Table of Contents
Foreword xi
Preface xiii
Introduction xvii
Part 1 C. S. Lewis and the Argument from Desire 1
1 The Argument as Presented in Selected Works of C. S. Lewis 13
2 Defining "Joy" as Sehnsucht 22
3 Plantinga and Lewis: Balancing the Mystical and the Natural in Sehnsucht 28
4 A Word on the Different Forms that the Argument Can Take 35
Part 2 Examining Beversluis's Objections to the Argument 43
5 Does Lewis "Beg the Question"? 47
6 Does the Quality of Sehnsucht Lack Innateness? 52
7 If "Joy" Is So Natural and Desirable Then Why Did Lewis Run Away from It? 56
8 Does the Concept of Sehnsucht Contradict the Bible? 61
9 Why Do Some People Never Experience what C. S. Lewis Calls "Joy"? 66
Part 3 Haunted by Desire 77
10 Echoes and Evidences of the Second Premise 81
11 Imagination and the Heart's Deep Need for a Happy Ending 86
12 In the Defense of Beauty 98
13 Lewis, Leisure, and Sehnsucht 110
Part 4 Concerning the Conclusion of the Argument from Desire 119
14 The Evolutionary Objection 123
15 Is there a Human Gene for Sehnsucht? 133
Conclusion 141
Appendix: The End of Human Desire 146
Bibliography 151
Subject/Name Index 155