Subjectivism. It's a dangerous thing, like Bulverism, or pride, or other such things. It's essentially the idea that everything in the world is subject to one's own reasoning. The way Lewis makes it sound brings a little humor into the equation: "Man has begun to study himself . . . Now, his own reason has become the object: it is as if we took out our eyes to look at them . . . His own logic, hitherto the king whom events in all possible worlds must obey, becomes merely subjective."
Subjectivism is a little difficult to grasp, but surprisingly easy to put into practice. After all, the way we perceive the world must be how it is, right? It is as though everything in the world was subjected to my logic. Then, my own mind was also subjected to my reason. Studying my reasoning by using my reason, however, means that anything I find is not trustworthy, since my mind is the subject. It's like relying on a chronic liar for the fact; essentially the facts are going to be subject to your reasoning.
Lewis brings this further on. In the light of our subjectivist nature, we are inclined to a certain sense of judgment of right and wrong. These universal values of right and wrong, argues Lewis, have been relatively unchanging throughout time, culture, and place. The values, which create the "Law of Human Nature," as he calls it, show up consistently throughout any religion in any culture. The essentials are the same. Every culture has a law of decency and respect in which the human life is usually sacred, the old are cared for, as are the young and weak, lying is never tolerated, and neither are oppression and treachery. Someone in class said something that sounded as though Christianity put all those values together into coherent words, but I disagree (although, admittedly, I may have misunderstood entirely). What I believe Christianity did was give a reason for the Law of Human Nature. It explained how God is, who and what He is, and gave us an explanation of our debt to Him, and the way we ought to live to glorify Him. And, to me, that makes sense.
I like the way you describe subjectivism here. It reminds me that to put this into practice is a very selfish, ego-centric way to live life. How can we think that our minds are reliable for determining our own morals? It's almost a little embarrassing and certainly saddening that we have the audacity to say that our minds have the power to do what God has done by writing His law on our hearts. I like how you put it that Christianity gave us an explanation for how this Law came to be written there. I hope we can get better at recognizing and thanking our sovereign God for this Law, and for His forgiveness when we break it. This way, God will no longer remain the Landlord, and His law will no longer look like a never-ending list of rules.
ReplyDeleteCharis, I also enjoyed how Lewis described subjectivism especially the part about looking at our own eyeballs. I agree that subjectivism is really easy to put into practice because we constantly use our own logic to help us explain certain situations. You did a great job of explaining what subjectivism is and Lewis's views on it. Keep up the good work!
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