Finding Morality in Space
C.S. Lewis' Vision of Good, Evil, and Human Nature in Out of the Silent Planet
As I learn more and more about the friendship of Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, their funny stories or anecdotes don’t surprise me, but are so fun to read about. Take the history of Lewis’ space trilogy. Tolkien and Lewis once flipped a coin deciding who would write a time travel story and who would write an outer space novel. Thanks to that coin toss, Lewis started with Out of the Silent Planet and Tolkien wrote The Notion Club Papers (a time travel set in the future of the 1980s). Classic Inklings behavior!
"Pulsing with brightness as with some unbearable pain or pleasure, clustered in pathless and countless multitudes, dreamlike in clarity, blazing in perfect blackness, the stars seized all his attention, troubled him, excited him, and drew him up to a sitting position…
...now that the very name "Space" seemed a blasphemous libel for this empyrean ocean of radiance in which they swam." - Out of the Silent Planet
The first of C.S. Lewis’ space trilogy, Out of the Silent Planet, “begins the adventures of the remarkable Dr. Ransom. Here, that estimable man is abducted by a megalomaniacal physicist and his accomplice and taken via spaceship to the red planet of Malacandra. The two men are in need of a human sacrifice, and Dr. Ransom would seem to fit the bill. Once on the planet, however, Ransom eludes his captors, risking his life and his chances of returning to Earth, becoming a stranger in a land that is enchanting in its difference from Earth and instructive in its similarity.”
I’m long overdue for a re-read of the entire series, but I think this first one is my favorite of the series. It speaks to many themes for Lewis’ time as well as ours. As with many influential books, this first book has the distinctions of good and evil, exploitation and colonialism, otherness, and ethics (among others).
It's not surprising that for some, who would have the incredible privilege and honor of discovering another planet AND meeting their inhabitants, that their focus would be on ways to harm and exploit. Isn’t that what history has shown about human nature and this horror-filled ways evil manifests itself? This is clear not only between our human characters in the novel, but the distinct actions and differences of those Ransom meets on Malacandra, the planet they travel to. The sorns, hrossa, Oyarsa and pfifltriggi are all upright beings. Yet, Dr. Weston’s (the professor and scientist who kidnaps Ransom) goal is to overtake and colonize at whatever expense, to him the inhabitants are expendable and he shows no remorse. He’s arrogant and refuses to truly learn about the lives he encounters. He only sought power and dominance. Devine (the businessman working with Dr. Weston)? Greedy. It drove him, even when he encountered something no one else from planet Earth had. What both of those characters do is for their own purposes and gain.
And what a tragic way to live. But I’m not shocked that there are people who live this way - who have resources, knowledge, or the capabilities to learn, explore, or make the world a better place for all, but instead see the world as a place to take. We’ve seen that throughout history and we’re seeing it play out today. But all throughout history, we see that ultimately things don’t end well for them. People haven’t changed, simply look at the warnings we see hundreds of years before Jesus walked on this planet, in Isaiah 5:20-21:
“Woe to those who call evil good
and good evil,
who put darkness for light
and light for darkness,
who put bitter for sweet
and sweet for bitter!
Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes,
and shrewd in their own sight!”
When people choose to only view fellow humans as “others,” their humanity is stripped. But, as a follower of Jesus, I choose His way. I want to be like Ransom. To lead with empathy, love, and seek to understand. The world needs this now, especially from Christians, more than ever.
“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves.” Phillippians 2:3 (NIV)
“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:2 (NIV)
© 2025 Jamie Lapeyrolerie