Why I Am Not a Pacifist by C.S. Lewis Doodle (Part 1 of 2)

Happy 'Victory in Europe' day! On 1 January 1940, Britain called up two million 19- to 27-year-olds for military service. In December Lewis was invited to talk to the Oxford University Pacifist Society on whether it was right to serve or not when drafted. The first half of this lecture presented here contains an introductory section on how we decide what is good and evil, before Lewis goes on to discuss the pacifist question in particular (11:24). Part 2 of the lecture is here which deals with the fourth element, authority:    • Video   You can find the book here: http://www.amazon.com/Compelling-Reas... The exact date of this address to the Oxford (University) Pacifist Society has always been unknown, except that it was given in 1940. But I notice the lecture does refer to something very topical at the time - the heroic and sacrificial courage of the captain and crew of the ‘Jervis Bay’ (misread in Lewis’ rough handwriting as ‘Terris Bay’). The sinking was only made public in the U.K. on the 12th November 1940 (Daily Mirror, https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9Mm..., so that narrows down the delivery date considerably to late 1940. At this time Britain was in the middle of the Blitz and was facing the Nazi threat alone, with the semi-pacifist President Franklin Roosevelt 'leading from behind' and being painfully slow to help arm the last democracy in Europe, but that did change (   • President Roosevelt's Lease and Lend Speech      • President Roosevelt Speaks At Congress (1940)  ). As bad as that was, Britain itself had done worse! Britain had handed the same severe stress to Czechoslovakia in 1938, with a public and leader asleep to the gathering storm about to burst upon them. This situation for Britain in late 1940 would all change within a single year of this lecture, following the Japanese strike on Pearl Harbor on 7th December 1941 and Nazi Germany's declaration of war on the United States on the 11th December 1941. (1:25) "The ability we have to examine our own thoughts, feelings, and actions — and to approve or disapprove of them — is not just another influence on us, like any other emotion or desire. Instead, it is inherently superior to all other impulses, as it naturally claims authority over them. In fact, you cannot even define this faculty, which we call conscience, without recognising its role in judgment, guidance, and oversight. These qualities are essential to what conscience is. By its very design, it is meant to lead and govern human behavior. Had it strength, as it has right; had it power, as it has manifest [obvious] authority, it would absolutely govern the world" (Joseph Butler, Paraphrased). (8:25) Lewis gives an example here of a moral judgment mistaken for intuition which I cut for the sake of brevity. (24:14) In Feb 1934, Lord Beaverbrook was a newspaper Press Baron and was an advocate of appeasement towards Nazi Germany. Mr. Lloyd George was the former British Prime Minister during WWI and was an advocate of pacifism towards Nazi Germany. General Smuts was a former enemy leader during the 2nd Boer War, who became Prime Minister of South Africa, and was an advocate of British neutrality towards Nazi Germany. Winston Churchill had Hitler mapped out in February 1934!