Once, while walking with a student, C. S. Lewis watched a flight of swans alight on a sunlit river. The student quoted, “Look thy last on all things lovely, every hour.” Lewis replied, “No. No. It should certainly not be, 'Look thy last...’, but 'Look thy first on all things lovely. Every sight and sound that is good, every touch of beauty or rightness, is pointing ahead to its ultimate fulfillment in the world to come." Lewis reminds us that the beauties we now look upon—whether sunset, flower, or friend—are not final but first fruits: seeds, glimpses, and foretastes of what they are meant to become. Their promise is real though often hidden, growing toward a goodness that can already be glimpsed here and will find its full flowering beyond this life. In this talk I will explore the theory of human nature that underlies this perspective—what Lewis called eschatological Platonism—and consider its implications for earthly pleasures, heavenly bliss, and final destiny.

“The Beautiful Truth about Yourself — C. S. Lewis on the Imago Dei”
Monday, September 15, 2025, 7:00–8:30 pm
Globe Room, Cataldo Building, Gonzaga University

C. S. Lewis held that each person is supremely and irreplaceably valuable. But this was not a groundless platitude or piece of self-flattery. Rather, your value is grounded in the fact that you are uniquely created in the image of God. This means that there never has been, and never will be, another who can image God exactly as you do. Moreover, for Lewis this was no mere theory, but a belief with practical consequences: for over twenty years, he invested one to two hours a day in personal correspondence, thousands of hours he might otherwise have spent writing dozens of books. Such sustained devotion underscores the weight of his conviction. Yet it also highlights the difficulty we face in taking such a view to heart. For his bold vision can seem too good to be true, conferring on us a significance so vast, so elevated, that it induces a kind of metaphysical vertigo; even if one assents to it intellectually, it is difficult to accept it emotionally or volitionally. To meet this challenge, Lewis turned to the imagination. Through story, he invites us not only to understand, but to inhabit—and perhaps even to believe—the beautiful truth about ourselves. In this talk, I will explore the substance of Lewis’s view, show how his longstanding correspondence and imaginative storytelling reinforce this vision, and finally consider what it means for the way we see ourselves—and one another—today.

Now Where Was I?: The (In)Capable Self in the Films of Christopher Nolan

Inescapable Moral Horizons:  Kieslowski's Blue and Charles Taylor on the Self in Moral Space

Toward the end of the film Red, the last in the Three Colors trilogy from Krzysztof Kieslowski (1941-96), the main character, Valentine, says, "I feel something important is happening around me." Many of the films by the acclaimed Polish director feature characters who realize that, as the moral philosopher Charles Taylor puts it, "something incomparably important is involved" in their deliberations and choices. In the specific political and social context of late 20th-century Poland, Kieslowski's films attempt to recover and depict what Taylor calls "inescapable moral horizons." Perhaps its most dramatic depiction occurs in Blue, the first film in the trilogy.  The story of Julie, Blue’s main character, illustrates the many ways in which a self that is "free from all frameworks" is in the grips of an "appalling identity crisis." Through the course of the film, as Julie recovers her connection to others, the film also demonstrates the intimate connection between individual "identity and a kind of orientation" in moral space.

Thomas Hibbs, Rayzor Professor of Philosophy and Dean Emeritus at Baylor University, is a prolific Catholic author, speaker, philosopher, and university administrator. His research and teaching focus on moral philosophy and aesthetics. He has published eight books, the most recent of which is Theology of Creation: Ecology, Art, and Laudato Si’ (University of Notre Dame Press, 2023), as well as many scholarly and popular articles, and has delivered lectures across the U.S. and abroad. Hibbs was the inaugural dean of the Baylor Honors College (2003-2019) and the founding Director of Baylor in Washington (2015-2019).  He has held administrative appointments as department chair (Boston College), dean (Baylor), and president (University of Dallas). Hibbs directs a summer program for Baylor undergraduates in Washington, DC on religion and social life.

"We Are Not What Was Intended: The Failed Nihilism of David Fincher's Seven"

David Fincher's 1995 film Seven ends on a notoriously bleak note. Driven by a religious fanaticism, John Doe has completed his 'masterpiece' of illustrating the destructive nature of the seven deadly sins by luring Detective Mills into assisting with his plan. 'He wins,' as Detective Somerset says. I argue, to the contrary, that Doe does not, in fact, 'win,' that his nihilistic program ultimately fails because it is predicated upon a contradiction, that Doe's project requires a selfless servant as its executor, and Doe, as we learn, fails in this respect. Doe's interpretation of his calling is driven by a flawed understanding of the Christian ethic of kenoticism, the injunction of self-emptying at the core of the Christian message. I use the work of Søren Kierkegaard to articulate a more accurate understanding of the kenotic ethic, one in which the self is not annihilated (as Doe understands it), but is actualized authentically in the mode of divine love.

AI Society: Griefbots, Companion Bots, and the Culture of Simulation

Kirk Besmer (Philosophy, Gonzaga University)

response by Tim Clancy, S.J. (Philosophy, Gonzaga University)

For several years, the internet and the screens we use to access it have been a site of social interaction with other humans, but today – thanks to AI – people are choosing to socialize with ‘bots.’ What does this mean? What is at stake? This presentation will explore some of the issues related to griefbots and companion bots as exemplars of the culture of simulation. What features does the culture of simulation have? What relationship does the simulated social culture of AI have with the “real world”? What are apparent advantages and disadvantages of social interaction based on AI?

Kirk Besmer is Professor of Philosophy at Gonzaga University, where he has been teaching since 2003. His research and teaching specializations include phenomenology and existentialism. He has a particular interest in philosophy of technology, especially the impact of technological developments on our understanding of the human condition.

Fr. Tim Clancy is a priest in the Society of Jesus who focuses on the impact of digital culture on human religious practice.