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Because the first chapter of C. S. Lewis's Abolition of Man was so difficult to understand, here is a quick visual summary

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'Men without Chests' by C.S. Lewis Doodle (Chapter 1 of 'The Abolition of Man')

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C.S. Lewis takes a look at the heartless, frigid philosophy contained in modern elementary textbooks on English Literature. This is an illustration of the first chapter of 'The Abolition of Man' as it can be particularity hard to digest with its more than fifty literary references.

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This TED Talk video poses the question: "Is millennialism true societal progress?"

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Is Millennialism Progress?: Eugene Gallagher at TEDxConnecticutCollege

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Eugene V. Gallagher is the Rosemary Park Professor of Religious Studies at Connecticut College. He studies millennialism, new religious movements, and the scriptural traditions of the West. He is the author of three books, co-author of Why Waco?, co-editor of the five volume Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America, and numerous articles.

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Here's a quick and fun little video regarding the aspect of social changes throughout the progression from pre modernity to postmodernity

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Premodern Society

If you live or have ever lived in a big city (I live in Chicago), one of the things you'll notice right away is how busy it is. Honking cars, brightly lit billboards, towering skyscrapers, and massive crowds are just a few of the things you'll see.

Now, contrast that image with a city you'll find a few hours outside of Chicago, in Galena, Illinois. Galena has that small town, traditional feel, with picturesque houses where people move at a more leisurely pace. The social patterns that you would find in a place like Galena, Illinois, are close to what we would call premodern, or traditional, at least when compared to a city like Chicago. While there aren't many truly premodern places left in the U.S., we still use the term premodernity to refer to those social patterns in a society that existed before wide-scale industrialization.

To truly understand what a premodern society might look like, there are some characteristics that many of them share. Premodern societies tend to be very homogeneous, where many of the people that live there are the same, usually in terms of race, ethnicity, and education level and who share a strong moral identity. There are also few specialized jobs (and few white collar ones as well) and maybe only a few industries around which the community is based. Because of this, social mobility is also somewhat limited.

However, since premodern communities are smaller, many of the people in the town get to know one another on a personal level, and these personal relationships serve as checks to behavior. For instance, if you're caught speeding and are pulled over, anyone that passes you in a small town like Galena will probably have heard about it. Lastly, any significant change in the makeup and identity of these types of communities is slow and happens over generations.

Modern Society

In contrast, a city like Chicago has a much different feel to it, which we'll get to in a moment. But first, let us define a modern society as a society that strives to continually move forward through its evolving ideas, values, and innovation. Specifically, the idea of modernity is the social patterns that have been created as a result of industrialization. The Industrial Revolution, that started in Europe during the mid-1700s, is often the dividing line between premodern and modern societies; however, that's not to say that today there still aren't any semi-premodern societies left. They are just less likely to be found in an industrialized country like the United States, but they do still exist in some form here in our country. Also, if you were to travel to a place like Pakistan or Ghana, you would probably still find many premodern societies.

Nevertheless, some of the more notable features of a modern society include a society that's fairly diverse in terms of the people that live there and the values that they hold. There are also a number of specialized jobs and many industries around which they are based. Because of this, social mobility is easier to come by, as is a high-quality education with which to achieve that mobility. However, since modern communities can become rather large, there aren't many face-to-face communications and personal relationships that are formed between people. People learn about happenings in their community through the media rather than informal conversations. While a society like this does value privacy, there is something to be said about the loss of feeling like a close-knit community.

From Premodernity to Postmodernity

The perceptions we have of premodern versus modern societies also differ. We link modernity to the idea of progress or a state of perpetual improvement, and we see stability as stagnation, so it's become important for societies to move towards modernity. And while we said that the Industrial Revolution was the accepted dividing line between premodern and modern societies, the fact is that the move towards modernity is a continual process. But how do we know that modernity is actually occurring? Well, there are three general effects that happen when modernity occurs.

The first is the decline of small, traditional communities. For thousands of years, villages were more rural than urban and social life revolved around family and neighborhoods. Such traditional worlds gave each person a well-defined place that offered a strong sense of identity, belonging, and purpose. For example, if you wanted bread, you went to the baker; if you had a problem in town, you went to the town sheriff; and if something broke in your house, you knew the person to call. Everyone in these small communities had a role to play in the functioning of the community as a whole. Today, cities are exploding in terms of population, and there is no longer just one single identity or role of those that are living in a city have.

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the evolution from premodern to modern & postmodern societies - video & lesson transcript | study.com

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The Evolution from Premodern to Modern & Postmodern Societies - Video & Lesson Transcript | Study.com

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If you live or have ever lived in a big city (I live in Chicago), one of the things you'll notice right away is how busy it is. Honking cars, brightly lit billboards, towering skyscrapers, and massive crowds are just a few of the things you'll see.

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This book by Anthony Giddens touches on a few of the many aspects we studied regarding modernity in the viewpoint of how it affects the individual:

"Modernity differs from all preceding forms of social order because of its dynamism, its deep undercutting of traditional habits and customs, and its global impact. It also radicallly alters the general nature of daily life and the most personal aspects of human activity... Personal meaninglessness becomes a fundamental psychic problem in circumstances of modernity."

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Authenticity in the Eyes of a Postmodernist

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Authenticity in the Eyes of a Postmodernist

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Our generation is commonly described as one that is postmodern. We (as a whole) are idealistic and demand respect for our individual differences and embrace the potential that our unique qualities can bring to society. See how this article recommends business managers to work with Millennials in their postmodern mindset.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/karlmoore/2014/08/14/authenticity-the-way-to-the-millennials-heart/#5174883444a9

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Idea that relates back to C. S. Lewis' idea in Chapter 3 of the Abolition of Man:   

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Idea that relates back to C. S. Lewis' idea in Chapter 3 of the Abolition of Man:   

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“But you cannot go on ‘explaining away’ for ever: you will find that you have explained explanation itself away.” (pg 31)

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C.S. Lewis was an individual able to disagree with and disprove ideas of postmodernity. Rather than encourage the instinct to debunk traditionalism, he encouraged individuals to think rationally about traditional values.

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C.S. Lewis was an individual able to disagree with and disprove ideas of postmodernity. Rather than encourage the instinct to debunk traditionalism, he encouraged individuals to think rationally about traditional values.

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"Lyotard argues that Postmodernism is a playful engagement with many conflicting narratives, alternatives that have emerged in the space created by the questioning of the grand metanarrative." -Gerlach

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"Lyotard argues that Postmodernism is a playful engagement with many conflicting narratives, alternatives that have emerged in the space created by the questioning of the grand metanarrative." -Gerlach

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UNBOXED: Lyotard, Postmodernism & the Metanarrative

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In The Postmodern Condition, Lyotard ("leo-TAR") argues that all cultures, ancient and modern, legitimate themselves through the telling and retelling of narratives, stories that give cultures purpose and meaning.

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After conducting my interview with my Pastor, he sent me this photo saying that "It described the modernist attitude perfectly."

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Freud was an advocate for scientific thought and disagreed strongly with the idea of religion. In this quote he expresses his point of view that religion is merely an illusion. He expresses his sadness for the people who choose not to ever rise above the religious mindset.

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Freud was an advocate for scientific thought and disagreed strongly with the idea of religion. In this quote he expresses his point of view that religion is merely an illusion. He expresses his sadness for the people who choose not to ever rise above the religious mindset.

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"The whole thing is so patently infantile, so foreign to reality, that to anyone with a friendly attitude to humanity it is painful to think that the great majority of mortals will never be able to rise above this view of life." -Freud

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This picture reminds me of the bourgeois and proletariat people groups during the time of Marx and Engel. While the lower classes are working hard to earn their keep, the upper classes are taking advantage of them and stealing their profits from them. 

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This picture reminds me of the bourgeois and proletariat people groups during the time of Marx and Engel. While the lower classes are working hard to earn their keep, the upper classes are taking advantage of them and stealing their profits from them. 

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"The civilised races of man will almost certainly exterminate, and replace, the savage races throughout the world."

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"The civilised races of man will almost certainly exterminate, and replace, the savage races throughout the world."

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-Darwin The Descent of Man

As we discussed in class, Darwin was not a proponent for weak or inferior people. He believed that eventually higher, more established people groups would wipe out the lesser population.

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Grumpy Cat's take on Sartre's idea of Existentialism

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Kant's entire philosophy was built on the idea of not having to rely on other people's knowledge, but instead being able to form your own opinions.