Can power be wielded for good, or must it always corrupt? Does technology destroy the truly human? Is beer essential to the good life? The Lord of the Rings raises many such searching questions, and this book attempts some answers. 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 of fairy tales, The Lord of the Rings and Philosophy mines Tolkien's fantasy worlds for wisdom in areas including the menace of technology, addiction and fetishism, the vitality of tradition, the environmental implications of Tolkien's thought, Middle-earth's relationship to Buddhism and Taoism, and more.

Can superhuman Power be used for good or does its exercise always addict the user and end badly? Will nature rise in revolt against technology? Would we find everlasting life a bore and a burden?These are among the disturbing questions raised by Tolkien's enthralling epic of adventure, The Lord of the Rings. Tolkien himself hoped that his stories would help his readers become better people, and he consciously drew upon some of the most troubling and challenging themes from mythology, religion, and philosophical thought.Professors Bassham and Bronson have recruited a

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

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Can superhuman Power be used for good or does its exercise always addict the user and end badly? Will nature rise in revolt against technology? Would we find everlasting life a bore and a burden?
These are among the disturbing questions raised by Tolkien's enthralling epic of adventure, The Lord of the Rings. Tolkien himself hoped that his stories would help his readers become better people, and he consciously drew upon some of the most troubling and challenging themes from mythology, religion, and philosophical thought.
Professors Bassham and Bronson have recruited a Fellowship of scholars trained in philosophy and also steeped in the lore of Middle-earth, to delve into some of the fascinating issues raised by The Lord of the Rings. The writers' Quest was to steer clear of both "the webs of wizards" and "the haste of fools," to arrive at a truer understanding of the most magnificent tale of our time.

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Contains sixteen essays in which various scholars explore some of the philosophical questions raised by Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings," considering the use and abuse of superhuman power, the quest for happiness, good and evil, time and mortality, and other topics.