"Learning in War-Time"

In this interesting paper, Lewis discusses learning, and how we should never be afraid of it, regardless of the circumstances. "To admit that we can retain our interest in learning under the shadow of these eternal issues, but not under the shadow of a European war, would be to admit that our ears are closed to the voice of reason and very wide open to the voice of our nerves and our mass emotions". This essentially is an overview of what he elaborates on throughout the speech, saying that the reason we do not want to learn during the war is merely because of our emotions - we are afraid that we should be focusing our attention to the devastating events of the world. But, Lewis says that we cannot be led by these emotions because there will always be eternal issues, there will always be death, but war "forces us to remember it...[w]ar makes death real to us". This is the main idea that Lewis thoroughly conveys through this essay.

I want to draw attention to a couple important points and discuss them briefly. The first is that, instead of being led by our emotions, especially in a time of war like Lewis says, we must think rationally, and not irrationally so that we can figure out what is ultimately going to be best for the world. When discussing learning during a time of war, we may ask the question: "'How can you be so frivolous and selfish as to think of anything but the war?'", but is it really right to think only about the war? What about what God says? God created us to long for learning, to yearn for knowing more, and since he gave us this gift, I do not think he would want us to cease educating ourselves. "An appetite for these things exists in the human mind, and God makes no appetite in vain. We can therefore pursue knowledge as such, and beauty, as such, in the sure confidence that by so doing we are either advancing to the vision of God ourselves or indirectly helping others to do so". Like Lewis says here, the pursuit of knowledge is part of the vision of God, so we should never be led to think that it is something we should not do. Actually, we would be disobeying God's original plan for us as humans. For this reason, we must never totally rely on our emotions, but also think practical while having faith in God - for he knows what he's doing.

In trusting God and the fact that his vision is for us to learn, another crucial notion is brought to my attention after this reading. When learning, we must remember to have the right motives for doing it. We can never be reminded enough that "[h]umility, no less than the appetite, encourages us to concentrate simply on the knowledge or the beauty, not too much concerning ourselves with their ultimate relevance to the vision of God". As a person learns more and more, it is easy to become prideful and consumed with the knowledge that oneself has knowledge rather than applying the knowledge learned. This is a great danger, and this is why it is important to remember the "relevance [of knowledge] to the vision of God". This is also clearly stated when Lewis quotes a book that says that "we may come to love knowledge -- our knowing -- more than the thing known: to delight not in the exercise of our talents but in the fact that they are ours, or even in the reputation they bring us". Again, we must have the right motives for learning. I am afraid that far too often people learn as much as they can in order to be respected, to make more money, to feel superior, and ultimately to feed one's pride. This, however, is something that brings us further from God, rather than closer - and who would want that? Always remember, the God's vision should be the number one priority. The key is to find the best possible balance between emotions, practicality, and primarily - God.