In the book "Mere Christianity" by C.S. Lewis there are many interesting points, ideas and views that he talks about. He tells the basic thought and actions that humans perform. He talks about our idea of the "laws of nature" and how we understand moral law. He brings up many valid arguments and does a great job of using examples to further show his point. I will now summarize and analysis many of his ideas and thoughts.
In the beginning Lewis talks about is the Law of Nature. He brings up how the Law has adapted over time to become what we believe it to be now. It began being laws about how people should act, however it changed over time to become more scientific. It now deals with gravity and such. The idea of it being what people should do, now changed to the "Law of Human Nature" The difference between the two is that we cannot control The Law of Nature, however we can control The Law of Human Nature. We can't prevent gravity from working on us, but we can decide what we want to do when it concerns the Law of Human Nature. You are suppose to do what is morally correct but that's not how it always works. In The Law of Nature don't have control over what happens, but in The Law of Human Nature you can decide what you want to do about the way things are going..
In the second chapter, Lewis talks about instincts and the moral law. To be more precise, he talks about how moral law isn't an instinct but something higher than that. He writes that moral law is what tells you which instincts to follow and react to. He gives several examples of this. The first one is of piano keys and instinct isn't another piano key but instead it is what tells you which piano key you should press. Another example would be that when you see someone drowning, you greater urge is probable to run to be safe, however moral law makes the urge of going to help the person greater. It determines what instinct wins and which one loses. The last thing he says is hearing screams of a man in danger, you will feel 2 desires. You go with one over the second because of the moral law. The Moral Law is absolute guide that tells you what is right or wrong.
What do you think of when your talking about, "The Rule of Right and Wrong," or, "Law of Human Nature"" There has to be something that you see as the standard for everything to be measured by. Lewis believed that there weren't any instincts that were always right or always wrong. Its all about the situation. One of the examples he used was keys on a piano. There aren't keys that are always right or wrong . It all depends on what music you're playing and how you play it. He believed the same was true with instincts. He also thought there to be one set of morals over another. If there wasn't we wouldn't be able to say some people don't have good morals. An example being the terrorist. There morals couldn't be any worse than ours if they weren't being compared to a higher standard which determines the morals of the Law of Human Nature. To be correct you must have an answer key, one to measure up to.
There is still much controversy on how the earth was created. Lewis explains two different concepts. First there is the "materialist view." it shows the idea of everything being created by chance and matter always being around. It was randomly created and by a thousandth of a chance the sun came out of nowhere, earth was busted in, and we were fell onto earth. Another idea is the "religious view." It says that there is a God who created us in its image. Lewis believed that there was some sort of being directing the universe and is a law. It may not be exactly like god but very similar.
C.S. Lewis thinks about many issues that you many not think about in everyday life. He comes up with interesting points that really make you think. He talks about moral law, instincts, and human nature. He shows a lot of insight so that you can see where he is coming from. He does not just show his point of view though. He shows many so that you have more choices to form your own beliefs. He is a great author that has put many new ideas into my head. I really enjoyed reading what he had to say.
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