Record Number: 32350

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Reading Experience:

Evidence:

'I have also been reading in library copies, Schopenhauer's "Will and Idea".....[He] is abstruse and depressing, but has some very interesting remarks on the theory of music and poetry. Kirk, I need hardly say, is strong on him, and will talk on the subject for hours.'

Century:

1900-1945

Date:

Between 1 Nov 1915 and 20 Dec 1915

Country:

England

Time

n/a

Place:

Great Bookham
Surrey
'Gastons'

Type of Experience
(Reader):
 

silent aloud unknown
solitary in company unknown
single serial unknown

Type of Experience
(Listener):
 

solitary in company unknown
single serial unknown

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Reader / Listener / Reading Group:

Reader:

Clive Staples Lewis

Age:

Child (0-17)

Gender:

Male

Date of Birth:

29 Nov 1898

Socio-Economic Group:

Professional / academic / merchant / farmer

Occupation:

Student

Religion:

Church of England

Country of Origin:

Northern Ireland

Country of Experience:

England

Listeners present if any:
e.g family, servants, friends

For part of the time at least, Mr Kirkpatrick, who would 'talk on the subject for hours.'

Additional Comments:

n/a

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Text Being Read:

Author:

Arthur Schopenhauer

Title:

The World as Will and Idea

Genre:

Philosophy, Theory of Being, epistemology, Platonic aesthetic, Buddhist ethic

Form of Text:

Print: Book

Publication Details

Translated from the German 'Die Welt als Wille und Vorstellung'

Provenance

borrowed (other)
Which type of library not known

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Source Information:

Record ID:

32350

Source:

Print

Author:

C. S. Lewis

Editor:

Walter Hooper

Title:

C. S. Lewis Collected Letters

Place of Publication:

London

Date of Publication:

2000

Vol:

1

Page:

151

Additional Comments:

From a letter to his father, 15? November 1915. 'Kirk' is Lewis's tutor, William Kirkpatrick.

Citation:

C. S. Lewis, Walter Hooper (ed.), C. S. Lewis Collected Letters, (London, 2000), 1, p. 151, http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/UK/record_details.php?id=32350, accessed: 09 May 2025

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Additional Comments:

Lewis studied French and German with Mr Kirkpatrick, but in a letter to his father (3 March 1915, v.1, p. 110) he wishes 'I knew enough German to let drop a few words...'. I think he would have read such a complex work as Schopenhauer's in English. It is not clear whether this reading experience was part of a formal study of the philosopher's work. I have assumed that it was, and that it lasted until the end of term.