Hywel David Lewis (21 May 1910 – 6 April 1992) was a Welsh theologian and philosopher. He was best known for his defence of

dualism Dualism most commonly refers to: * Mind–body dualism, a philosophical view which holds that mental phenomena are, at least in certain respects, not physical phenomena, or that the mind and the body are distinct and separable from one another ** ...

and personal survival.

Life

Lewis was born in

Llandudno Llandudno (, ) is a seaside resort, town and community in Conwy County Borough, Wales, located on the Creuddyn peninsula, which protrudes into the Irish Sea. In the 2011 UK census, the community – which includes Gogarth, Penrhyn Bay, Craigsi ...

, Wales, and educated at

Caernarfon Caernarfon (; ) is a royal town, community and port in Gwynedd, Wales, with a population of 9,852 (with Caeathro). It lies along the A487 road, on the eastern shore of the Menai Strait, opposite the Isle of Anglesey. The city of Bangor is ...

grammar school, the

University College of North Wales, Bangor , former_names = University College of North Wales (1884–1996) University of Wales, Bangor (1996–2007) , image = File:Arms_of_Bangor_University.svg , image_size = 250px , caption = Arms ...

(graduating with a first-class degree in philosophy in 1932), and

Jesus College, Oxford Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship St ...

(graduating with a

BLitt Bachelor of Letters (BLitt or LittB; Latin ' or ') is a second undergraduate university degree in which students specialize in an area of study relevant to their own personal, professional, or academic development. This area of study may have been t ...

in 1935). He was then a lecturer in philosophy at Bangor, becoming professor in 1947. In 1955, he was appointed Professor of the History and Philosophy of Religion at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

, retiring in 1977. His works included ''Morals and the New Theology'' (1947), ''Morals and Revelation'' (1951), ''Our Experience of God'' (1959), ''The Elusive Mind'' (1969), ''The Self and Immortality'' (1973), ''Persons and Life after Death'' (1978) and ''The Elusive Self'' (1982). He also published in

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

. His interest in comparative religion led to his becoming founding editor of the journal ''Religious Studies'', holding the post from 1964 to 1979. He edited the

Muirhead Library of Philosophy The Muirhead Library of Philosophy was an influential series which published some of the best writings of twentieth century philosophy. The original programme was drawn up by John Muirhead and published in Erdmann's ''History of Philosophy'' in 189 ...

from 1947 to 1978. He also served as president of the

Aristotelian Society The Aristotelian Society for the Systematic Study of Philosophy, more generally known as the Aristotelian Society, is a philosophical society in London. History Aristotelian Society was founded at a meeting on 19 April 1880, at 17 Bloomsbury Squar ...

from 1962 to 1963, and as chairman of the council of the Royal Institute of Philosophy from 1965 to 1968. He died on 6 April 1992 and was buried at St Tudno's church on the

Great Orme The Great Orme ( cy, Y Gogarth) is a limestone headland on the north coast of Wales, north-west of the town of Llandudno. Referred to as ''Cyngreawdr Fynydd'' by the 12th-century poet Gwalchmai ap Meilyr, its English name derives from the Old N ...

Philosophical writings

Lewis wrote there is no incoherence in the notion of personal survival in his book ''The Self and Immortality'' (1973). Michael Marsh in a review wrote the book offered a "substantial defense" for interactionist

. In his book ''Persons and Life after Death'' (1978) Lewis argued that the ultimate basis for a belief in

life after death The afterlife (also referred to as life after death) is a purported existence in which the essential part of an individual's identity or their stream of consciousness continues to live after the death of their physical body. The surviving ess ...

is from religion. He claimed this belief could mean for some, the resurrection of the body, survival in an astral body or survival in a disembodied form. Lewis wrote that disembodied survival is most plausible from a religious point of view. Lewis was a Christian who sought common ground between the

world's religions The world's principal religions and spiritual traditions may be classified into a small number of major groups, though this is not a uniform practice. This theory began in the 18th century with the goal of recognizing the relative levels of c ...

and argued there is a sense of transcendental reality in all of them. However, he argued against

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

and monistic views in which the self is considered to be an illusion. In his book ''The Elusive Self'' (1982) Lewis argued that mental states are "distinct in nature from physical states but constantly interacting with them" and there is a "subject, or a self or soul, which remains constant and is uniquely involved in all the flow of our mental states or experiences." Matthews, Gareth. (1985). ''The Elusive Self by Hywel D. Lewis; Selfless Persons by Steven Collins''. Philosophy and Phenomenological Research. Vol. 45, No. 3. pp. 461–465. The philosopher

Gareth Matthews Gareth B. Matthews (July 8, 1929 – April 17, 2011) was an American philosopher who specialized in ancient philosophy, medieval philosophy, philosophy of childhood and philosophy for children. Biography Gareth Matthews was born in Buenos Aires, ...

gave the book a negative review claiming Lewis had offered no evidence for dualism. On the subject of dreamless sleep, Lewis wrote the self ceases to be. According to Matthews the belief that the self can pop in and out of existence would be alarming to some readers but Lewis had no problem with accepting this view. Matthews concluded that Lewis's controversial claims were deliberately left with no direct argumentative support. Eugene Long gave the book a positive review stating Lewis had given an adequate defence for the dualistic position and the existence of the self. Long has written that Lewis was a

philosophical realist Philosophical realism is usually not treated as a position of its own but as a stance towards other subject matters. Realism about a certain kind of thing (like numbers or morality) is the thesis that this kind of thing has ''mind-independent exi ...

, similar to John Baillie and John Cook Wilson.Long, Eugene. (2003). ''Twentieth-Century Western Philosophy of Religion 1900–2000''. Kluwer Academic Publishers. p. 128.

Publications

*'' Morals and the New Theology'' (1947) *'' Morals and Revelation'' (1951) *''Gwybod am Dduw'' 'Our Knowledge of God''(1952) *'' Our Experience of God'' (1959) *'' Freedom and History'' (1962) *'' Clarity is Not Enough'' (1963) *''World Religions: Meeting Points and Major Issues'' ith Robert Lawson Slater(1966) *''Dreaming and Experience'' (1968) *''The Elusive Mind'' (1969) *''Philosophy of Religion'' (1969) *''The Self and Immortality'' (1973) *'' Persons and Life after Death'' (1978) *''Persons and Survival: Essays by Hywel D. Lewis and Some of His Critics'' (1978) *''Logic, Ontology, and Action'' (1979) *''Pwy yw Iesu Grist?'' 'Who is Jesus Christ?''(1979) *'' Jesus in the Faith of Christians'' (1981) *'' The Elusive Self'' (1982) *''Freedom and Alienation'' (1985)

References

*Russell Aldwinckle. (1979)
''Persons and Life after Death by Hywel D. Lewis''
Religious Studies. Vol. 15, No. 1. pp. 122–124. *Scott Dunbar. (1980)
''The Concept of Self: Some Reflections on H. D. Lewis' "The Self and Immortality"''
Religious Studies. Vol. 16, No. 1. pp. 37–48. *David Cairns. (1982)
''Jesus in the Faith of Christians by Hywel D. Lewis''
Religious Studies. Vol. 18, No. 1. pp. 102–105. * Galen Johnson. (1984). ''The Elusive Self by Hywel D. Lewis''. International Journal for Philosophy of Religion. Vol. 15, No. 1/2. pp. 102–103. *John Knox. (1974)
''The Self and Immortality''
Religious Studies. Vol. 10, No. 1. pp. 89–100. *Hywel Lewis, Charles Whiteley. (1955)
''The Cognitive Factor in Religious Experience''
Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, Supplementary Volumes. Vol. 29, Problems in Psychotherapy and Jurisprudence. pp. 59–92. *Hywel Lewis,

Antony Flew Antony Garrard Newton Flew (; 11 February 1923 – 8 April 2010) was a British philosopher. Belonging to the analytic and evidentialist schools of thought, Flew worked on the philosophy of religion. During the course of his career he taught at ...

. (1975)
''Survival''
Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, Supplementary Volumes Vol. 49. pp. 211–247. *Eric Matthews. (1984)
''The Elusive Self by Hywel D. Lewis''
Mind. New Series, Vol. 93, No. 369. pp. 152–154. *

Louis Pojman Louis Paul Pojman ( April 22, 1935 – October 15, 2005) was an American philosopher and professor, whose name is most recognized as the author of dozens of philosophy texts and anthologies, which continue to be used widely for educational purpo ...

. (1981)
''Persons and Life after Death by H. D. Lewis''
International Journal for Philosophy of Religion. Vol. 12, No. 3. pp. 189–191. *

H. H. Price Henry Habberley Price (17 May 1899 – 26 November 1984), usually cited as H. H. Price, was a Welsh philosopher, known for his work on the philosophy of perception. He also wrote on parapsychology. Biography Born in Neath, Glamorganshire, W ...

. (1974)
''The Self and Immortality by H. D. Lewis''
Philosophy. Vol. 49, No. 187. pp. 102–106. * Stewart Sutherland. (1989). ''Religion, Reason and the Self: Essays in Honour of Hywel D. Lewis''. University of Wales Press.

External links

"Hywel Lewis"
Welsh Biography Online.
"Hywel Lewis Papers"
National Library of Wales. {{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Hywel David 1910 births 1992 deaths People from Llandudno Alumni of Bangor University Academics of Bangor University Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford Welsh theologians Welsh philosophers Presidents of the Aristotelian Society 20th-century British philosophers 20th-century Welsh writers 20th-century Welsh educators 20th-century Welsh theologians

Life

Philosophical writings

Publications

References

Further reading

External links