TAoM: The Abolition of Man

"What we call Man's power is, in reality, a power possessed by some men which they may, or may not, allow other men to profit by"(Lewis 54).

"It is no use trying to 'see through' first prinicples. If you see through everything, then everything is transparent. But a wholly transparent world is an invisible world. To 'see through' all things is the same as not to see"(81).

Lewis' argument in The Abolition of Man is that the whole human race is subjected to some individual men, who are in turn subjected to their own irrational impulses. Lewis comes to this conclusion by examing man's conquest of nature. Through his analysis, Lewis reveals that it is not man who holds power of nature, but rather nature which holds power over man. With this knowledge, it can be assumed that the ideas of one person or group of people holds power, their views will take the place of the Law. Therefore, subjectivism could eventually conquer the Tao. This makes it vital that humanity is freed from its irrational impulses.