C. S. Lewis as Philosopher: Truth, Goodness, and Beauty

by David Baggett, Gary R. Habermas, Jerry L. Walls

It has been nearly ten years since David Baggett, Gary R. Habermas, and Jerry L. Walls introduced the first edition of C. S. Lewis as Philosopher: Truth, Goodness, and Beauty. That decade has seen only growing interest in the philosophical aspects of Lewis's work. What at the time seemed to us to be a rather novel approach to Lewis has become much more common, unsurprising because by both training and temperament Lewis often exhibited the earmarks of a first-rate philosophical mind. It was likely his amazing and eclectic range of interests and talents that concealed his philosophical acumen.

We have intentionally added five major new chapters to the second edition that contribute to a fuller picture of Lewis the philosopher. Our goal remains not to cover all the traditional areas of philosophy, but to show more intentionally some of the rich insights of Lewis's writing that reveal aspects of philosophy and the human condition that, too often in contemporary times, go unaddressed, or at least under-addressed.

For example, Bruce Reichenbach has written an epistemology essay that reveals the way Lewis recognized some aspects of knowledge that often go overlooked. Among such features of knowledge are the ways in which it is perspectival, value-laden, and
personal, but without any of these aspects of knowing detracting from objective truth or the propriety of deeply held convictions.

Another example is Will Honeycutt's chapter that discusses Lewis's penetrating engagement with various pagan myths. Rather than gravitating toward a simple "disassociationist" model in which there is only or primarily a disconnect or dissonance
between Christianity and the pagan myth stories, Honeycutt reveals the way Lewis had the mind of both a philosopher and a poet, a logician and a classicist.

One of Lewis's most important and repeated apologetic arguments went unaddressed in the first edition, and we came to see that it deserved a serious and sustained treatment, namely, the argument from desire. To this end, we commissioned Sloan Lee to write an essay on it, and in his characteristic and charming zeal he ended up writing two terrific chapters. Not only does he meticulously spell out what the argument says and what motivates it; he brilliantly and carefully subjects to withering critical scrutiny no less than five significant objections to the argument.

Stew Goetz wrote the fifth new chapter, in which he discusses the hedonistic elements of Lewis's work. He rightly points out a recurring theme in Lewis: that God's intention is that we experience joy and pleasure. To the contrary of this lending itself to a crass sort of hedonism, however, Lewis's understanding of our high calling in Christ elevates the kinds of pleasure that should satisfy.

In sum, this book has about 35,000 entirely new words of analysis and commentary on Lewis that, combined with all of the original essays in the collection, will hopefully result in a book that will feature prominently in the library of every Lewis aficionado.
Once more the labor that made this edition possible was a labor of love, done in the earnest hope and prayer that the result will be a blessing to many.

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

380 pages, Paperback

First published June 15, 2008

About the author

David Baggett (PhD, Wayne State University) is professor of philosophy in the Rawlings School of Divinity at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia. He is the coauthor of Good God: The Theistic Foundations of Morality, God and Cosmos: Moral Truth and Human Meaning, and At the Bend of the River Grand. He is the editor of Did the Resurrection Happen? and the coeditor of C.S. Lewis as Philosopher: Truth, Goodness, and Beauty; The Philosophy of Sherlock Holmes; and Harry Potter and Philosophy: If Aristotle Ran Hogwarts.

Reviews

[Brenton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here is my previous comment on reading:
"I was surprised how good this book was as a whole. It is uneven, the essays running from good to excellent. But even the good ones have critically important theses to defend. It is a read for people with some training in philosophy (or systematic or historical theology)."
In my fall 2020 reading, I feel pretty similar. However, I am starting to wonder about some things. I am beginning to think that these singular-topic dives into C.S. Lewis' philosophy is not as helpful to me unless I build a systematic understanding of his thought. I have done that theologically, but haven't got a full sense of every dynamic. The result is that I am often inspired by the essays (original paper talks) in this book, but then wonder if I pressed in on them, whether they are consistent with the whole. There also seems to be an unacknowledged Plato-Aquinas divide here, and I don't have the tools yet to work that through.
The way this book should be read is testing each idea, and I haven't done that yet.

[Jeremy]

Here's an article on Lewis as a philosopher.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gets four stars for the explicating of several (popular) Lewis themes, theological and philosophical views, and arguments, in a more analytic, rigorous way than Lewis himself did. So, the book is good for those who might want to get a clearer picture on some of Lewis's views.

Here's the breakdown:

I. Truth

1. Lewis's Philosophy of Truth, Goodness and Beauty
Peter Kreeft

2. From Atheism to Deism: A Conversation Between Antony Flew and Gary Habermas
Gary Habermas and Antony Flew

3. Defending the Dangerous Idea: An Update
Victor Reppert

4. Aut Deus Aut Malus Homo: A Defense of C. S. Lewis's "Shocking Alternative"
David Horner

5. The Abolition of Man: C. S. Lewis's Prescience Concerning Things to Come
Jean Bethke-Elshtain

6. C. S. Lewis and Emotional Doubt: Insights from the Philosophy of Psychology
Gary Habermas

II. Goodness

7. Is Divine Iconoclast as Bad as Cosmic Sadist? Lewis Versus Beversluis
David Baggett

8. Pursuing Moral Goodness: C. S. Lewis's Understanding of Faith
Kevin Kinghorn

9. "Belief" in the Writings of C. S. Lewis
David Rozema

10. To Reign in Hell or to Serve in Heaven: C. S. Lewis on the Problem of Hell and Enjoyment of the Good
Matthew Lee

11. Lewis and the Necessity of Gratuitous Evil
Michael Peterson

III. Beauty

12. Evil and the Cosmic Dance: C. S. Lewis and Beauty's Place in Theodicy
Philip Tallon

13. Lewis's Miracles and Mathematical Elegance
Russell Howell

14. Beastly Metaphysics: The Beasts of Narnia and Lewis's Reclamation of the Medieval Metaphysics of Participation
Michael Muth

15. Lewis and Tolkien on the Power of the Imagination
Gregory Bassham

Objectively, the book was pretty bad (with a few exceptions, one being Reppert's essay on the argument from reason), especially when it waxed theological. At some points it got downright heretical (Kinghorn's essay had sanctification coming apart from and prior to justification, and gave "an account of faith that centers on the pursuit of good purposes rather than holding true beliefs"). The essays on goodness (covering the problem of evil and hell, 7, 10, and 11) were the best set of essays, though I staunchly disagreed with almost every point in them. Baggett's essay Is Divine Iconoclast as Bad as Cosmic Sadist had some good things to say, but ultimately settled for rationalism, claiming that there may be evils now that we cannot understand how they are used for good, or are goods, but ultimately we must be able to comprehend the answer (in heaven). Even though this is enough to undermine some contemporary objections to Calvinism (e.g., ones made to me many times by, ironically, one of the essayists, Victor Reppert), I do not agree that finite man must be able to comprehend the details of any God-justifying reason whatever. That just seems like an impossible burden to argue.

So, I wouldn't recommend this book for good theology, or good (not in a technical sense, however) philosophy (with the above caveats), but if you're looking for a more rigorous and analytic presentation (or, interpretation, in some cases) of (some of) C.S. Lewis's more popular themes, then this book will be of interest to you.

[Renita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Philosophy is the love of wisdom along with an unending desire to find it, understand it, put it into action, and pass it onto others.

Lewis brought a philosophical instinct to everything he did.

There are 3 things that will never die.
1. Truth
2. Goodness
3. Beauty
These are the 3 things we all need, and need absolutely.

Our minds want not only some truth and some falsehood, but all truth without limit.
Our wills want not only some good and some evil but all good without limit.
Our desires, imaginations, feelings or hearts, want not just some beauty and some ugliness, but all beauty without limit.
For these are the only 3 things that we never get bored with. And never will for all eternity because they are 3 attributes of God.

All that exist is true. The proper object of of mind.
All that exist is goods the proper object of the will.
All that exist is beautiful. The proper object of the heart, feelings, imaginations or desires
(3rd is harder to define than the first 2)

God has not left Himself without witness in any of the 3 distinctively human, more than animal, powers of the soul-
The 3 aspects of the image of God in us:
1. The mind which knows and understands the good.
2. The will which chooses and enforces it.
3. The emotions which love and appreciate it.

The only thing strong enough to overcome an evil passion, is a more powerful good passion.

Lewis often sees pain used as a tool by God for bringing us into right relationship.

“While pleasures can be ignored, pain cannot”

God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains.
It is His megaphone to rouse a dead world.

[Michael McGrath · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are some very tedious and badly written essays in here by the Steubenville Catholics, who never hesitate to deviate from Lewis. I was about to cast the whole thing off when one such tangent said the The Passion of the Christ was the most beautiful film ever made. I did not come to this to hear opinions but to read about Lewis and Philosophy. Like another reviewer said, you are better off reading Lewis himself and maybe dipping into Tarnas's Passion of the Western Mind to see how Lewis fits or differs in regards to western philosophy.

[Ming Chen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Listened to it via Audible+.

Somewhat dry and hard to follow, which is ironic given that the book is written on Lewis who is anything but dry. It basically is a collection of articles or papers or certain nuances of Lewis' philosophical thought. I might have to refer back to a written copy of this work again because I recall some parts being interesting.

[Jordan · Rating 2 out of 5]

The intro and first chapter are great. The rest is the tedious slog through secondary and tertiary arguments and literature that is the trademark of modern scholarship. I think you’re better off reading Lewis himself.

[Eric C 1965 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some much good stuff; I plan to reread again this year to review it all!

[Charles]

An intriguing collection of essays, with a particulary fine contribution from my colleague Michael Muth arguing that Lewis draws on medieval bestiaries in his portrayal of talking animals in the Narnia chronicles and lays the basis for a sacramental metaphysics.

[Brian Roden · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of some of the finest essays that have been written on Lewis’s writings on metaphysics, theodicy, happiness, reason, Joy, and most importantly: truth, goodness, and beauty. The new essays found in the 2nd edition are worth the price of admission.

[Noel · Rating 3 out of 5]

C.S. Lewis is always a pleasure to read and read about. An important intellectual who's heart for God was only matched by his brilliant reflections.