Ch 3a: pp 22-24

[Stanley Anderson]

(Four paragraphs beginning with “Before turning to the Model itself...” and ending with “...they were making just such and ascent.”)

(Interest seems to be flagging, so I haven’t been keeping up too well here – I’m more interested in discussions rather than me just spewing data out – but I told John I’d try a couple more sections here at least and see how it goes)

The first paragraph of chapter three simply tells what Lewis is going to reference, so not much to comment, except to say that I like the understatement of his parenthetical remark about “casual statements...in modern scientists...” being “often unreliable”, since the implications and his criticism of “scientism”, as opposed to science, come into many of Lewis’ works, particularly The Space Trilogy.

I have only a couple of Lewis canon references that I am reminded of in reading the next three paragraphs that form the beginning of section A: The ‘Somnium Sciponis’. When he describes how Scipio mentions talking about his grandfather as an “attempt to give plausibility to a fictitious dream”, I am reminded of how the UNDER ME sign in The Silver Chair is later “explained plausibly” by the knight (ie the bespelled Prince Rillian) as the remains of a longer couplet having nothing to do with the sign, supposedly.

Also in the last paragraph of this portion, Lewis’ references to various people in works Medieval or influential to the Medieval period who “look down” upon the earth from the vault of the heavens, reminds me very much of Jill’s view of Narnia from atop the cliff in Aslan’s country. And perhaps a little of the magical map that accompanies the Dawn Treader where it has detail at however great a magnification one looks at it with.

--Stanley

[girlfreddy]

Dear Stanley. My interest wasn't flagging so much as you had said that you wanted to go slow, so when there wasn't anything coming, I figured that 1. you were busy with your son and the ballet, 2. you wanted to wait to see if others would respond, or 3. whatever else could be happening. If you'd like, I could email you every day just to let you know that I'm still interested.

ps. Now I have to go find my book as I put it away somewhere in cleaning the last month or so.

[Stanley Anderson]

2. you wanted to wait to see if others would respond

Yes. As I wrote above, "I’m more interested in discussions rather than me just spewing data out ".

If you'd like, I could email you every day just to let you know that I'm still interested.

That would be nice and friendly and all, but wouldn't address the actual situation mentioned above. It's easier (and far more interesting to me) for me to respond with reply posts to others' comments rather than to start some topic up from scratch. (I guess that means I do better as an ennabler rather than an initiator:-)

--Stanley

[liriodendron]

(Interest seems to be flagging, so I haven’t been keeping up too well here – I’m more interested in discussions rather than me just spewing data out – but I told John I’d try a couple more sections here at least and see how it goes)

I have come a little late to the study, although I have now read into the 4th chapter. Sometimes it's hard to stop reading, and I don't alway have time at the computer to put my thoughts in writing.

I decided to join in reading The Discarded Image" because of someone's comment to the effect that we "moderns" tend to look down on what we feel we have progressed passed without realizing the good we have also left behind. That motivated me to try to understand the middle ages.

I was supprised to find out how much love and respect for books they had, maybe because books were so rare compared to our day. It's also facinating to see that ideas have a history and how they transform from the original, sometimes without the thinkers realizing it.

[Stanley Anderson]

I have come a little late to the study

Welcome and feel free to add your own thoughts at any time.

I decided to join in reading The Discarded Image" because of someone's comment to the effect that we "moderns" tend to look down on what we feel we have progressed passed without realizing the good we have also left behind.

That was very much a concern of Lewis (though he of course also mentions the not so good parts too). His point was that it is hard for us (or anyone) to look at our own age objectively and see the good and bad parts, but that it is easy to think we know ourselves better than we do -- and to also think better of ourselves than we deserve. And his interest in, and feeling more "at home" with the Medieval mindset is part of his reason for calling himslef a dinosaur (thus, the tag line for this forum:-)

--Stanley