Eric Fesmire-Space Trilogy Post #2

"I see that you come from a wise world...if this is wise. I have never done it before- stepping out of life into the Alongside and looking at oneself living as if one were not alive. Do they all do that in your world, Piebald?"-Perelandra


“as thinkers we are cut off from what we think about…the more lucidly we think, the more we are cut off.-Myth Became Fact


It is interesting to see Lewis' philosophical thoughts play themselves out in his narratives. Both of these seem to me to be critiques of the modern way of thinking. Strict empiricism and positivism seeks to be as removed from personal experience as possible. While I don't think objectivity is this awful thing, I do think that it is more difficult to achieve than many think. Our opinions tend to seep into our writings. Still, in object writing, the main point that Lewis makes is that it removes the person from their experience. It can bring good insight into what life looks like, but it does not know what it is about. In other words, Lewis continually made the point that such language is observational in nature, not insight or wisdom based. This is why, while Lewis could write at the level of philosophical inquiry, he tended to write narratives to explore theological/philosophical concepts. Examples of this behavior include all of his narrative writings but especially The Great Divorce, Screwtape Letters and Till We Have Faces.