Christian Holmes Outside Reading #3

C.S. Lewis’ “Myth Became Fact” has been a work that I have not been able to escape from during the course of my undergrad. In this short essay, Lewis makes and epistemological argument in favor of mythos as the primary means to understanding. He contends that we need both experience and cognition is necessary to truly understand the world. However, there exists a great gap in the human mind. We can reason and fathom the nature of something, but outside of experiencing it directly, how can we really understand said thing? On the other hand, in the midst of true experience, who reasons and rationalizes said thing? According to Lewis, it seems that man can never truly know with just experience or just reason. He needs something to bridge that great divide. He argues that the myth bridges that gap and I can see how art falls into the same category. Through art, we both experience significant symbols and reason their significance in the midst of that experience.