Topic > The Logic of Human Morality: Connections Between the Screwtape Letters and “Bulverism”

Throughout The Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis approaches themes of Christian morality with a twist: it is written from the perspective of devils. The Screwtape Letters are narrated by Screwtape, an elderly devil who is teaching the ropes to his nephew, Wormwood. Screwtape reflects on topics such as human nature and human virtues, among other things, and, in doing so, talks about things that are good alongside things that are bad. If a reader were to look closely at some of C.S. Lewis's works, they would find that many similar themes and motifs appear in his works. In his short essay "Bulverism", Lewis generally talks about the logical misconception of assuming that a person is wrong without discussion and then explains how that person has become foolish based on his background. Within The Screwtape Letters, Letter 19, Wormwood has some questions for Screwtape and these questions teeter on whether love is a good thing or whether God truly loves humanity. The Screwtape Letters and Bulverism present many comparable topics, but the most significant theme that recurs in both works is the act of distancing the patient from the "enemy" or God. Within The Screwtape Letters, the example it would be Screwtape who guides Wormwood and tells him how he should seduce his patients to move them more towards the Devil. Looking closely at “Bulverism,” a person essentially fails to address the primary tasks or questions at hand and instead deals with secondary questions, thus avoiding the primary question and evading basic reasoning. And in turn, this fills our lives with artificial truths that further distance us from logical thinking and the grasp of the “enemy” or God. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay In most of Lewis' works, he criticizes a worldview prevalent in our world and addresses a problem that is counterproductive to our society. The Screwtape Letters are a collection of suggestions and life advice on how to bring a patient closer to the Devil and away from God. Throughout Letter 19, Screwtape is adamant that it is heresy to believe in the existence of love, but love should not really matter to the patient because both God and Satan will try to lure the patient into their respective clutches regardless of their point of view. about love. Screwtape also insists that all beings are in competition with each other, by nature, so how do we know if God really loves us? Screwtape supports his statement by stating: “The truth is that I slipped through sheer carelessness into saying that the Enemy really loves humans. This, of course, is impossible.” (Lewis, The Screwtape Letters, 239) And this reiterates the point that God is a being just like us and his love is a pretext for an unknown desire. This excerpt ties into "Bulverism" in the sense that Screwtape only thinks this way about God because he is a devil and his worldview makes him believe that God follows his selfish impulses and only cares about himself. Screwtape remains contradictory in his thinking and once again states: "You complain that my last letter does not make it clear whether I consider falling in love to be a desirable state for a human being or not." (Lewis, The Screwtape Letters, 240) To connect this quote to “Bulverism,” we must know that Screwtape is not reasoning or even clearly stating his vision of love for Wormwood. Not thinking pure thoughts, Screwtape himself is a victim of Bulverism and becomes closer to the Devil. To help clarify what Lewis says in Screwtape's Letters about the”..