The Lord of the Rings and Philosophy
Page 1
The Lord of the Rings
and Philosophy
Popular Culture and Philosophy® Series Editor: George A. Reisch
VOLUME 1 Seinfeld and Philosophy: A Book about Everything and Nothing (2000)
VOLUME 2 The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D’oh! of Homer (2001)
VOLUME 3 The Matrix and Philosophy: Welcome to the Desert of the Real (2002)
VOLUME 4 Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Philosophy: Fear and Trembling in Sunnydale (2003)
VOLUME 5 The Lord of the Rings and Philosophy: One Book to Rule Them All (2003)
VOLUME 9 Harry Potter and Philosophy: If Aristotle Ran Hogwarts (2004)
VOLUME 12 Star Wars and Philosophy: More Powerful than You Can Possibly Imagine (2005)
VOLUME 13 Superheroes and Philosophy: Truth, Justice, and the Socratic Way (2005)
VOLUME 17 Bob Dylan and Philosophy: It’s Alright Ma (I’m Only Thinking) (2006)
VOLUME 19 Monty Python and Philosophy: Nudge Nudge, Think Think! (2006)
VOLUME 24 Bullshit and Philosophy: Guaranteed to Get Perfect Results Every Time (2006)
VOLUME 25 The Beatles and Philosophy: Nothing You Can Think that Can’t Be Thunk (2006)
VOLUME 26 South Park and Philosophy: Bigger, Longer, and More Penetrating (2007)
VOLUME 28 The Grateful Dead and Philosophy: Getting High Minded about Love and Haight (2007)
VOLUME 29 Quentin Tarantino and Philosophy: How to Philosophize with a Pair of Pliers and a Blowtorch (2007)
VOLUME 30 Pink Floyd and Philosophy: Careful with that Axiom, Eugene! (2007)
VOLUME 31 Johnny Cash and Philosophy: The Burning Ring of Truth (2008)
VOLUME 32 Bruce Springsteen and Philosophy: Darkness on the Edge of Truth (2008)
VOLUME 33 Battlestar Galactica and Philosophy: Mission Accomplished or Mission Frakked Up? (2008)
VOLUME 34 iPod and Philosophy: iCon of an ePoch (2008)
VOLUME 35 Star Trek and Philosophy: The Wrath of Kant (2008)
VOLUME 36 The Legend of Zelda and Philosophy: I Link Therefore I Am (2008)
VOLUME 37 The Wizard of Oz and Philosophy: Wicked Wisdom of the West (2008)
VOLUME 38 Radiohead and Philosophy: Fitter Happier More Deductive (2009)
VOLUME 39 Jimmy Buffett and Philosophy: The Porpoise Driven Life (2009) Edited by Erin McKenna and Scott L. Pratt
VOLUME 40 Transformers and Philosophy: More than Meets the Mind (2009) Edited by John R. Shook and Liz Stillwaggon Swan
VOLUME 41 Stephen Colbert and Philosophy: I Am Philosophy (And So Can You!) (2009) Edited by Aaron Allen Schiller
VOLUME 42 Supervillains and Philosophy: Sometimes, Evil Is Its Own Reward (2009) Edited by Ben Dyer
VOLUME 43 The Golden Compass and Philosophy: God Bites the Dust (2009) Edited by Richard Greene and Rachel Robison
VOLUME 44 Led Zeppelin and Philosophy: All Will Be Revealed (2009) Edited by Scott Calef
VOLUME 45 World of Warcraft and Philosophy: Wrath of the Philosopher King (2009) Edited by Luke Cuddy and John Nordlinger
Volume 46 Mr. Monk and Philosophy: The Curious Case of the Defective Detective (2010) Edited by D.E. Wittkower
Volume 47 Anime and Philosophy: Wide Eyed Wonder (2010) Edited by Josef Steiff and Tristan D. Tamplin
VOLUME 48 The Red Sox and Philosophy: Green Monster Meditations (2010) Edited by Michael Macomber
VOLUME 49 Zombies, Vampires, and Philosophy: New Life for the Undead (2010) Edited by Richard Greene and K. Silem Mohammad
VOLUME 50 Facebook and Philosophy: What’s on Your Mind? (2010) Edited by D.E. Wittkower
VOLUME 51 Soccer and Philosophy: Beautiful Thoughts on the Beautiful Game (2010) Edited by Ted Richards
VOLUME 52 Manga and Philosophy: Fullmetal Metaphysician (2010) Edited by Josef Steiff and Adam Barkman
VOLUME 53 Martial Arts and Philosophy: Beating and Nothingness (2010) Edited by Graham Priest and Damon Young
VOLUME 54 The Onion and Philosophy: Fake News Story True, Alleges Indignant Area Professor (2010) Edited by Sharon M. Kaye
VOLUME 55 Doctor Who and Philosophy: Bigger on the Inside (2010) Edited by Courtland Lewis and Paula Smithka
VOLUME 56 Dune and Philosophy: Weirding Way of the Mentat (2011) Edited by Jeffery Nicholas
VOLUME 57 Rush and Philosophy: Heart and Mind United (2011) Edited by Jim Berti and Durrell Bowman
VOLUME 58 Dexter and Philosophy: Mind over Spatter (2011) Edited by Richard Greene, George A. Reisch, and Rachel Robison-Greene
VOLUME 59 Halo and Philosophy: Intellect Evolved (2011) Edited by Luke Cuddy
VOLUME 60 SpongeBob SquarePants and Philosophy: Soaking Up Secrets Under the Sea! (2011) Edited by Joseph J. Foy
VOLUME 61 Sherlock Holmes and Philosophy: The Footprints of a Gigantic Mind (2011) Edited by Josef Steiff
VOLUME 62 Inception and Philosophy: Ideas to Die For (2011) Edited by Thorsten Botz-Bornstein
VOLUME 63 Philip K. Dick and Philosophy: Do Androids Have Kindred Spirits? (2011) Edited by D.E. Wittkower
VOLUME 64 The Rolling Stones and Philosophy: It’s Just a Thought Away (2012) Edited by Luke Dick and George A. Reisch
VOLUME 65 Chuck Klosterman and Philosophy (2012) Edited by Seth Vannatta
IN PREPARATION:
Neil Gaiman and Philosophy (2012) Edited by Tracy L. Bealer, Rachel Luria, and Wayne Yuen
Breaking Bad and Philosophy (2012) Edited by David R. Koepsell and Robert Arp
The Walking Dead and Philosophy (2012) Edited by Wayne Yuen
Curb Your Enthusiasm and Philosophy (2012) Edited by Mark Ralkowski
Dungeons and Dragons and Philosophy (2012) Edited by Jon Cogburn and Mark Silcox
The Catcher in the Rye and Philosophy (2012) Edited by Keith Dromm and Heather Salter
Jeopardy! and Philosophy (2012) Edited by Shaun P. Young
Planet of the Apes and Philosophy (2013) Edited by John Huss
Boardwalk Empire and Philosophy (2013) Edited by Richard Greene and Rachel Robison-Greene
The Wire and Philosophy (2013) Edited by Joanna Crosby, Seth Vannatta, and David Bzdack
For full details of all Popular Culture and Philosophy® books, visit www.opencourtbooks.com.
The Lord of the Rings
and Philosophy
One Book to Rule Them All
Edited by
GREGORY BASSHAM
and
ERIC BRONSON
OPEN COURT
Chicago and La Salle, Illinois
Volume 5 in the series, Popular Culture and Philosophy™
To order books from Open Court, call toll free 1-800-815-2280, or visit our website at www.opencourtbooks.com.
Open Court Publishing Company is a division of Carus Publishing Company.
Copyright ©2003 by Carus Publishing Company
First printing 2003
Second printing 2004
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher, Open Court Publishing Company, a division of Carus Publishing Company, 315 Fifth Street, P.O. Box 300, Peru, Illinois, 61354-0300.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
The Lord of the rings and philosophy : one book to rule them all / edited by Gregory Bassham and Eric Bronson.
p. cm. — (Popular culture and philosophy ; v. 5)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8126-9806-0
1. Tolkien, J. R. R. (John Ronald Reuel), 1892–1973. Lord of the rings. 2. Tolkien, J
. R. R. (John Ronald Reuel), 1892–1973—Philosophy. 3. Fantasy fiction, English—History and criticism. 4. Middle Earth (Imaginary place) 5. Philosophy in literature. I. Bassham, Gregory, 1959- II. Bronson, Eric, 1971- III. Title. IV. Series.
PR6039.032L6356 2003
823'.912—dc22
2003015450
To the entwives—wherever they may roam
Contents
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
Introduction: The Wisdom of Middle-earth
Part I
The Ring
1.The Rings of Tolkien and Plato: Lessons in Power, Choice, and Morality
ERIC KATZ
2.The Cracks of Doom: The Threat of Emerging Technologies and Tolkien’s Rings of Power
THEODORE SCHICK
3.“My Precious”: Tolkien’s Fetishized Ring
ALISON MILBANK
Part II
The Quest for Happiness
4.Tolkien’s Six Keys to Happiness
GREGORY BASSHAM
5.The Quests of Sam and Gollum for the Happy Life
JORGE J.E. GRACIA
6.“Farewell to Lórien”: The Bounded Joy of Existentialists and Elves
ERIC BRONSON
Part III
Good and Evil in Middle-Earth
7.Überhobbits: Tolkien, Nietzsche, and the Will to Power
DOUGLAS K. BLOUNT
8.Tolkien and the Nature of Evil
SCOTT A. DAVISON
9.Virtue and Vice in The Lord of the Rings
AEON J. SKOBLE
Part IV
Time and Mortality
10.Choosing to Die: The Gift of Mortality in Middle-earth
BILL DAVIS
11.Tolkien, Modernism, and the Importance of Tradition
JOE KRAUS
12.Tolkien’s Green Time: Environmental Themes in The Lord of the Rings
ANDREW LIGHT
Part V
Ends and Endings
13.Providence and the Dramatic Unity of The Lord of the Rings
THOMAS HIBBS
14.Talking Trees and Walking Mountains: Buddhist and Taoist Themes in The Lord of the Rings
JENNIFER L. McMAHON and B. STEVE CSAKI
15.Sam and Frodo’s Excellent Adventure: Tolkien’s Journey Motif
J. LENORE WRIGHT
16.Happy Endings and Religious Hope: The Lord of the Rings as an Epic Fairy Tale
JOHN J. DAVENPORT
The Wisdom of the Philosophers
The Fellowship of the Book
The Wizard’s Index
Acknowledgments
Every book is a journey, and it is a pleasure to say “Thag you very buch” to the many good people who made this one so stimulating and enjoyable.
First, our thanks to the contributors. Eighteen months is too short a time to work with such excellent and admirable authors.
Second, to Bill Irwin, the fearless series editor: thanks for your unflagging support and encouragement, your wise council, and the excellent pipe-weed.
Third, to David Ramsay Steele, Carolyn Madia Gray, and the fine production and marketing staff at Open Court: We don’t know half of you half as well as we should like, but we admire your energy and professionalism, and we are grateful for all you have done to make this book a success.
Thanks are also due to Steve Colby, Jeremy Sauers, Jonathan DeCarlo, John Davenport, Brian Pavlac, Rachel Bronson and John and Casley Rose Matthews, for providing helpful feedback on drafts of the essays. A special word of appreciation to Abby Myers, our editorial assistant, who read and commented on the entire manuscript, tracked down quotes, and helped out in various and sundry ways.
Eric is most appreciative for the logistical support received from Arthur Blumenthal and Phil Krebs at Berkeley College. As always, Greg’s greatest debt is to his wife, Mia, and son, Dylan, for their love, patience, and understanding.
Abbreviations
References to Tolkien’s most frequently cited works occur in parentheses throughout the book, followed by the page numbers. The following abbreviations are used:
H
The Hobbit: or, There and Back Again. New York: Del Ray/Ballantine Books, 2001.
FR
The Fellowship of the Ring. New York: Del Ray/Ballantine Books, 2001.
TT
The Two Towers. New York: Del Ray/Ballantine Books, 2001.
RK
The Return of the King. New York: Del Ray/Ballantine Books, 2001.
S
The Silmarillion, edited by Christopher Tolkien. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1977.
L
The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, edited by Humphrey Carpenter. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1981.
Introduction: The Wisdom of Middle-earth
J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings has been a publishing and literary phenomenon for half a century. Since its publication in 1954–55, Tolkien’s fantasy epic has sold more than fifty million copies, and has been voted the greatest book of the twentieth century in several recent readers’ polls.
With Peter Jackson’s blockbuster film version of the great Quest, Tolkien’s magical tale of cheerful hobbits, snarling orcs, and short-tempered wizards garnered millions of new fans. The day before New Line Cinema released The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers nationwide, The New York Post ran a full-page article with a front-page teaser: “Lord of the Rings for Dummies.” Toy stores are crammed with Aragorn action figures, Legolas trading cards, and other Lord of the Rings paraphernalia. The movie’s theme of pursuing a magical ring was used as the theme for the 2002 NBA playoffs, and even parodied in Comedy Central’s notorious South Park.
But not all Tolkien devotees are happy about this sudden surge in popularity. After The Two Towers was released, websites were awash with anger over the sometimes substantial variations between the book and the movie. As debates erupted over the Internet (sometimes in elvish), the old empire struck back. On the official Lord of the Rings website, one old-timer disgustedly called a Rings neophyte a “complete idiot” for not knowing that a wizard’s power comes from his staff.
To satisfy everyone, it appears that we need more than a “Lord of the Rings for Dummies.” We need a “Lord of the Rings for Smart People.”
With this in mind, we’ve assembled a distinguished cast of seventeen erudite philosophers and other academics, (all of them devoted Lord of the Rings fans) and asked them to help out with some of the deeper philosophical questions raised by the books and movies. Can power ever be wielded for good, or is it always corrupting? Should death be seen as a “gift”? Can golden rings and dragon’s treasures ever bring us true happiness? If an ent fell in the forest, and no one was around to hear, would it make any sound?
Tolkien himself, of course, was an Oxford professor of Anglo-Saxon, not a professional philosopher. He was, however, a leading scholar in his field and a close friend of leading British intellectuals such as C.S. Lewis, Owen Barfield, Charles Williams, Neville Coghill, and Hugo Dyson. Moreover, as a devout Roman Catholic, he was deeply interested in such perennial philosophical and theological issues as good versus evil, fate versus freewill, mind and body, life after death, and environmental stewardship. All these philosophical issues, and more, are introduced in Tolkien’s writings and explored in this collection.
This is not to say, of course, that Tolkien explicitly thought about or intended all the various ideas and theories discussed in this volume. Our main goal is to highlight the philosophical significance of The Lord of the Rings, not to tease out any hidden philosophical meaning or message.
We hope this book will not only help you understand many of the deeper issues that inform The Lord of the Rings, but also spark an interest in the enduring questions of philosophy. In his letters, Tolkien remarks that one of his goals in writing The Lord of the Rings was “the elucidation of truth, and the encouragement of good morals in this real world” (Letters, p. 194). Like Tolkien, we believe that fiction—and popular culture in general—can serv
e as an effective medium for eliciting and presenting philosophical ideas. This appeal to popular culture goes back at least to Socrates, the first great philosopher in Western civilization. To encourage people to think about their lives and beliefs, Socrates often used examples from art, sports, music—whatever his interlocutors knew about and were interested in. In a similar way, we believe that today’s popular culture can help to get people excited about the great questions of philosophy.
So light your hobbit pipe and warm your toes with a generous nip of elvish cordial. As the philosopher-wizard Gandalf says, “If you have walked all these days with closed ears and mind asleep, wake up now!”
PART I
The Ring
1
The Rings of Tolkien and Plato: Lessons in Power, Choice, and Morality
ERIC KATZ
If a mortal being—a human or a hobbit, for example—possesses a Ring of Power, would he choose a moral life? When we ask this question, we might be concerned about the physical abilities and limitations of the possessor of the Ring. We might wonder whether a mere hobbit, such as Sam Gamgee, could wield the powers of the Ring in the same manner that Aragorn, a human nobleman could. Would the Ring provide different kinds of power to different kinds of beings, so that some strong willed individuals—such as Aragorn—would have the power to control the minds and actions of others, while weaker-willed individuals—Gollum comes to mind—would only use the Ring as a means of escape and evasion?
Although these are interesting questions about the way the Rings of Power are physically used, in this essay I am not primarily concerned with the physical aspects of the use of the Ring; I am rather concerned with the moral aspects. Does the use of a Ring of Power entail any moral or ethical limits? Is there a morally right or morally wrong way to use a Ring? These questions become even more important when we consider not just any Ring of Power, but the One Ring of Sauron, for the possessor of the One Ring can wield almost unlimited power, and a being who possesses such power would seem to have little reason to concern himself with the dictates of morality.