This thing which I have called for convenience the Tao, and which others may call Natural Law or Traditional Morality or the First Principles of Practical Reason or the First Platitudes, is not one among a series of possible systems of value. It is the sole source of all value judgements.
The Abolition of Man has been termed by many scholars as one of the supreme defenses of the scientific philosophy of “Natural Law” written during the 20th century. With this pronouncement, Lewis lays out why this judgment has been formed: he is taking the thesis not just seriously but with the utmost belief in its significance to the modern world. Any time a writer travels out onto the farthest reaches of a limb to use to provisos like “sole” and “all” when drawing a line in the sand regarding the fundamental nature of value judgments, it is worth noting and applying to all subsequent declarations on the subject.
I am only making clear what Man's conquest of Nature really means and especially that final stage in the conquest, which, perhaps, is not far off. The final stage is come when Man by eugenics, by pre-natal conditioning, and by an education and propaganda based on a perfect applied psychology, has obtained full control over himself. Human nature will be the last part of Nature to surrender to Man. The battle will then be won.
The underlying thematic investigation taking place in the text is whether man’s conquest of Nature represents the victory that applied sciences has considered it to be. Lewis argues the opposite and to illustrate his point in microcosm he is here taking things to their logical conclusion. The act of prescience being engaged here is no longer far off; we are in the final stage that Lewis predicts here. The words that one uses to describe the how the battle is to be won (note the irony) has changed, but the intent and means are the same.
If any one age really attains, by eugenics and scientific education, the power to make its descendants what it pleases, all men who live after it are the patients of that power.
The essential word here is “eugenics.” This was a once-popular notion of “improving” the human race through a variety of means that was supposed to biologically “improve” the existing genetic stock. For some, “improve” meant eliminating horrific medical disorder. For others, of course, “improve” meant “purifying” the gene pool. The limits down that road were what eventually discredited eugenics when the Nazis took them as far as they could. Today, Lewis would not be using the term eugenics, but would be writing about genetic engineering.
What we call Man's power over Nature turns out to be a power exercised by some men over other men with Nature as its instrument.
And here we get to the Nazis. In reality, however, Lewis is not really talking about specific abuses of power over nature like Nazi atrocities, but rather the long term. The big picture here is one of a very long and very slippery slope. The real potential danger being warned about is not that there will be more atrocity exhibitions by a single nation or ideology, but rather the cumulative effect of even relatively benign examples of power being exercised with Nature as the instrument. With each new advancement in man’s conquest of Nature comes changes not just in the immediacy of those changes, but in societal reactions, acceptance and, perhaps most dangerous, intensifying apathy.
