The Lord of the Rings and Philosophy: One Book to Rule Them AllGregory Bassham, Eric Bronson The Lord of the Rings is intended to be applicable to the real world of relationships, religion, pleasure, pain, and politics. Tolkien himself said that his grand tale of wizards, orcs, hobbits, and elves was aimed at truth and good morals in the actual world. Analysis of the popular appeal of The Lord of the Rings (on websites and elsewhere) shows that Tolkien fans are hungry for discussion of the urgent moral and cosmological issues arising out of this fantastic epic story. Can political power be wielded for good, or must it always corrupt? Does technology destroy the truly human? Is it morally wrong to give up hope? Can we find meaning in chance events? In The Lord of the Rings and Philosophy, seventeen young philosophy professors, all of them ardent Tolkien fans and most of them contributors to the four earlier volumes in the Popular Culture and Philosophy series, address some of these important issues and show how clues to their solutions may be found in the imaginary world of Middle-earth. The book is divided into five sections, concerned with Power and the Ring, the Quest for Happiness, Good and Evil in Middle-earth, Time and Mortality, and the Relevance |
Contents
| 21 | |
Tolkiens Six Keys to Happiness | 49 |
The Bounded Joy of Existentialists | 72 |
Tolkien Nietzsche and the Will to Power | 87 |
Virtue and Vice in The Lord of the Rings | 110 |
The Gift of Mortality in Middleearth | 123 |
Tolkien Modernism and the Importance of Tradition | 137 |
Environmental Themes | 150 |
Providence and the Dramatic Unity of The Lord | 167 |
Tolkiens | 192 |
The Wisdom of the Philosophers | 219 |
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The Lord of the Rings and Philosophy: One Book to Rule Them All Gregory Bassham,Eric Bronson Limited preview - 2003 |
Common terms and phrases
Aragorn Aristotle Arwen Augustine beauty become Bilbo Bombadil Boromir Buddhist characters choice Christian corruption Council of Elrond Cracks of Doom create Dark Lord death Denethor desire destroy divine dwarves Edited elves elvish ents epic essay Ethics eucatastrophe evil example exist Faërie fairy Fairy-stories fantasy Faramir feel Fellowship fetishism forces forest Friedrich Nietzsche friends Frodo Galadriel Gandalf Gawain gift give goal Gollum Gondor Green happiness heroes hobbits hope human Ibid Ilúvatar important J.R.R. Tolkien journey kind live Lórien magic Manichean master Merry Middle-earth modern moral Mordor Mount Doom nanotechnology nature one’s orcs person Philosophy Pippin Plato possible Quest reason Ring of Power Ring-bearer Ringwraiths Rivendell role Sam’s Saruman Sauron says seems sense Shire Silmarillion Sméagol soul story take the Ring Taoists tells temptation things Tom Bombadil tradition Treebeard trees ultimate Valinor virtue virtuous VOLUME wizard