In The Inner Ring, C. S. Lewis displays, not necessarily a huge problem, but a huge commonality in society. The essay shows how social circles, begin, operate, and flaw. In my opinion, this has been the easiest of his essays to read, and it has been the most straightforward. Essentially, Lewis claimed that social circles are not bad in and of themselves, but when they are formed for the wrong reasons they are unfruitful. Gangs are possibly the most notable of "Inner Ring" failures, but there even spoiled inner rings in respectable society. Lewis says that it all depends on how and why the group was formed. If it was formed in order to leave out other people, and members get joy from that, then the inner ring is very bad.
The only case in which Lewis says that an Inner Ring is good, occurs when a scenario is what causes the group to form. A common interest from all who are involved. It is for the love of the substance, rather than inclusion of a group. Perhaps, Lewis says, a quartet is to be formed. Of course there can only be four individuals. Though others will be left out, it is for the good of the quartet, and exclusion was only enforced because of circumstances. We must not confuse this type of exclusion with "unrighteous" exclusion.
I would definitely agree with you that this was a nice and easier piece to read. It is always refreshing to encounter Lewis' stark logic in our completely emotion-infused world.
ReplyDeleteWell said, Mark. You're right, we must not confuse the two twos of formation. We should also take a look at the rings we are in, and make sure we are not intentionally excluding people.
ReplyDeleteOooh, good job. That last part there was definitely good. We need to be aware of the right type of exclusion. I think it's also important, if we are part of a 'good' inner ring, that we still join in with other rings and other people rather than just staying confined to one inner ring which could be unhealthy. That's just a thought that your post brought up in my mind.
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