Lewis also brings up the point that our thoughts are “tainted at the source”. I strongly agree with Lewis on this point because almost everything I believe has come from the influence and ideas of others around me. My belief of a proper family life is based off of the family life that I grew up in, and other people will have a different view of family life because of the situations in which they grew up. I have only lived my life so it is hard for me to see things from other people’s perspectives. This goes along with the last essay we read by C. S. Lewis entitled “Meditation in a Toolshed”. Some situations I can only look “at” because I have never experienced them myself. Because I can’t see as well from other people’s point of views it is difficult for me to listen to their arguments, and I am quick to judge them just because of who they are. Bulverism is a sin that many people struggle with, and we must strive to fight against it.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Bulverism
In his essay “Bulverism”, C. S. Lewis points to a huge struggle that we face in arguments and debates – bulverism. According to Lewis, bulverism is the practice of disagreeing with a person based on who they are rather than what they are saying. Because of a preconceived notion of a person, we disagree with them without even trying to understand their argument. I struggle with this sin in my own life. If I disagree with the point a person is trying to prove, I will ignore the rest of what that person is saying because I already judged the person, and I am not willing to see it from their point of view. By reading this essay, I realized that it is important to listen to what other people have to say even if we don’t get along with the person.
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That's a really interesting perspective you have about being "tainted at the source". I understand that "tainted" means "influenced" for you, however I think that Lewis meant "mistaken" by "tainted". But your perspective is really creative so I enjoyed the reading and looking at it your way.
ReplyDeleteHey Courtney! I really liked how you mentioned our own "tainted" thinking in your blog. Its so hard to admit that we ourselves have biases in our own thinking. Its really important that we realize our own ideas have "taints " in them.
ReplyDeleteI think it is very cool how you admitted your struggle with Bulverism in your own life. I think this is exactly the kind of humility that Lewis says that we need to have when we argue. I also appreciate your connection of this essay to "Meditation in a Toolshed". It is very true how bulverism connects to a judgmental mentality and even the hypocrisy that Professor Adriana talked about in her lecture.
ReplyDeleteHi Court :)
ReplyDeleteI thought you did a really good job on your post, however, I have one disagreement with you. At least twice, you reffer to bulverism as a sin. Although it can certainly be sinfull in many situations, I don't think that it always has to be a sin. For example, one of my friend was saying to me that it must be nice to be the oldest child. Rather than listing off the negatives to this position, I said, "Well you can say that because you're second to youngest." I didn't use a very logical arguement of course, but I don't think that that level of bulverism is actually sinful. Again, I agree with you that there are times when bulverism can be sin, but I don't think it is a sin in and of itself.