The Logic of Lewis

Description: Dr. Larry Arnn, president of Hillsdale College, said this of C. S. Lewis: “So how do you [come to] a rule of life and a path to heaven? I think it starts by reading for this day and age, [and] the best I’ve ever read is C. S. Lewis.” Known as one of the greatest Christian apologists of the modern era, Lewis, through the use of brilliant logic, brought great clarity and order to many of the most pressing issues facing us in our quest to understand nature, man, and God. In this course, students will read some of Lewis’s excellent short essays on a range of interesting and foundational topics. The class will track the logical steps of each essay, and they will analyze how Lewis marshaled his proofs to reach his conclusions. Students will be provided with a list of techniques employed in traditional and material logic so that they can identify how Lewis carries his reader along in his pursuit of clarity and truth. In addition, we will explore how Lewis’s subjects take shape in our current culture.

The goal of the course is to equip students with the understanding that comes from these arguments and also with the tools used in the arguments themselves so that students can forge ahead in the rhetoric stage of learning by practicing the use of these tools and, someday, as is the goal of classical education, to join the ranks of the great thinkers of the Western tradition.

Grade Level: 9-12 (ages14-18)

Required Materials: All readings will be provided by the teacher.