The Lord of the Rings and Philosophy
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Boethius, 133, 209
Bolger, Fatty, 95
Bombadil, Tom, 7, 19, 43, 83, 88, 95, 155–58, 160, 180
and “green time,” 155–58
identity of, 156
and nature, 156–57
and the Ring, 13–15, 42, 58, 105, 157, 158
Bonaventure, St., 132
Bond, James, 29
Boromir, 6–7, 13, 22, 36, 95, 105, 115–17
death of, 171, 198
and the Ring, 10–11
Brandybuck, Meriadoc. See Merry
Bree, 15–16, 95, 125
Brokk, 40
Buddhism, 131, 181–86, 198n. 6
Butterbur, Barliman, 15, 95
Bywater, 51
Camelot, 211
Camus, Albert, 77, 129, 132–33
Capital (Marx), 36–37
capitalism, 36–37
Caradhras, 74, 187
Celeborn, 40, 75, 153
Celembrimbor, 23
Cerin Amroth, 59
chance, and providence, 168, 169, 176
chemical weapons, 30
Christ, 131
Chronicles of Narnia, The (Lewis), 204
Cinderella (fairy tale), 208
Cirith Ungol, 12, 144
Clark, Kenneth, 77
Coghill, Neville, 2
cogito (Decartes), 197
commodities, 36–37
community. See friendship
Concept of Dread, The (Kierkegaard), 77
Confessions (Augustine), 194
consolation, in fairy tales, 209–210
Consolation of Philosophy, The (Boethius), 209
Cotton, Rosie. See Rosie
Council of Elrond, 10, 22, 33, 53, 116, 144, 157, 172, 196–97
courage, 112
Crack(s) of Doom, 17, 35, 69, 167, 170, 175, 196, 200, 202, 215
creation, 37, 74, 206
creativity, 57
Crickhollow, 95
Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly, 57
Curry, Patrick, 150
Dante Alighieri, 128, 179, 201
Dark Lord, the. See Sauron
Davis, Geena, 192
De Bortadano, Joanna, 140
Déagol, 10, 68, 115
death, 123ff.
as “gift,” 125–27, 134–35
decay, Rings’ prevention of, 25, 34
Denethor, 55, 83, 145, 148, 171–72, 174
and modernity, 142–43
as Steward of Gondor, 106, 108, 142–43, 206
dependent origination, Buddhist doctrine of, 183
Descartes, Réne, 197–98
Die Another Day (film), 28
Dig, The (video game), 133
Diotima, 203
disenchantment of the natural world, 172
Divine Comedy, The (Dante), 128, 179
Dogen, 181, 188
Draupnir, 40
Drexler, Eric, 22, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31
Dúnedain, 57
Dungeons and Dragons (game), 209
Dunland, 156
Dunne, John, 200
duty, 170–74
dwarves, 32, 73, 78n. 4, 89, 95, 107, 152, 154
Dyson, Hugo, 2
Eä, 206
eagles, the, 216
Eärendil, 43
Eddas, The, 205
ego, in Buddhist thought, 182, 187
Eichmann, Adolf, 79
Eitri, 40
Elanor, 43, 67
Elbereth, 144
Elessar. See Aragorn
Elrond, 17, 41, 74, 75–76, 124, 172
as healer, 95
on Old Forest, 156
and Ring, 11, 14, 112, 137, 195
and Rings of Power, 23, 41, 105
and Sauron, 24
elves, 12, 34, 117, 182
Delaying, 24
and ents, 154
and forests, 152–54
and “green time,” 155n. 2
and happiness, 49, 50, 58, 73–74
High, 117
and immortality, 23–24, 82, 124–27, 129–130, 134–36
and Morgoth, 24
Noldor, the, 34, 75
and reincarnation, 124, 129–130
and Rings of Power, 23
and Sauron, 24–25, 155n. 2
Enron, 193
ents, 44, 59, 105, 107, 141, 142, 153, 158–160, 182
and elves, 154
entwives, 159–160, 182–83, 205
environmentalism, 141, 142, 150ff., 183, 193
Éowyn, 217
epic, 214, 219
Epicurus, 50
Eregion, 24, 25, 104
Eressëa, 24, 56
Eru. See Ilúvatar
escape, in fairy tales, 209
escapism, 33, 145–46, 148–49, 209, 210
eschatology, 206, 211
E. T. (film), 79
eucatastrophe, 210–11, 214, 215–18
Europe, 72–73, 138–39
evangelium, 216
evil, 36, 99ff., 174
Augustinian vs. Manichean views of, 102, 174
dependent on goodness, 102, 174, 176
as lack of goodness, 102–03
natural, 104n. 6
origin of, 103–07
Taoist view of, 189–190
existentialism, 76ff., 83
Fafnir, 40
fairy tales, 179, 207ff.
and Gospels, 210–11
Fangorn, 153, 158, 160
fantasy, 207ff.
Far Side, The (cartoon), 128
Faramir, 36, 55, 57, 96, 97, 138, 143, 144, 217
Faustus, 195
Fëanor, 75
Fellowship of the Ring, the, 38, 41, 52, 73, 74, 81–82, 95, 96, 97, 118, 144, 152, 161, 176, 188, 189, 196
Fellowship of the Ring, The (Tolkien), 72, 73, 95, 155, 180
Ferny, Bill, 95
fetishism, 33ff.
Fifth Battle, the, 214
Fingon, 214
First Age, 24, 144
Forbidden Pool, 96
Ford of Bruinen, 125, 217
foreknowledge, in The Lord of the Rings, 116n. 4, 118
forests, 153–54, 158–160, 162, 184
forgetfulness, and happiness, 78–80, 82–83
Fourth Age, 145, 147–48, 153, 163
freedom. See free will
Free Peoples, 10, 54, 153, 158
free will, 104, 170–74, 196, 199
Freud, Sigmund, 34, 35, 139
friendship, 53–54, 65–66, 70, 95–96, 115, 132
Frodo, 13, 18, 34, 41, 53, 54, 57, 61, 64, 65, 74–76, 83–84, 96–97, 100, 102, 135–36, 137, 144, 146, 157, 167–178 passim, 182, 192, 199, 211
attacked near Weathertop, 15, 95, 125
and Bombadil, 14, 105
and Boromir, 11
at Crack of Doom, 17, 167, 170, 175, 215
decision to become Ring-bearer, 172, 196
departure from Middle-earth, 42, 126
“failure” of, 175
flight to the Ford of Bruinen, 95, 217
and Galadriel, 12–13, 83–84, 102
and Gollum, 9–10, 66, 68–69, 96–97, 169, 175, 186–87, 215–16
in Lothlórien, 25, 59, 75
mentors of, 185–88
as pilgrim, 200–03
and Red Book of Westmarch, 145, 178
and the Ring, 7, 14, 15–17, 107, 115, 125, 168–69, 196, 212
spiritual journey of, 195–96
Gadamer, Hans-Georg, 201
Galadriel, 14, 16, 18, 19, 23, 35, 57, 153
and Fëanor, 75
as gift–giver, 40
mirror of, 102
and Nenya, 23, 41, 75
and nostalgic regret, 76, 81–82
phial of, 43, 84, 113, 144, 202
and the Ring, 7, 11–13, 83, 137, 209
and Sam, 65
Galadrim, 95
Gamgee, Elanor. See Elanor
Gamgee, Hamfast (“The Gaffer”), 39, 144, 192
Gamgee, Samwise. See Sam
Gamlin
g, 198
Gandalf, 2, 10, 14, 28, 52, 55, 61, 71, 75, 83, 97, 100, 108, 112, 137, 146, 157, 158, 175–77, 200, 205, 209
death of, 74–75, 96, 130, 143
and Denethor, 143
and Gollum, 10, 167, 168–69, 195
as incarnate angel, 96, 148
and Lord of the Nazgûl, 102
as mentor, 186–87, 201
and Narya, 23, 41
rescue from Orthanc, 95
return of, 130, 177, 217
and sapling of Nimloth, 217–18
and Saruman, 106, 141–42
as Steward, 106, 206
the White, 190, 198
Gawain, 211–12, 216
genetics, 22, 26, 28, 32
gift-giving, in The Lord of the Rings, 39–41, 66
Gildor, 143
Gil-galad, 24
Gilraen, 55
Gimli, 130, 152, 153, 163, 176
Glaucon, 7–8, 11
global warming, 162
Glóin, 105
Glorfindel, 95
God, 88–90, 107, 172–73, 208
Goldberry, 13, 42, 58, 156
Golden Wood (Lothlórien), 81
Gollum (Sméagol), 35, 40, 41, 55, 107, 167, 196, 202
baby-talk of, 36
compared with Sam, 62–71
as instrument of providence, 168–170, 174–75
lack of fellow–feeling, 68–71
merciful treatment of, 96–97, 169, 175, 186–87, 215–16
murder of Déagol, 10, 36, 68, 115
near–redemption of, 68–70
and the Ring, 5, 6, 9–10, 19, 35–36, 65, 68, 70, 107, 115–16, 167, 196
split–personality of, 9–10, 36, 66–67, 175
ugliness of, 57, 66
wretchedness of, 9–10, 64–65, 175
Gondolin, 56, 214
Gondor, 7, 57, 116, 145, 172, 176, 205, 206, 218
good and evil, 99ff., 110, 174, 188–89
Gorgoroth, 18, 45, 70
Gospels, as true fairy–tale, 210–11
government, in the Shire, 49
Green Knight, 211–12
green time, 155–161
collective perspective and, 158–160, 161
Grendel, 40
grey goo problem, 30
Grey Havens, 41, 42, 167
Grond, 37
guides, 201
Gwaihir, 95
Gyges, 6–8, 10
Haldir, 81, 108, 189
Hamlet (Shakespeare), 127–28
Hansel and Gretel (fairy tale), 208
happiness, 49ff., 61ff., 73ff.
and forgetfulness, 78–80, 82–83
Gollum’s conception of, 65
Myers on, 51–52
as requiring fellowship and love, 68–71
Sam’s conception of, 65
Tolkien’s six keys to, 49 ff.
as ultimate end, 63–64
Hastings, Peter, 55
heaven, 133–35
Heidegger, Martin, 38, 197, 199, 201
hell, 128
Helm’s Deep, 155n. 3, 158, 205, 217
Hermod, 40
heroes, 148–49, 201–03
Hesiod, 116
“hill,” 44
Hinduism, 131
Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Adams), 133
Hitler, Adolf, 111
hoarding, 37
Hobbit, The (Tolkien), 61, 73–74, 95, 106, 153
Hobbiton, 49
Hobbits, 107, 117, 124, 127, 145, 155
characteristics of, 40, 49ff., 139, 182, 196, 202
cheerfulness of, 52–53
and simplicity, 49–50
sociability of, 53–54
and virtue, 114
Holocaust, 79, 83
Homer, 179, 201, 213
hope, 215–18
Hrothgar, 40
hubris, 116, 171
humans, in Middle-earth, 124, 152–53, 184
Legolas and Gimli on, 184
Hume, David, 201
humility, 96, 97–98, 171, 175, 187
Húrin, 214
Husserl, Edmund, 201
Iarwain, Ben-adar (Bombadil), 14
idolatry, 37
Ilúvatar, 23, 59, 74, 88, 91, 94, 130, 135, 206, 207
immortality, in The Lord of the Rings, 22, 23–24, 82, 123–27
innate ideas, 197, 198
Inferno, The (Dante), 128, 201
Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies, 29
invisibility technology, 28–29
Isengard, 103, 176, 209
Isildur, 34, 35, 73–74
Jackson, Peter, 1, 62, 82n. 13, 112, 155n. 3, 192
Jaspers, Karl, 77, 79–80
Jericho, 39
Joshua, 39
journey motif, in The Lord of the Rings, 192ff.
Journey to the West, The, 200 (Chinese epic)
joy, 73–76, 176–77
Joy, Bill, 22, 26, 30, 31, 32
Judaism, 131
Juniper Tree, The (fairy tale), 208
Kalevala, 205
Kant, Immanuel, 110, 117, 172–73, 201
Kasulis, T.P., 182n. 3
Khazad-dûm, Bridge of, 75, 96
Kierkegaard, Søren, 77, 207, 210
Knossos, 201
Kushner, Harold, 56
Last Battle, 135
Last Homely House (Rivendell), 73
Lay of the Nibelung, 205
“Leaf by Niggle” (Tolkien), 132
Legolas, 78, 130, 153, 163, 176
lembas, 40
Lewis, C.S., 2, 59
Linden, 24
literature, and philosophy, 193
Lord of the Rings, The (Tolkien),
and abnegation, 98
anthropocentrism in, 183–85
allegory and, 20–21, 80–81, 151, 193, 204
and beauty, 56–57
and Catholicism, 218
and community, 53–55, 96
and creativity, 57
and environmentalism, 150ff., 183
as epic fairy tale, 212–15
escapism and, 148–49, 209, 210
eucatastrophes in, 215–18
evil in, 99ff., 189–190
fetishism in, 33ff.
and freedom, 88, 104, 170–74
gift–giving in, 39–40
and good and evil, 49ff., 55–56, 106–07
and happiness, 49ff., 63ff.
and humility, 171
and love, 71
master–student relationships in, 185–88
and modernism, 138ff.
and mythology, 40–41, 205, 211ff.
and nature, 180–85
poignant tone of, 205
popularity of, 1
and providence, 167ff., 213
and religion, 103, 204ff., 218
and sex, 35
and simplicity, 49–51
“things” in, 37–38
virtue and vice in, 55–56, 110ff.
Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings, The (New Line Cinema film), 13, 33, 123, 125, 187
Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The (New Line Cinema film), 1, 67, 155n. 3
Lothlórien, 25, 39, 49, 56, 59, 66, 75, 81–82, 95, 153, 171
Lotho, 55
love, 70–71
Lourdes, 210
Love’s Knowledge (Nussbaum), 193
loyalty, 114, 117, 187
luck. See chance
Lucretius, 129
Lúthien, 214
lying, 117
magic, 25, 43, 180, 208–09, 211
Maiar, 156
Maimonides, 132
mallorn, 59
Manchester, 151
Mani, 100
Manicheanism, 100, 102, 174, 195
Marx, Karl, 36–37, 139–140
Maslow, Abraham, 57
master-student relationships, 185–88
in Buddhism, 186, 188
in The Lord of the Rings, 185–88
Matrix, The (film), 79, 150
Men in Dark Times (Arendt), 80
Mercy. See pity
Merricks, Trenton, 132
Merry, 130, 143
captured by orcs, 11
development of, 196
escape from orcs, 52, 153
loyalty of, 53–54, 95, 115
rescue from Barrow–wight, 95
rescue from Ringwraiths in Bree, 95
rescue from Old Man Willow, 95, 156, 180
and Treebeard, 153–54, 159, 180
Middle-earth, 23, 24, 25, 32, 34, 36, 44, 45, 73, 74, 76, 88, 89, 90, 96, 97, 98, 107, 123, 124, 126–27, 130, 141, 142, 148, 149, 150, 157, 158, 163, 206, 215
Mill, John Stuart, 110, 117
Milton, John, 106
Minas Anor, 217
Minas Morgul, 56
Minas Tirith, 102, 143, 198
Minotaur, 201
miracles, 171
Miriel, 82
Mirkwood, 153
Mirror (Galadriel’s), 36, 75, 102
Misty Mountains, 35, 63, 66, 152
MIT, 28
Mithrandir. See Gandalf
Mithril, 29, 95
modernism, 138ff., 146–49
money, love of, 103
Monkey (Chinese tale), 198n. 6, 200
morality
Kant’s ethics and, 117
and the Ring, 5ff.
and rules, 111, 117–18
and utilitarianism, 118
virtue and, 9, 13, 18–20, 55–56, 110 ff.
virtue ethics, 110ff.
Mordor, 9, 16–17, 21, 23, 56, 65, 73, 87, 94, 95, 103, 182, 187, 196, 202, 209
Morgoth, 24, 38, 65, 126, 206, 210, 214
Moria, 74, 96, 130, 143, 152, 153, 187, 198
Mound of Amroth, 25
Mount Doom, 17, 23, 71, 74, 88, 94, 95, 97, 112, 170, 173, 202, 215, 216
Mount Mindolluin, 217
Myers, David G., 50–51, 54–55
myth, 33, 40–41, 179, 205, 211ff.
“Myth of Sisyphus” (Camus), 133
nanotechnology, 22, 26–32
Nargothrond, 214
Narya (elf ring), 23
National Rifle Association, 101
nature, 141
and Bombadil, 156
Buddhism and, 181–85
consciousness in, 180–82
human attitudes toward, 152–53
in The Lord of the Rings, 152–54, 180–85
stand-ins for, in The Lord of the Rings, 152–54
stewardship and, 183–84
Nausea (Sartre), 77
Nazgûl. See Ringwraiths
Nenya (elf ring), 23
New Testament, 74, 204
Nicomachean Ethics (Aristotle), 54–55, 110
Nietzsche, Friedrich, 72, 77ff., 81, 87, 89, 91, 92, 140, 142, 196, 199, 216
on art, 77, 91
on the “death of God”, 90, 91, 92, 93, 140
on eternal recurrence, 91–92
on forgetfulness, 78–79
on meaninglessness of life, 89–91, 92, 93
on the overman, 92–94
on truth, 91
on the will to power, 87–90, 93–94
Nimloth, 218