"If the whole universe has no meaning, we should never have found out that it has no meaning: just as, if there were no light in the universe and therefore no creatures with eyes, we should never know it was dark. Dark would be without meaning." [Mere Christianity]
This quote exemplifies a critical thinking fallacy commonly expressed by C.S. Lewis: the use of a questionable analogy. True, the absence of phenomenon (lightness, East, sadness, ownership, etc.) should render such phenomenon “without meaning,” for there would exist no reference to them. So does our inclination to ponder the meaning and purpose of life require that a meaning and purpose to life exist, thereby confirming Lewis’ analogy?
No. Lewis failed to recognize that the human story is laden with declarations of meaning and purpose, most pertaining to survival and maintaining some way of life. While often trivial, especially relative to some grandeur purpose and meaning, these small-scale declarations offer humanity the perspective to ask the deeper questions without requiring any answer at all. Expanding Lewis’ analogy, one should expect a creature accustomed to dim light to, at some point in its history, wonder whether there exists something more bright. Christian literature is fraught with questionable analogies.
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