11 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

As prophetic is 1984

CS Lewis gets to the heart of several issues afflicting modern society. Between subtle indoctrination in school curricula to the dangers of microagressiins, he eloquently points out the dangers and the practices quite simple and clear terms.

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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Man’s Well-Deserved Abolition

This work speaks philosophically about how a fraction of mankind governs our thoughts, words, and ethics, and how, over time, these definitions evolve and change into what our governors deem suitable. He refers to the Tao (a Chinese word meaning what existed before Creation) as Nature Itself and redefined it in more than an Oriental heritage, encompassing the conception of spirituality and morality in all its forms.

With earlier generations’ conquests of the world they’ve shown newer generations how to live and, while the newer generation believes it to have its own freedoms, it’s really still living under the rules it’s been taught. So, there is less freedom as time goes on.

While I understand and agree with Lewis’s thoughts, I wish the book spoke more of Jesus - He’s mentioned twice, if I recall - and how our true abolition comes with surrender to God through faith in Christ. This work covers a wide range of theologies and, due to its brevity, doesn’t dive in as I wished. Brevity is the only reason it got four stars overall.

Thanks, always, to C. S. Lewis, a wonderful theologian and philosopher. And I applaud Douglas Gresham for his clear and understandable narration.

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8 people found this helpful

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Everyone needs to read this about every five years

The title pretty much says it all. This is not a book that someone will digest in the first pass. And, indeed, it is something that everyone needs to be reminded of from time to time.

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7 people found this helpful

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Makes you think

Read it several times. Then take another good look at the world around you. Thought inducing read.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

great book!

Quick read! You will love how well it flows as well as the wealth of knowledge!

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5 people found this helpful

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Few discussions are more important than this!

C.S. Lewis is brilliant in this classic, profoundly and starkly setting up a powerful argument for objective values in a very economic and succinct way. This is needed today more than ever!

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4 people found this helpful

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So relevant!!

This was a fabulous production of one of the best books on education. Highly recommend

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3 people found this helpful

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Highly Recommended

I will listen to this at least once more. it is very thought provoking.

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3 people found this helpful