Philosophy Commons^™

Tale As Old As Time: A Study Of The Cupid And Psyche Myth, With Particular Reference To C.S. Lewis's Till We Have Faces, John Stanifer

Inklings Forever: Published Colloquium Proceedings 1997-2016

In 1956, C.S. Lewis saw the publication of his final novel, Till We Have Faces. Considered by Lewis himself to be among his best work, the novel’s plot is essentially a reworking of the myth of Cupid and Psyche, a myth first recorded in Apuleius’s Metamorphoses. In this presentation, I will trace the various adaptations of the Cupid and Psyche myth and its echoes in works as various as the poetry of John Milton, Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight novels, and Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. What do all these stories have in common? Come listen and find out.

Aesthetics Vs. Anesthesia: C.S. Lewis On The Purpose Of Art, Charlie W. Starr

Inklings Forever: Published Colloquium Proceedings 1997-2016

Contemporary Christian culture does not know what art is for. C.S. Lewis did. First of all, he understood that Christians should not try to change culture by turning art into propaganda. The first purpose of art is not to be didactic but to be beautiful and provide pleasure and play. It may have secondary purposes – to inspire, to draw us to God – but art cannot achieve these purposes without achieving the first. Secondly, Lewis knew that we should not simply analyze art for its philosophical underpinnings. Though Lewis recognized the need for worldview analysis, this approach devalues play …

Old Macdonald Had A Farm: An Exploration Of Animal Literature And Its Subtext Through The Theology Of George Macdonald, Laura Stanifer

Inklings Forever: Published Colloquium Proceedings 1997-2016

Tales all the way from Grimms’ The Frog Princess to C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia all tell us that there is more subtext to animals in literature than we realize. They can represent the meaning of family, as in the werewolves in Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series, or the character of our soul, as in the Harry Potter series. I will touch on each of these elements while centering on George MacDonald’s view of animals as representing one of God’s miracles, amazingly similar to humans in their feeble nature and yet just as capable of being redeemed in the end. Matthew …

Owen Barfield: Un-Regressed Pilgrim, Edwin Woodruff Tait

Inklings Forever: Published Colloquium Proceedings 1997-2016

This paper will use C.S. Lewis’s The Pilgrim’s Regress to compare Lewis’s understanding of the spiritual life with that of Own Barfield. I will argue that the eponymous “regress” reflects Lewis’s belief (post-conversion) that the imagination did indeed point to truth, but that this truth could not be reached by the imagination directly but only by a humble submission to the eternal truth of historic, orthodox Christianity. Barfield, on the other hand, continued to believe that one could (using the terms of the Regress) sail directly to the Island in the West without returning to the “Landlord’s Castle.”

Dombey And Grandson: Parallels Between At The Back Of The North Wind And Dombey And Son, Robert Trexler

Inklings Forever: Published Colloquium Proceedings 1997-2016

During the time I spent exploring the illustrations for At The Back of the North Wind, I discovered a strong influence between MacDonald’s plot and theme for his book and the earlier Charles Dickens book Dombey & Son. Once it is pointed out it seems incontrovertibly true.

The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Exhibition - Using C.S. Lewis To Promote Science And The Movies, Woody Wendling

Inklings Forever: Published Colloquium Proceedings 1997-2016

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Exhibition is a touring exhibit of scenes, props, and costumes from the first two Narnia movies. The Exhibition has appeared in science museums throughout the United States. It is natural to link Narnia and science, as C.S. Lewis also write science fiction (the Ransom space trilogy) and critiqued scientism. The Exhibition begins with Lewis artifacts on loan from the Marion E. Wade Center. The awe-inspiring experience of entering Narnia through the wardrobe is surely the highlight in The Exhibition. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (LWW) section features the wardrobe and the witch, …

God Is Impartial: Frankenstein And Macdonald, Miho Yamaguchi

Inklings Forever: Published Colloquium Proceedings 1997-2016

In George MacDonald’s David Elginbrod, a criminal named Funkelstein exercises his influence on a young woman and makes her an accessory to his crime. I thought that the name sounded somewhat similar to “Frankenstein” so I examined Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein to see if there was any connection. Consequently, I discovered that some episodes and arguments in the story were taken up by MacDonald and reflected in David Elginbrod and also in his Wingfold trilogy. It appears that MacDonald, having read Frankenstein, tried to answer the cries of despair uttered by Frankenstein’s monster – the cries that seem to …

Charles Williams And The Quest For The Holy Grail, Susan Wendling

Inklings Forever: Published Colloquium Proceedings 1997-2016

Charles Williams (1886-1945) devoted his life to “the Matter of Britain,” seen in a private scrapbook, his novels and Arthurian poetry, and his prose analysis, The Figure of Arthur. Exploring two myths, King Arthur and the Grail Quest, Williams creatively combined them. Reasons are given why Williams was so intrigued with the Grail legends: the failure of earlier sources to develop the “never quite fulfilled hints of profound meaning”; the desire as a poet to discover images to convey his themes of romantic theology as well as the probing of the nature of co-inherence with its “doctrines” of Exchange and …

An Introduction To His Plays, Woody Wendling

Inklings Forever: Published Colloquium Proceedings 1997-2016

So You've Always Wanted to Read Charles Williams: An Introduction to His Prose, Plays, and Poetry

This panel will give readers a few keys to unlock the complex and fascinating writings of Lewis’s friend and fellow Inkling Charles Williams. We will suggest some starting points: War in Heaven as an introduction to his novels; the three plays Thomas Cranmer of Canterbury, The House by the Stable, and Grab and Grace, as well as the novel Descent into Hell, in which the poet/playwright Stanhope is a major character, as a good beginning for his plays; and the poem “Bors …

So Old And So New: Memory And Expectation In The Fantastic Works Of C.S. Lewis And J.R.R. Tolkien, Megan J. Robinson

Inklings Forever: Published Colloquium Proceedings 1997-2016

For both C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, the realms and stories of Faërie and the fantastic, in addition to being entertaining were revelatory: insights about the very nature of Reality come through the images and narratives of these secondary worlds, in which the perception of time often plays a major role. Examining such issues as time and ultimate reality in Lewis’s and Tolkien’s works must take into account each author’s devout and profound Christian faith, oriented around the eucatastrophe of the Gospel message radiating backwards and forwards throughout human history. This faith thus shaped how they understood the past, present, …

"Heaven And Hell Under Every Bush!": The Novel War In Heaven As An Introduction To His Prose, Susan Wendling

Inklings Forever: Published Colloquium Proceedings 1997-2016

So You've Always Wanted to Read Charles Williams: An Introduction to His Prose, Plays, and Poetry

This panel will give readers a few keys to unlock the complex and fascinating writings of Lewis’s friend and fellow Inkling Charles Williams. We will suggest some starting points: War in Heaven as an introduction to his novels; the three plays Thomas Cranmer of Canterbury, The House by the Stable, and Grab and Grace, as well as the novel Descent into Hell, in which the poet/playwright Stanhope is a major character, as a good beginning for his plays; and the poem “Bors …

A Time To Choose: Finitude, Freedom, And Eternity In Dante's Commedia And Lewis's Great Divorce, Matthew Swift

Inklings Forever: Published Colloquium Proceedings 1997-2016

Many scholars rightly note the use of Dantean imagery and ideas in The Great Divorce, but they do not focus primarily on the relationship between Lewis’s and Dante’s presentations of some central themes. Dante, like Lewis, is deeply concerned with human nature and decisions, especially as they relate to eternity. I propose that Lewis’s The Great Divorce presents views on the intertwining issues of finitude, freedom, and eternity, views which closely reflect those presented by Dante in his Commedia. An examination of each author’s full treatment of these three themes is beyond the scope of this paper, but …

The Man Born To Be King: Contextualizing The Kingdom, Monica Godfrey

Inklings Forever: Published Colloquium Proceedings 1997-2016

No abstract provided.

Learning To Speak 'The Tongue Of The Holy Ghost': An Introduction To The Poetry Of Charles Williams, Jennifer Woodruff Tait

Inklings Forever: Published Colloquium Proceedings 1997-2016

So You've Always Wanted to Read Charles Williams: An Introduction to His Prose, Plays, and Poetry

This panel will give readers a few keys to unlock the complex and fascinating writings of Lewis’s friend and fellow Inkling Charles Williams. We will suggest some starting points: War in Heaven as an introduction to his novels; the three plays Thomas Cranmer of Canterbury, The House by the Stable, and Grab and Grace, as well as the novel Descent into Hell, in which the poet/playwright Stanhope is a major character, as a good beginning for his plays; and the poem “Bors …

Truth And Imagination In Poetic Diction: Owen Barfield And C.S. Lewis's Great War, Stephen Margtheim

Inklings Forever: Published Colloquium Proceedings 1997-2016

Owen Barfield’s position in his “Great War” with C.S. Lewis holds that the imagination can both perceive and create truth via poetry. Contrarily, Lewis’s position in the “war,” which took place during the 1920s before his conversion to Christianity, holds that the imagination can in no way create truth. This paper explicates Barfield’s position and arguments as well as Lewis’s objections in order to demonstrate how Barfield is victorious in the war. I examine Barfield’s understanding of the natures of imagination and truth as seen in Poetic Diction, and subsequently turn to his arguments for imagination’s passive and active …

The Inklings And The Paradox Of Friendship, Marijean Wegert

Inklings Forever: Published Colloquium Proceedings 1997-2016

No abstract provided.

C.S. Lewis's Till We Have Faces: To Thine Own Self Be True, Elena Casey

Inklings Forever: Published Colloquium Proceedings 1997-2016

No abstract provided.

Reader And Writer: Lewis And Tolkien "On Fairy-Stories", Elizabeth Coon

Inklings Forever: Published Colloquium Proceedings 1997-2016

Although J.R.R. Tolkien’s reputation in recent years has benefited immensely from Peter Jackson’s film productions of The Lord of the Rings, C.S. Lewis still far outreaches him in terms of public awareness and popularity, specifically within the Christian world. Most are surprised to learn that Tolkien played a major role in Lewis’ conversion, rather than vice versa, and that their famous friendship did not continue indefinitely, but began to fade with the publication of Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia. The differences in their philosophies of storytelling unsurprisingly reveals the philosophy of their relationship. In “On Fairy-Stories,” Tolkien demands …

The Shieldmaiden Of Rohan, Hannah Woodard

Inklings Forever: Published Colloquium Proceedings 1997-2016

This paper explores the origin and purpose of one of Tolkien’s most highly debated characters: Eowyn. I have examined Eowyn from multiple angles, taking into consideration Christian, feminist, and literary perspectives, as well as considering her medieval origins. Tolkien synthesizes all of these factors into a strong female character who represents a larger theme of his work, the triumph of paradoxical power which comes through humility and gentleness. Eowyn’s inner struggle is illuminated particularly by her relationships with both Aragorn, who represents power and renown, and Faramir, who represents restraint and humility. Her final acceptance of her femininity and strength …

The Concept Of Twilight In The Writings Of C.S. Lewis, Sky Vanderburg

Inklings Forever: Published Colloquium Proceedings 1997-2016

No abstract provided.

Full Issue 2010 (Volume Vii)

Inklings Forever: Published Colloquium Proceedings 1997-2016

No abstract provided.

What's In A Name? Clues To Understanding Macdonald's Fairy Story Cross Purposes, Marie K. Hammond

Inklings Forever: Published Colloquium Proceedings 1997-2016

No abstract provided.

Dorothy L. Sayers: An Exemplar For Lay Theology, Christine M. Fletcher

Inklings Forever: Published Colloquium Proceedings 1997-2016

No abstract provided.

Sacred Journeys: C.S. Lewis And Frederick Buechner, Victoria S. Allen

Inklings Forever: Published Colloquium Proceedings 1997-2016

No abstract provided.

Imbruted Souls In Milton, Macdonald, & Lewis, Larry E. Fink

Inklings Forever: Published Colloquium Proceedings 1997-2016

No abstract provided.

Tolkien's Theory Of Courage: The Good, The Bad, And The Evil, Emily Bowerman

Inklings Forever: Published Colloquium Proceedings 1997-2016

No abstract provided.

Goblinisation: A Reading Of The Colonial Subject, Degeneration And Marginalisation In The Princess And The Goblin (1872) And The Princess And Curdie (1883) By George Macdonald (1824-1905), Rachel Johnson

Inklings Forever: Published Colloquium Proceedings 1997-2016

No abstract provided.

George Macdonald's Lilith As Mystical Document, Charles Beaucham

Inklings Forever: Published Colloquium Proceedings 1997-2016

No abstract provided.

The Theme Of Desire In The Writings Of C.S. Lewis: Implications For Spiritual Formation, Connie Hintz

Inklings Forever: Published Colloquium Proceedings 1997-2016

No abstract provided.

C.S. Lewis On Friendship, William L. Isley Jr.

Inklings Forever: Published Colloquium Proceedings 1997-2016

No abstract provided.