The Irony of Education
Gaius and Titius, in “The Green Book,” are attempting to educate children in the way they believe they should be educated. This type of education, through, is ironically counterproductive. Instead of teaching students to love what they ought, which Augustine believed to be the goal of education, Gaius and Titius ensure that students learn to love nothing at all, learning that emotion is just a fallacious appeal to an unfortunate aspect of humanity. This education leaves pupils less human than when it began.
The Irony of Science
Lewis notes a cruel irony concerning the advance of scientific progress: eventually, science will progress to the point where Man has complete power over Nature. He will be able to use this power to shape future men, forming the generations to come before they even exist. This situation reveals the irony: Nature actually has the power over Man, not vice versa, as Nature is the instrument Man uses to shape Man. Since the Conditioners are wholly subject to the whims of Nature, moreover, Nature has completely conquered Man through his attempts to control her.
The Irony of Transparency
The point of ‘seeing through’ something, as Lewis points out, is to see something beyond it (for example, discovering the motive behind a fallacious emotional appeal). Those who disbelieve in objective values, however, want to ‘see through’ all things, including first principles. Ironically, seeing through everything is the same as not seeing anything at all; you will find you have reasoned the whole world away. Instead of providing deeper truth, therefore, this transparency has merely blinded those seeking it.
The Irony of the Innovator
The Innovator attempts to construct a value system outside the Tao. Ironically, this is a futile task; all rationality and the basis for judgments of all kinds rests within the Tao, and without the Tao there is no sense of the imperative. The task is therefore impossible, making the “Innovator” an ironic title.
The Irony of the Conditioners
The Conditioners must transcend Mankind in order to assume the responsibility of controlling its destiny. This “transcendence,” however, includes the rejection of the Tao and all kinds of judgment-making ability, making these Conditioners subhuman rather than superhuman. Transcending human rationality, the Conditioners open themselves up, making themselves the slaves of Nature and her whims and therefore reducing themselves to little more than animals.
Irony of Language
One of C.S. Lewis’ main points in his book “The Abolition of Man” is his argument that the use of language is a distinguishing trait that separates humans from the rest of the animal kingdom. Humans can pass knowledge down from generation to generation via written and spoken word, meaning that our minds can be expanded by those who have come before us. This idea was at the root of one particular conversation about education between Lewis and his friend. It is also important to note that Lewis’s definition of language does not include animal calls, which he sees as simply a way for animals to communicate with each other to survive, but rather a language as a valid means by which we can convey ideas to one another.
Lewis uses irony throughout the book, especially when talking about what he believes is the upcoming death of language or “the abolition of man,” as he puts it. He argues that if language is destroyed, then we will no longer be able to think logically or communicate effectively with one another, making us unable to form new ideas and thus eliminating human civilization as we know it
Irony of History
The Irony of History is the idea that history repeats itself. In Lewis' The Abolition of Man, he uses this ironic quality of history to illustrate his point that there is a universal moral law that governs all of humanity. If we try to change or ignore the natural law, we will eventually conflict with it. Lewis claims that the way to understand this universal moral law is through nature. He uses examples from nature to illustrate his points about how human beings should live and act towards each other. This can be seen in his description of a shellfish. Lewis says that the shellfish is an example of a creature with no list of virtues because it simply follows its instinct without trying to manipulate its natural purpose for personal gain or selfishness."
