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- In philosophy of mind, Lewis developed and defended at length a new version of materialism (see the entry on physicalism). He started by showing how the motivations driving the identity theory of mind and functionalism could be reconciled in his theory of mind.
plato.stanford.edu/entries/david-lewis/
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May 14, 2020 · Lewis explains this understanding of the imagination and its importance for right thinking in a variety of essays and in his two most profound books, The Abolition of Man and The Discarded Image. This chapter examines the arguments Lewis makes and the metaphors he uses in these works to demonstrate how the foremost Christian apologist of the ...
- Luke C. Sheahan
- 2020
C.S. Lewis offered key ideas on: Chronological Snobbery, Desire, Imagination, Objective Values vs. Relativism, Myth, Immortality, and Comprehensiveness.
- Different Genres
- Imagination and Meaning
- Imagination and Faith
- Imagination and Myth
- Extending Our Awareness
- Children’s Stories
Other authors who have been considered culture shapers have, like Lewis, employed more than one form of literature to communicate. For instance, Jean Paul Sartre could write philosophy (e.g. Being and Nothingness) as well as drama (e.g. No Exit). In other words, his ideas were communicated in rational discourse and via the imagination by means of d...
Lewis argued at one point that, while reason is the natural organ of truth, “imagination is the organ of meaning.” In other words, we do not really grasp the meaning of any word or concept until we have a clear image that we can connect with it. You can find a more detailed argument of this contention in Selected Literary Essays (see “Blusphels and...
Imagination played a key role in Lewis’ conversion. Through the reading of George MacDonald’s Christian fantasy, Phantastes, Lewis reported that a new quality, “a bright shadow,” leapt off the page. Later he described the new quality as “holiness,” recalling this time as a baptism of his own imagination. Although Lewis still needed to confront cert...
From an early age, C.S. Lewis had a fascination with mythology. He was particularly drawn to Norse mythology. Once as a young man he saw an illustration from “Siegfried and Twilight of the Gods” and one line, “the sky turned around.” For Lewis it was enough: “Pure ‘Northern-ness’ engulfed me: a vision of huge, clear spaces hanging above the Atlanti...
Imagination can also lead to an expanding awareness of the world by seeing through the eyes of others. Lewis loved to read about worlds created by authors as much as he enjoyed creating his own. He loved reading novels that showed the writer’s insights into life. He wrote: My own eyes are not enough for me. I will see through those of others. Reali...
Lewis also applied his understanding of the imagination to the realm of children’s literature. He questioned the division between children’s and adult literature, realizing that when we lose childlikeness, we lose something of our humanity (Mark 10:15). A good story is good for both child and adult. Children’s stories retain their appeal throughout...
Jul 23, 2009 · From his first published philosophy paper, “An Argument for the Identity Theory” (1966a), Lewis defended a version of the mind-brain identity theory (see the entry on the identity theory of mind ). As he makes clear in “Reduction of Mind”, this became an important part of his global reductionism.
Lewis was a man of conviction. But how could he make sense of his moral intuitions? He was a careful student of the human experience which meant his eyes were wide open to suffering, his own and that of others.
In the philosophy of mind, Lewis gave an important defense of mind-brain identity theory, and also developed an account of mental content that was based on his metaphysics of properties and modality.
He made significant contributions to philosophy of mathematics, philosophy of science, decision theory, epistemology, metaethics and aesthetics, and most significantly to philosophy of language, philosophy of mind, and metaphysics.
