Through the Shadowlands Platonism in the Works of C.S. Lewis Lisa Moate BA (Hons) Philosophy, 2008 University of Notre Dame Australia This thesis is presented for the degree of Master of Philosophy of Murdoch University August 2015 DECLARATION I declare that this thesis is my own account of my research and contains as its main content work which has not previously been submitted for a degree at any tertiary education institution. Name: Lisa D. Moate Date: 19th August 2015 ii Abstract In this thesis, I examine the influence of Platonism on C.S. Lewis. I argue that this influence is principally reflected in changes to Lewis’s views as to what constitutes morality. Lewis’s conversion to Christianity, in particular, represents a fundamental change in the way he approached a Platonist interpretation of morality. I argue that Platonism was central to Lewis’s conversion. I will examine work written prior to his conversion to establish that Lewis struggled to come to terms with concepts of theism. I will also explore the ways in which Platonism influenced this struggle to show the extent of Plato’s influence on Lewis’s conversion to Christianity. Through this exploration, I seek to establish that Platonism was central to Lewis’s conversion to Christianity. Furthermore, I will also explore the extent to which this Christian Platonism influences Lewis’s developing views of universal morality in the popular works written after his conversion. I will seek to show that Lewis’s embracing of Platonism, leading on to his conversion to Christianity, influenced his acceptance of the distinction between the empirically observable “sensible” illusion of reality and the true intelligible reality and that one must also manifest this knowledge in practice through engaging in virtuous acts. In order to illustrate the manner in which Lewis changes his approach to morality after his conversion, I will first examine the poetry he wrote prior to converting to Christianity, which depicts the ability to recognise and accept the intelligible nature of reality as being fundamental to morality. I will also emphasise the idea that indulgence in materialism results in negative consequences in its departure from virtue. This examination will provide a standard against which Lewis’s post-conversion works can be compared. These post-conversion works reflect the increased significance that Lewis placed on Christian Platonism. This is done by drawing on the experiences of the people and characters depicted in those works in order to show ways in which Lewis suggests that virtue can be resulted in. iii Contents Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................................................... v Chapter One – Introductory .............................................................................................................................. 6 Part One: Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 6 Part Two: Modes of Written Expression .............................................................................................. 11 Chapter Two – Pre-Conversion Lewis ....................................................................................................... 19 Chapter Three - Dymer…………………………………………………………………………………………………28 Chapter Four - Christian Platonism……………………………………………………………………………….47 Part One: Christian Platonism – Influences on Lewis ..................................................................... 48 Part Two: Lewis’s Conversion to Christian Platonism ................................................................... 55 Chapter Five – Platonic Influences on Lewis’s Conception of Love ............................................... 71 Part One: Types of Love .............................................................................................................................. 71 Part Two: Levels of Love ............................................................................................................................ 83 Chapter Six – Platonic Influences on The Chronicles of Narnia ........................................................ 98 Part One: “The Last Battle” ........................................................................................................................ 98 Part Two: “The Silver Chair” ................................................................................................................... 114 Part Three: Additional Examples .......................................................................................................... 124 Chapter Seven – Heaven and Hell .............................................................................................................. 130 Part One: The Great Divorce ................................................................................................................... 130 Part Two: The Screwtape Letters ......................................................................................................... 145 Chapter Eight – Final Impressions ............................................................................................................ 156 Part One: The Essays of C.S. Lewis........................................................................................................ 156 Part Two: Contemporary Value ............................................................................................................. 162 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................................... 168 Bibliography ....................................................................................................................................................... 170 iv Acknowledgements Thanks go to my principal supervisor Doctor Ian Cook who not only agreed to take over as my supervisor but also provided me with an avenue in which I could give shape to my ideas and research. Thanks also go to Doctor Joseph Naimo of The University of Notre Dame Australia, who supported me and offered his help. Doctor Naimo’s help, and willingness to take on a partial supervisory role, was instrumental in the completion of this project. To Mr Colin Redmond, a colleague and dear friend, I also owe my gratitude. Your unfailing friendship, encouragement and guidance has been instrumental in my continued ability to undertake this work. Thanks to Megan Levy for friendship and providing me with a greater understanding of the Christian context of Lewis’s philosophy, and thanks especially to my office mates at Murdoch; Robert Andrews and Clare Maltas, and to our former office mate Denise Pringle; for camaraderie and friendship. Special thanks go to Rod Berry of Pickwick’s Second-hand Bookshop in Kalamunda, who was kind enough to share some recollections of his personal friendship with C.S. Lewis’s stepson Douglas Gresham. Thanks also to Penny of Magpie Books in Fremantle for keeping me notified when relevant material passed through the shop. My appreciation also goes to Notre Dame University’s School of Philosophy for continuing to extend to me sessional tutoring contracts and for being charitable and supportive, and to Murdoch University’s administrative staff, particularly Yolie Masnada, for their efficiency and provision of resources and facilities. v Chapter One – Introductory Part One: Introduction In this thesis I seek to show that Platonism is an integral part of C.S. Lewis’s concept of universal morality. Furthermore, I will also argue that Platonism influenced Lewis’s conversion to Christianity. I will explore the extent of this development through an evaluation of Lewis’s ideas as presented in texts written both before his conversion to Christianity and after his conversion. I will also explore Lewis’s popular works in order to establish the position that Lewis converted to Christian Platonism and that this remains a strong underlying theme throughout his working career. The importance of this study can be reflected in the following quotation, which highlights a lack of insight into Lewis’s actual conversion. In his review of Colin Duriez’s From Narnia to Christianity, as featured in The Sydney Morning Herald on the 28th of September 2013, Robert Wilson wrote that In spite of the fact Lewis wrote so much about the Christian faith, he is surprisingly vague about details of his own conversion, first from atheism to belief in God, but later to Christianity. He described himself as the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England. He wrote that he never had the experience of looking for God: “It was the other way around; He was the hunter [or so it seemed to me] and I was the deer. He stalked me like a redskin, took unerring aim and fired”.1 I will explore the points raised by Wilson and in doing so I argue that Lewis takes on a Platonist approach to virtue and metaphysics. I argue that Platonism was the vehicle for his conversion to Christianity and the mode by which Lewis understands the ascension of the soul to take place, based on the Platonic concept that true reality can only be comprehended through employing the intelligible mind. What is observable with the senses is taken to be an illusion. Plato’s virtue theory is linked to this, holding that succumbing to the senses rather than employing the intelligible mind to understand reality inhibits the development of