Philosophical Thoughts

by C.S. Lewis

This volume of short essays and other pieces by C. S. Lewis is part of a larger collection, C. S. Lewis: Essay Collection and Other Short Pieces. In addition to his many books, letters, and poems, C. S. Lewis wrote a great number of essays and shorter pieces on various subjects. He wrote extensively on Christian theology and the defense of faith but also on ethical issues and the nature of literature and storytelling. Within these pages is a treasure trove of Lewis' reflections on diverse topics.

This volume includes:

1. First and Second Things

2. The Poison of Subjectivism

3. Equality

4. De Futilitate

5. A Dream

6. Hedonics

7. Talking about Bicycles

8. Vivisection

9. The Humanitarian Theory of Punishment

10. Behind the Scenes

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Christian, Audiobook, Theology, Religion, Christianity

Audiobook

First published November 13, 2013

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Clive Staples Lewis was one of the intellectual giants of the twentieth century and arguably one of the most influential writers of his day. He was a Fellow and Tutor in English Literature at Oxford University until 1954. He was unanimously elected to the Chair of Medieval and Renaissance Literature at Cambridge University, a position he held until his retirement. He wrote more than thirty books, allowing him to reach a vast audience, and his works continue to attract thousands of new readers every year. His most distinguished and popular accomplishments include Mere Christianity, Out of the Silent Planet, The Great Divorce, The Screwtape Letters, and the universally acknowledged classics The Chronicles of Narnia. To date, the Narnia books have sold over 100 million copies and been transformed into three major motion pictures.

Lewis was married to poet Joy Davidman.
W.H. Lewis was his elder brother]

Reviews

[Sue K H · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is interesting for C.S. Lewis fans but know that it is general moral logic/philosophy as it relates or doesn't relate to religion and not specifically about Christian theology. He makes good arguments about infliction of pain on animals, criminals and people in general. He also explores the nature of evil and tyranny. I especially liked his conversation with a friend about Unenchantment, Enchantment, Disenchantment, and Re-enchantment philosophy as it relates to bicycles, love, war and revolutions. I would have preferred this to be in hard copy, but it's fine to listen to since it doesn't get overly heady with his arguments relying heavily on logic.

[Željko Filipin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Collection of several articles. The most interesting to me was Talking about Bicycles, where he mentions the “four ages”: Unenchantment, Enchantment, Disenchantment, and Re-enchantment.

[ValeReads Kyriosity · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the last (I think) in the short collections of Lewis essays. I almost skipped it because straight philosophy usually whooshes straight over my head. But I'm glad I didn't give into that temptation, because the book was just one banger after another. One I don't think I'd ever heard of was "A Dream," which is hard to find online because all the search results are for that stupid spurious quote about dreaming a new dream. But if you search for his name plus "a dream" and the phrase "concourse of irritations," you'll find it. In a couple of instances I found, it was posted by people who found it pertinent to the shenanigans of the past three years, which is exactly how it struck me.

All of these essay collections (and a lot more Lewis) are available in the Audible Plus catalog. If you don't have Audible, you could sign up for a free month and inhale them all. Or you could spend a free credit on the complete Essay Collection (edited by Lesley Walmsley). The print edition is harder to come by, and a used copy will run you over a hundred bucks.

[Colby Wolford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Couple of the essays here in are really thought provoking.

[Liam · Rating 4 out of 5]

As always, Lewis was phenomenal. However this collection of articles was incredibly and surprisingly short!

[Josiah Richardson · Rating 3 out of 5]

As always, Lewis is worth your time. This contained several short essays from Lewis focused on his philosophical thoughts.

[Victor · Rating 2 out of 5]

Poetic as usual from C.S. Lewis, but lacking philosophical rigor.

[Nate Schultz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent short book to acquaint anyone with C.S. Lewis's ideas about life, democracy, religion and so on. The context of each section is briefly explained which brings the topics into focus. For example, "De Futilitate" is a speech from a university presentation during the Second World War that directly addresses the questions and ideas we often project onto the area of the modern/post-modern shift. "Talking about Bicycles" is one of a few sections that I found particularly interesting because of the discussion about democracy and politics which has been on my mind a great deal because of the upcoming U.S. Presidential election. There are several other chapters that correlate to current hot topics, such as some parallels between "Vivisection" and the current popular attitudes toward abortion. A great book for engaging difficult subjects in bite-sized portions.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

C.S. Lewis used to be one of my favorite writers. He writes very clearly, very simply, and very logically. But logic only works if you accept the premises. Some of the pieces in this collection of some of his non-religious, non-fiction writings haven't stood the test of time. For example, in one piece he argues that slavery is wrong not because no one should be a slave (because, he implies, some people are not fit for anything else) but because no one should be a master. But his writings still give you much to think about.

[Ken Burkhalter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hard to argue with his reasoning, but there are other reasons to read this one.
- More philosophical than religion based, but the two are inseparable at times.
- History and philosophy lessons combine as Lewis frequently uses the Nazi's as his foil
- Various discussions around themes of personal liberty vs. cultural mores, instructive to today.
- In sum, spot on as always. Prophetically wise, as it turns out.

These short reads are all collections of essays, most printed in multiple other volumes over the decades. Think of them as topical expositions. Through them we also get the rare personal glimpse of the great thinker's life. In one volume, I learned that he was a lover of fine Scotch, which surprised me and made me like him even more. In this one, I learned that he was a Democrat. Not today, my dear man.

The writing is, as always, supremely crafted and concise, in a professorial manner. Understated but powerful in reasoning while always remaining the gentleman. Time proves his wisdom, as one will note when reading it with today in view.

[Gregory · Rating 3 out of 5]

“My contention is that good men (not bad men) consistently acting upon that position would act as cruelly and unjustly as the greatest tyrants. They might in some respects act even worse. Of all tyrannies a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience. They may be more likely to go to Heaven yet at the same time likelier to make a Hell of earth.”

A smaller containing the eras of enchantment as well as the full Humanitarian Theory of Punishment and response.

[Loren · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a collection of short essays on a variety of topics. Most have been previously published elsewhere, or contain arguments similar to his other works. It's not so much rigorous philosophy, as it is ideas that are laid down logically to a broad popular audience. As such, it's a pleasant read.

[Bryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened pretty quickly, admittedly, so I don’t know that a lot of things stuck out about it, other than, I liked the last essay which is a kind of meditation on the theatre—what is on stage versus what is back stage, what is shown versus what is secret and how both are necessary for the illusion to work.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love watching Lewis think in his essays - really they could be an education in logic themselves. I've added Compelling Reason and Christian Reflections, from which most of these essays are taken, to my to-read list.

[Sarah Kroese · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art... It has not survival value; rather it is one of those things that gives value to survival." C.S. Lewis will always be one of my favorite authors.

[Katherine B. · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book itself was not bad. I’m just so not a philosopher!!! C.S. Lewis leaves me in the dust!

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent short collection of Lewis' more philosophical essays. Especially good was the bike essay which proposed a natural transition of un-enchanted > enchanted > disenchanted > re-enchanted

[Jon Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lewis was ahead of his time.

[DS25 · Rating 4 out of 5]

La solite esposizione chiara ed efficiente, solito stile magnifico. Alcune tematiche sono già presenti in altri testi, questa è una riedizione per audible.

[Marbeth Skwarczynski · Rating 3 out of 5]

More serious than his other essay collections. Missing the sharp, dry humor that is one of Lewis's often overlooked gifts.

[Sally Kintz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short sweet and very thought provoking. I will re-read this many times.

[Ramanqu · Rating 4 out of 5]

An intellectual fresh air... depending on the kind of air you've been breathing before.

[scrapespaghetti · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't know CSLewis is this punk.
ch 3.4.6.

[Joshua · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

[Jacob Cruzan · Rating 4 out of 5]

His article on punishment, justice, and mercy is interesting.

[Kofi Opoku · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant. I particularly enjoyed his essays on equality and pacifism. Take up and read.

[Rodney Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Always a pleasure to ponder the thoughts of C S Lewis. This book provides an interesting collection of speeches and essays by one of the greatest thinkers of the last century.

[Peter Kiss · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting...

[Garbanzo Beans · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved his thoughts on subjectivism!!!

[Aarn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Speaking on law and morality, it is not a book for Christian reaffirmation but a more a commentary on why and how do we know what is good as a people.