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The Abolition of Man: Appendix: The Tao

The Abolition of Man: Appendix: The Tao

Last updated on: October 20, 2026 at 2:44 pm by Roger E. Olson

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The Abolition of Man: Appendix: The Tao 2026-10-20T14:44:48-05:00 Roger E. Olson

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Here I continue our discussion of C. S. Lewis’s book The Abolition of Man with the Appendix: Illustrations of the Tao. If you have read the Appendix, feel free to comment. If not, feel free to ask a question.

Throughout the book we have wondered what all Lewis means by “the Tao.” That is, what does it include? The Appendix answers some of that, giving illustrations. There are other yet unanswered questions such as in what the Tao is grounded. All Lewis tells us here is that the Tao is. He says “For those who do not perceive its rationality, even universal consent would not prove it.”

On the first page of the Appendix Lewis calls the Tao “the Natural Law.” Perhaps most shocking to modern, postmodern, post-colonial sensibilities, Lewis ares that there are no “independent civilizations.” “It is by no means certain that there has ever…been more than one civilization in all history.” Of course, by “civilization” he does not mean what many anthropologists mean. Lewis means there is only one “centre” of civilization and all “civilizations” are derived from it.

More to the point of the Appendix, however, are the virtues and values Lewis believes have been and are always and everywhere considered normal, natural and worthy of applause. They are:

1. The Law of General Beneficence…, 2. The Law of Special Beneficence…, 3. Duties to Parents, Elders, Ancestors…, 4. Duties to Children and Posterity…, 5. The Law of Justice…, 6., The Law of Good Faith and Veracity…, 7. The Law of Mercy…, 8., The Law of Magnanimity…. Some of these are subdivided into sections such as “(a) Sexual Justice” under “The Law of Justice.”

Lewis providence several diverse cultural expressions of each Law to show that each one is not limited to a particular country or religion.

This is all well and good, but what I like to do if I want to illustrate that there IS a Tao is go to a most extreme case where everyone would agree that something (conscience, natural law, reason, whatever) calls for a particular response and rejects as unconscionable a different response.

Earlier here I mentioned an infamous black and white photograph. It was printed in man magazines and newspapers. I don’t want to look for it and tell you where to find it because it could trigger some very negative feelings. It is a horrific picture. In it, a small child is dying. He or she is leaning naked forward, away from the camera, and obviously dying. The context is famine. The photojournalist who took it was interviewed. Interviewer asked him if he stepped up to help the child. He said no, he did not. Why? Because that was not his job. He’s just a photojournalist.

There was a hue and cry from the public. I often wonder what became of the photojournalist after that. People around the world cried out that he was wrong, that it was his duty to help the child.

So, it would seem that most, if not all people know that helping the child was the right thing to do and turning a back and leaving was the wrong thing to do. The Tao illustrated. If someone saw that picture and said “I agree with the photojournalist,” most if not all people would say “You’re crazy.”

Do all people naturally know that Lewis’s “Laws” are imperatives to live by? Earlier in the book he seemed to say no. He seemed to say that children and youths need to be taught the Tao by educators. That is the job of educators (among others).

Lewis’s complaint is that by and large educators are not doing their job. I doubt he means every school teacher. But he means an elite group of textbook writers and teachers of teachers. Having taught in academic settings for many years and having been a student for many years, I have to agree with him.

*Note: If you choose to comment, make sure your comment is relatively brief (no more than 100 words), on topic, addressed to me, civil and respectful (not hostile or argumentative), and devoid of pictures or links.*

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