C.S. Lewis and the Personal Opinion Fallacy

Perhaps now more than ever, authors can become targets of critics who mistake the views expressed by their characters, plot, or atmosphere for views held by the authors themselves. Authors then begin to censor themselves, fearing that the opinions expressed in their art will be equated with their own. The end result is a bland, homogenous world of fiction, lacking in both diversity of perspective and vigor of expression. 

In this lecture, Dr. Jason Lepojärvi will reflect on this particular form of literary misreading and its contribution to other literary maladies. This form of misreading is closely related to what C. S. Lewis and E.M.W. Tillyard called “The Personal Heresy” and what W. K. Wimsatt and M. C. Beardsley called “The Intentional Fallacy,” but is distinct from both. Dr. Lepojärvi will present an argument based on Lewis’s writing which can serve as a possible solution to this pervasive literary fallacy.

The lecture will be followed by an open Q&A.