Duquesne University Duquesne Scholarship Collection Electronic Theses and Dissertations Fall 2014 C. S. Lewis and the Premodern Rhetorical Tradition: The Abolition of Man as Rhetoric and Philosophy of Education Nicholas Ryan Pertler Follow this and additional works at: https://dsc.duq.edu/etd Recommended Citation Pertler, N. (2014). C. S. Lewis and the Premodern Rhetorical Tradition: The Abolition of Man as Rhetoric and Philosophy of Education (Doctoral dissertation, Duquesne University). Retrieved from https://dsc.duq.edu/etd/1039 This Immediate Access is brought to you for free and open access by Duquesne Scholarship Collection. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Duquesne Scholarship Collection. For more information, please contact [email protected]. C. S. LEWIS AND THE PREMODERN RHETORICAL TRADITION: THE ABOLITION OF MAN AS RHETORIC AND PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION A Dissertation Submitted to the McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts Duquesne University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy By Nicholas R. Pertler December 2014 Copyright by Nicholas R. Pertler 2014 C. S. LEWIS AND THE PREMODERN RHETORICAL TRADITION: THE ABOLITION OF MAN AS RHETORIC AND PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION By Nicholas R. Pertler Approved September 5, 2014 ________________________________ ________________________________ Calvin L. Troup, Ph.D. Richard H. Thames, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Communication Associate Professor of Communication & Rhetorical Studies & Rhetorical Studies (Committee Chair) (Committee Member) ________________________________ Janie M. Harden Fritz, Ph.D. Professor of Communication & Rhetorical Studies (Committee Member) ________________________________ ________________________________ James Swindal, Ph.D. Ronald C. Arnett, Ph.D. Dean, McAnulty College and Graduate Chair and Professor, Department of School of Liberal Arts Communication & Rhetorical Studies Professor of Philosophy iii ABSTRACT C. S. LEWIS AND THE PREMODERN RHETORICAL TRADITION: THE ABOLITION OF MAN AS RHETORIC AND PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION By Nicholas R. Pertler December 2014 Dissertation supervised by Calvin L. Troup, Ph.D. This interpretive project begins with the following question: How does The Abolition of Man by C. S. Lewis (1898-1963) function as a rhetoric and philosophy of education to open up meaningful alternatives to modern education? Although Lewis originally composed and delivered the text as three lectures in response to the felt educational concerns of his age, in its published form The Abolition of Man still offers relevant insight on the topic of education in contemporary times. Scholarship on Lewis has yet to fully appreciate exactly how his educational ideals align with the premodern rhetorical tradition, but this project argues that distinctive courses of action emerge by interpreting The Abolition of Man as a rhetoric and philosophy of education from within this framework. The premodern rhetorical tradition understands the importance of moral education for developing the habits that are necessary for practical reason and meaningful iv communal interaction. However, through the worldview of scientism, modern education replaces the authority of this human tradition with the authority of method and technique. When modern education uses the authority of method and technique to replace human tradition, knowledge and values are mediated through the dictates that scientism establishes as valid. Scientism only permits knowledge and values that perpetuate its own authority, thus ignoring the ideals of the premodern rhetorical tradition because they challenge this authority. Lewis tacitly relies upon the educational ideals of the premodern rhetorical tradition to critique the amoral scientism of modern education and to revitalize classical learning attentive to moral values, virtuous action, and practical reason. v DEDICATION To my wife, Alison And to my children, Henry, Miriam, and Abraham vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The completion of this project would have been impossible without the support and continual encouragement of my dear wife, Alison. These pages owe a debt of gratitude to her, along with my children, Henry, Miriam, and Abraham, for the various forms of inspiration they have supplied. I also wish to acknowledge my parents, Rick and Marla, for believing in me and for together training me in the way I should go. My parents have given me the best education of all through the example of their lives. My sincere gratitude goes out to my professors in the Department of Communication & Rhetorical Studies at Duquesne University for helping me to cultivate my scholarly agenda. In particular, I owe more than I can say to my dissertation director and mentor Dr. Calvin L. Troup for his constructive contributions to this project and for his role in my overall scholarly formation. I would like to extend my appreciation to the School of Nursing at Azusa Pacific University in San Diego for allowing the context which enabled me to focus on this work. For their charity and support, I wish to recognize my debt to the rest of my friends and family; to my grandparents, siblings, extended family, and in- laws I offer a sincere thank you. Finally, I must acknowledge my profound gratitude for the writings of C. S. Lewis which, throughout the extent of this project, have never ceased to challenge and delight me. Poway, CA vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Abstract .............................................................................................................................. iv Dedication .......................................................................................................................... vi Acknowledgement ............................................................................................................ vii Chapter 1: C. S. Lewis and the Premodern Rhetorical Tradition ........................................1 1.1: Introduction .............................................................................................................1 1.2: Lewis’s Rhetorical Sensibilities..............................................................................2 1.3: Lewis’s Ethical Rhetoric .........................................................................................6 1.4: Rhetoric in Lewis’s Historical Moment................................................................11 1.5: Scholarship on Lewis’s Rhetoric ..........................................................................16 1.6: Lewis’s Rhetorical Principles ...............................................................................22 1.7: Conclusion ............................................................................................................27 Chapter 2: Education and the Premodern Rhetorical Tradition .........................................31 2.1: Introduction ...........................................................................................................31 2.2: Framing Rhetorical Ideals .....................................................................................32 2.3: Rhetoric in Ancient Greece...................................................................................36 2.4: Rhetoric in Classical Rome...................................................................................42 2.5: Rhetoric in the Middle Ages .................................................................................45 2.6: Precursors to Scholasticism ..................................................................................49 2.7: Medieval Scholasticism and Renaissance Humanism ..........................................52 2.8: Enlightenment and Counter-Enlightenment .........................................................58 2.9: Modern Education.................................................................................................62 viii 2.10: Conclusion ..........................................................................................................66 Chapter 3: The Abolition of Man: A Rhetoric and Philosophy of Education ....................70 3.1: Introduction ...........................................................................................................70 3.2: The World of Action .............................................................................................71 3.3: Virtue Ethics .........................................................................................................76 3.4: Primacy of the Will ...............................................................................................82 3.5: Objective Value ....................................................................................................87 3.6: Sensus Communis and Natural Law......................................................................95 3.7: Practical Reason (Phronēsis) ..............................................................................102 3.8: Modern Education and Scientism .......................................................................106 3.9: Conclusion ..........................................................................................................111 Chapter 4: The Abolition of Man: At the Intersection of Media Ecology ........................116 4.1: Introduction .........................................................................................................116 4.2: A History of Media Ecology ...............................................................................117