C. S. Lewis on Higher Education: The Pedagogy of Pleasure

Why do we pursue a university education? Is it to improve our employability, earning potential and status? Or should the fulfilment of knowledge be justified purely for the enjoyment it brings? For the first time Stewart Goetz uncovers C.S. Lewis's overlooked views on the purpose of higher education and encourages us to rethink our reasons. Drawing on Lewis's general view of pleasure as the ultimate purpose of human life, Goetz explores how this perspective informed his justification of a university education. He introduces us to Lewis's utilitarian view that learning and knowledge are valuable when they lead to experiences of pleasure, presenting Lewis's defence for his own involvement in higher education as a Christian, his response to naturalism in the academy and the practical issues of implementing Lewis's thought. Guided by these fresh views on the academy, Goetz not only sharpens our understanding of Lewis's life and work, he asks us to question why we attend, study, teach or research at a university. Why pursue a university education? Some people answer in terms of the purpose of getting a good job. Others respond in terms of the aim of earning more money. Still others answer in terms of the goal of promoting social justice. Drawing on C. S. Lewis's belief that the purpose of life is the experience of perfect happiness, Stewart Goetz explains Lewis's simple but overlooked view that a person should pursue a university education for the pleasure that comes from higher-level intellectual activity. Goetz not only sharpens our understanding of Lewis's life and work in higher education, but also leads us to question why we attend, study, teach, or research at a university. Cover Contents Preface Acknowledgments Introduction: Why Higher Education? 1 The Intrinsic Goodness of Pleasure 2 The Pleasure of Higher Education 3 Higher Education and Being a Christian 4 Higher Education and Naturalism 5 Lewis and Higher Education Today 6 What Do I Think? Notes Bibliography Index "Explores C. S. Lewis's views of the purpose of higher education and his distinctive answer: to experience pleasure"-- Provided by publisher