Abolition of Man – Men without Chests; Two Important Quotes

“For every one pupil who needs to be guarded from a weak excess of sensibility there are three who need to be awakened from the slumber of cold vulgarity … The right defence against false sentiments is to inculcate just sentiments” (13-14).
“Aristotle says that the aim of education is to make the pupil like and dislike what he ought. When the age for reflective thought comes, the pupil, who has been thus trained in ‘ordinate affections’ or ‘just sentiments’, will easily find the first principles in Ethics” (16).

Throughout the first chapter, Lewis expresses his disagreement with the authors that believe values are based solely on emotions. He argues that there exists an objective standard; therefore people cannot go about on their feelings. In this first quote, Lewis explains that there is a copious amount of students who are receiving excessive information regarding sensibility. Lewis makes a point of it to show that there is much more to sensibility than just feelings. Along with feelings, thinking is also involved in sensibility. Lewis argues that if these authors are going to use sentiments, then they should be just ones. He is able to efficiently present his case with his diction. He intentionally uses the words “awakened” and “slumber” in correlation to emphasize how crucial it is to direct these pupils in a different direction other than what they’re taught. In the second quote, Lewis continues his argument by stating how a student is to be taught. They should be trained in ordinate affections and just sentiments. Lewis also establishes his character in this quote and appeals logically. His reference to the philosopher Aristotle not only shows his intelligence but also is the reasoning behind his argument.