Assignments and Action Steps

Journal exercise: Technology plays a large part in our day to day lives. As Dr. Turley discussed in this lecture, we benefit from technology (such as aviation) that we have no actual power over ourselves. In effect, we are dependent on the skills and technical knowledge of others. (This seems especially eerie if we consider how accurately Lewis’ portrayal of the Conditioners and Conditioned could plug in to our own lives today.) Take some time to jot down the technologies you use or depend on. Consider how you fit into the different systems at work in your life. When are you part of the Conditioners? The Conditioned?

Don’t despair! At the end of The Abolition of Man, Lewis calls us to re-embrace the Tao to become a part of the divine economy of God’s creation, rather than mere nature controlled by the impulses of the Conditioned. Consider: What would you need to do to re-embrace the Tao? How can you reorient your ways of thinking to better align yourself with the objective values and moral truths of God?