For another class I wrote an essay about C.S. Lewis' "We Have No Right to Happiness" and in this essay, one of the topics i discussed was the last sentence Lewis wrote; "And then, though our technological skill may help us survive a little
longer, our civilization will have died at heart, and will—one dare not
even add 'unfortunately'—be swept away." Lewis is arguing that if a society were to let men (he is talking about men and not humans in general) and their [sexual] impulses set free then a society should end.
His statement is interesting because he puts morals of people above a society itself. So any society that allows immoral actions not just illegal actions should not be allowed to exist. Also he is placing the blame solely on man. Earlier he argues that the pursuit of sexual happiness, which is immoral, takes advantage of women because they are more monogamous than men and need domestic happiness. Lewis' essay as a whole talks about why the action of trying to achieve happiness is immoral but his last paragraph shows how much emphasis morals have on a society.
I haven't read this essay but the quote you give seems to be claiming that certain cultural changes regarding technology will result in the erosion of a previous way of life rather than that such a society should not be allowed to exist.
ReplyDeleteI really like the discussion of personal morals vs society. This is something we have discussed in another class of mine. Ultimately, I am fond of Hegel's view that personal morality arises from an ethical life--derived from family, towns, and nations-- which is later shaped by the personal morality of its occupants. It is very circular, but I don't think that means it is untrue. It just means the beginning of the spiral is hard to see
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