{"id":22595,"date":"2025-07-10T18:32:33","date_gmt":"2025-07-10T18:32:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/happyinthehills.com\/zentriathlete\/?p=22595"},"modified":"2026-02-21T00:25:41","modified_gmt":"2026-02-21T00:25:41","slug":"ft-bts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/happyinthehills.com\/zentriathlete\/2025\/07\/10\/ft-bts\/","title":{"rendered":"Fleeting thoughts – back to source"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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If my duty to my parents is a superstition, then so is my duty to posterity. If justice is a superstition, then so is my duty to my country or my race. If the pursuit of scientific knowledge is a real value, then so is conjugal fidelity. The rebellion of new ideologies against the Tao is a rebellion of the branches against the tree: if the rebels could succeed they would find that they had destroyed themselves. - C.S. Lewis<\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
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C.S. Lewis<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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Context of the Quote CS Lewis quote<\/h2>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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C.S. Lewis once warned that \u201cwithout a shared moral foundation, society risks moral chaos or tyranny.\u201d<\/em> He believed that objective values are essential for human flourishing\u2014and that abandoning them leads to the \u201cabolition\u201d of what it means to be truly human. The quote appears in the third lecture\/chapter of the book, titled “The Abolition of Man.”\u00a0 <\/strong>Here’s the key idea behind it:<\/span><\/p>

Lewis is arguing against the relativistic and subjectivist trends in modern education and philosophy, which dismiss traditional moral values as mere “superstitions.” He warns that if we discard these values\u2014such as duty to parents, justice, fidelity, and patriotism\u2014as irrational or outdated, we also undermine the very foundations of any moral or ethical system, including those values we still claim to uphold (like scientific inquiry or social justice).<\/span><\/p>

“The rebellion of new ideologies against the Tao is a rebellion of the branches against the tree: if the rebels could succeed they would find that they had destroyed themselves.”<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>

This metaphor illustrates his point: just as branches cannot survive without the tree, modern ideologies cannot sustain themselves if they sever their roots in the moral traditions they seek to replace.<\/span><\/p>

Why It Matters<\/span><\/h4>

Lewis\u2019s warning is that without a shared moral foundation<\/strong>, society risks moral chaos or tyranny. He believed that objective values are necessary<\/strong> for human flourishing and that rejecting them leads to the “abolition” of what it means to be truly human.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Some thoughts – In quick hurried summary<\/h3>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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The irony?<\/span><\/h4>

Many who invoke this quote today, in whole or in part, often overlook its broader implications. They seek to influence a curated and narrow prescriptive moral framework\u2014one rooted in the worldview of a small, authoritative minority\u2014while ignoring the global reality we now live in. Even more challenging today is that a hope for a shared moral foundation must now account for the dignity, autonomy, and lived experiences of over 8 billion people, not just the ideals of an often self-selected privileged few.<\/span><\/p>

When moral authority is wielded to suppress individual free-will and agency under the guise of benevolence, it ceases to be moral at all. History\u2014and our present\u2014shows us that trusting a select few to define what\u2019s \u201cbest\u201d for everyone often leads not to flourishing, but to control, exclusion, and harm.<\/span><\/p>

It is my observation that many people use this particular quote from The Abolition of Man<\/strong><\/span> to justify their own subjective views\u2014self-serving or not\u2014rather than embracing its broader, more universal meaning.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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The Fun Challenge to the above quote and Thoughts:
A Reminder from Feynman and the Story of Icarus<\/h2>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Let\u2019s start with a quote and reminder from the physicist\u00a0 Richard Feynman:<\/span><\/p>

\u201cThe first principle is that you must not fool yourself\u2014and you are the easiest person to fool.\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>

This reminder from Feynman serves as a powerful reminder, especially when we consider how easily we accept cultural dogmas without question.<\/span><\/p>

Take, for instance, the Aristotelian idea an philosophy of the “Law of the Golden Mean\u201d<\/em><\/strong>\u2014often paraphrased in modern culture as \u201cmoderation in all things.\u201d<\/em><\/strong> While this principle is too frequently invoked to justify religious or faith-based beliefs and actions or inactions, its philosophical roots run deeper. It echoes the ancient myth of Icarus, who flew too close to the sun with wings of wax and gold. The story warns us not just about excess, but about the dangers of ignoring balance and wisdom in pursuit of lofty ideals.<\/span><\/p>

But the idea predates Aristotle. The ancient Greeks embedded it in myth\u2014 the story of Icarus<\/strong>. Daedalus, his father, warned him not to fly too high lest the sun melt his waxen wings, nor too low lest the sea dampen them. Icarus, intoxicated by the thrill of flight, soared too close to the sun and fell. The tale is often read as a cautionary metaphor for hubris, but it also illustrates the peril of ignoring balance.\u00a0 The more recent adaptations of “How to Train Your Dragon” by DreamWorks in films share and highlight how Hiccup and Toothless work together not to fall prey to either as a subplot to many other story arcs.<\/span><\/p>

Even Roman thinkers like Horace<\/strong> championed the aurea mediocritas<\/em>\u2014the \u201cgolden mean\u201d\u2014as a path to a contented life, free from the chaos of excess. And yet, as Feynman reminds us, even these revered principles can become dogma if we stop questioning them.<\/span><\/p>

So here\u2019s the challenge: can we hold onto wisdom without turning it into unquestioned truth? Can we embrace balance without becoming blind to its limits?<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Some Stoic examples to thought to include:<\/span><\/h3>