Philosophy · Book club
The Abolition of Man book club questions
Here are 11 book club questions for The Abolition of Man by C. S. Lewis, ordered to open easily and end somewhere worth arguing about. Copy them, print them, or bring them up one at a time.
The Abolition of Man is a short book Lewis published in 1943, adapted from three lectures he gave at the University of Durham.
C. S. Lewis · 1943 · 2h 0m
Full summary and key takeaways →The 11 questions
- 1.
Lewis claims that teaching children to treat value statements as merely subjective is philosophically mistaken. Do you agree? What would it mean for values to be objective rather than subjective?
- 2.
His concept of the Tao — a shared moral inheritance across all human cultures — is controversial. Can you think of a value that appears genuinely universal, and one that appears genuinely culture-specific?
- 3.
Lewis says you cannot step entirely outside the Tao to criticize it. Is there any genuine moral innovation, in his framework, or only moral rediscovery?
- 4.
The 'men without chests' are people who cannot feel appropriate emotional responses to genuine goods. Do you think modern education is producing more or fewer such people than in Lewis's time?
- 5.
Lewis distinguishes between criticism from within a moral tradition and wholesale rejection of it. Where does healthy skepticism end and self-defeating debunking begin?
- 6.
The book was written in 1943. Which of its warnings feel prescient to you, and which feel dated?
- 7.
Lewis's argument presupposes that there is a single human nature with a real moral structure. What is the strongest objection to that presupposition?
- 8.
He argues that technology without the Tao produces conditioners who shape humanity according to their own arbitrary preferences. Do you see examples of that dynamic in contemporary tech or media?
- 9.
Lewis is a Christian, and the Tao as he presents it broadly supports Christian morality. Is his presentation of the Tao genuinely cross-cultural, or does he smuggle in his own tradition's assumptions?
- 10.
What is the relationship between The Abolition of Man and Lewis's fiction — particularly the Space Trilogy and its villain Weston?
- 11.
If Lewis is right that the abolition of traditional value is underway, what is the appropriate response? What can individuals, schools, or institutions actually do?
How to run the discussion
- Pick six to eight, not all of them. An hour of real discussion covers fewer questions than anyone expects, and racing the list is what makes a book club feel like homework.
- Open with what people noticed, not what they concluded. Asking for a verdict first hardens opinions before anyone has heard each other.
- Let the disagreement run. The questions below that split a room are the ones worth the time; the ones everyone answers the same way can be skipped.
- Ask the quiet person a specific question. A direct, narrow question is far easier to answer than an open invitation to contribute.
Themes worth steering toward
If the conversation stalls, these are the threads that usually restart it.
Common questions
What are good book club questions for The Abolition of Man?
Here are 11 book club questions for The Abolition of Man by C. S. Lewis, ordered to open easily and end somewhere worth arguing about. The strongest openers ask what each reader noticed rather than what they concluded, and the discussion usually turns on objective value, natural law, education.
How long should a book club discussion of The Abolition of Man last?
Most groups run 60 to 90 minutes of actual discussion. That is roughly six to eight questions, not all of them, so pick the ones that suit your group rather than working down the list in order.
What are the main themes in The Abolition of Man?
Objective value, Natural law, Education, Moral realism, Human nature. Those are the threads most likely to divide a room, which makes them the useful places to steer a discussion that has gone quiet.
Picking the next one? See books like The Abolition of Man or questions for other book club picks.
