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The Anscombe-Lewis Debate: New Archival Sources Considered

The Anscombe-Lewis Debate: New Archival Sources Considered Meeting from 26 January 1942 through 26 May 1972, the Oxford University Socratic Club was a fixture of Oxford intellectual life for three decades. Founded by Miss Stella Aldwinckle, chaplain to undergraduate women students for the Oxford Pastorate, the club was an immediate success and quickly became a favoured venue for students and faculty alike, with C.S. Lewis serving as club president and senior member (advisor) from its inception to December 1954. One of the club's most famous papers was delivered 2 February 1948, when twenty-eight-year-old Somerville philosopher G.E.M. Anscombe presented a critique of a key argument in Lewis's recently published Miracles (1947). Most of the critical literature on the event has come from Lewis biographers. Less has been written about Anscombe's perspective, one reason being a lack of primary evidence. Following a framing discussion of the Socratic Club's early years, Lewis's persona and role in the club, and Anscombe's early biography, this article presents three unpublished pieces of primary evidence – a letter by Anscombe, a remark about Lewis by Ludwig Wittgenstein, and a full transcription of the meeting minutes – before briefly considering the light they shed on the exchange between Anscombe and Lewis. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of Inklings Studies Edinburgh University Press

The Anscombe-Lewis Debate: New Archival Sources Considered

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Publisher
Edinburgh University Press
Copyright
Copyright © Edinburgh University Press
ISSN
2045-8797
eISSN
2045-8800
DOI
10.3366/ink.2021.0094
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Meeting from 26 January 1942 through 26 May 1972, the Oxford University Socratic Club was a fixture of Oxford intellectual life for three decades. Founded by Miss Stella Aldwinckle, chaplain to undergraduate women students for the Oxford Pastorate, the club was an immediate success and quickly became a favoured venue for students and faculty alike, with C.S. Lewis serving as club president and senior member (advisor) from its inception to December 1954. One of the club's most famous papers was delivered 2 February 1948, when twenty-eight-year-old Somerville philosopher G.E.M. Anscombe presented a critique of a key argument in Lewis's recently published Miracles (1947). Most of the critical literature on the event has come from Lewis biographers. Less has been written about Anscombe's perspective, one reason being a lack of primary evidence. Following a framing discussion of the Socratic Club's early years, Lewis's persona and role in the club, and Anscombe's early biography, this article presents three unpublished pieces of primary evidence – a letter by Anscombe, a remark about Lewis by Ludwig Wittgenstein, and a full transcription of the meeting minutes – before briefly considering the light they shed on the exchange between Anscombe and Lewis.

Journal

Journal of Inklings Studies – Edinburgh University Press

Published: Apr 1, 2021

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