Gregory Bassham

All right, you have The Lord of the Rings down, now when do we start on the philosophy?

That was what I inevitably thought on finishing this collection of sixteen essays plus a short selection of quotes from eminent philosophers. Every essay gives us a thought about the work of J. R. R. Tolkien, some of them quite deep. But only a few really put Tolkien's work into a philosophical framework -- and some of those (e.g. Douglas K. Blount's Ûberhobbits: Tolkien, Nietzsche, and the Will to Power) show more do more to illustrate the failures of philosophy than show how it illuminates the history of Middle-earth.

Does that matter? I suppose it depends on what you want. If you want a painless introduction to philosophy, there really isn't enough here to get you anywhere. If you want a collection of thoughts about Tolkien, it will likely suit you better.

That doesn't mean it's perfect. There are some essays that we'd be better off without. Essay two shows an excessive fear of technology, confusing possible evils it might bring with necessary evils it will bring. Essay three takes Sigmund Freud seriously -- which is an effective guarantee of bad results; c'mon, people, Freud's methods were dubious even at the time, and we now have empirical evidence of how incorrect they were! Essay ten repeatedly treats the Peter Jackson movies as if they actually revealed something about Tolkien (what they really reveal is that, from a philosophical standpoint, Hollywood can mess up anything). This essay also completely bollixes its understanding of the deaths of Aragorn and Arwen; Arwen did not die willingly at the end. Essay fourteen almost drove me nuts; it treats the title "Master Samwise" as if Sam were a Zen master; he was no more that than a master of slaves. Just because the author doesn't known how the British refer to people doesn't mean that he should reveal it in print. And Tolkien wasn't a dualist, and Middle-earth isn't in a yin-yang balance, and Tolkien explicitly disclaimed the Manichaeism the authors want to push him into (they admit it isn't really right, but then why yammer on about it?). As for essay fifteen and the claim that "Odysseus [was]... the noblest and most respected hero," it might be worth recalling that even Homer called him a "man of twists and turns," and portrayed him as a paranoid liar; later Greek accounts of him made him even more vile.

That's a lot of complaints about a book that I mostly liked. The problem is, the bad is clear, obvious, and blatant, and there is nothing equally clear, obvious, and brilliant; I can't point to any great new insight in this volume. If you read it with caution for the pure errors, but with an open mind to the subtle suggestions, you may well find it a helpful and enjoyable book.

[CORRECTIONS: 12/14: corrected to read "than show how." Also, N.B., this review was damaged in the May 2018 backup-and-restore problem at LibraryThing; I hope I put the line breaks back where they belong, but I was guessing; the review may be a little different than it was before.] show less

I have several books from the Pop Culture and Philosophy series, and have found them worthwhile overall. Like many fans, I'm usually on the lookout for something more to do with my favorite show/film/book, etc. and these are decidedly better than the commonplace "companion" or "encyclopedia." Harry Potter already has an entry in the series, "Harry Potter and Philosophy: If Aristotle Ran Hogwarts". That book was very good and gave a new perspective on Pottermania. As the authors mention in show more the forward to this book, it was also notable for recognizing just how important the Potter books had become to public consciousness. These weren't just for kids- teens and adults were also hooked. However, that book focused more on the early books. The last few books, especially the conclusion, have darker/edgier themes that are ripe for philosophical reflection (death, destiny, self sacrifice). However, that is a double edged sword. The very adult themes lead some of the authors here to go "too deep." These books aren't meant solely for philosophy professors and college majors; they are supposed to be accessible to the average person (who has never taken a philosophy class). But, some of the essays here are not.

However, for the die-hard fan looking for something new, this is worth picking up. There is a large variety of themes to the essays including: destiny, patriotism (eg House loyalty), and more than one on death. One essay even tackles the bombshell Rowling dropped that Dumbledore was gay. I started every essay; if it got too scholarly I moved on. That is not too say that some people won't enjoy those essays. Like the Pop Culture and Philosophy series itself, there's something here for everyone. But those unsure may want to check this out of the library rather than buy it. Recommended. show less

A fascinating discussion of philosophy and the Harry Potter series, through the final book, Deathly Hallows. This book will appeal to Harry Potter fans as young as gifted middle schoolers through wise old adults. I would rate this book PG for a chapter that ponders if Dumbledore is gay (which Rowling famously announced once, when asked he'd ever been in love).

I admit that I didn't quite know what I was picking up when I opened The Hobbit and Philosophy: For When You've Lost Your Dwarves, Your Wizard, and Your Way.

At the time, I was three quarters of the way through The Hobbit for the umpteenth time, but because I was reading it to my daughters, the book felt both new and familiar. The Hobbit is not a novel that would have survived today's publishing world and the attention span of children is even shorter than that of adults. Even with a cast of show more dwarves, goblins, wizards, elves, a dragon and, yes, a hobbit, it's hard not to find something that is interesting to a child. Bring the story to a child’s level isn’t a stretch, though translating it into bite size portions for bedtime reading does help. The story feels written for children (despite the gravity that Peter Jackson seems to imbue on the story with dark and violent scenes of giant spiders, murderous goblins, and deadly orcs).

My girls are young: only 3 and 6. Even though both are children, they are at different stages of development and maturity. The 6-year old understands most of the plot, the character development, and remembers who is who (though sometimes the sheer number of dwarves and the paucity of development of any besides a few of them does confuse her when their names pop up). On the other hand, my 3-year old latches on only a few things, requiring that I “spice” the story up, so to speak, in order to keep her attention. For example, she stays interested when I create voices for the different characters, speaking deep and powerful for Thorin, meek but courageous for Bilbo, and confident but gravelly for Gandalf.

For a while, her favorite voice was Gollum’s. Only after her older sister explained that Gollum was the "bad guy" did she stop asking me when Bilbo was going to see Gollum again.

Pictures help, too, and that’s how we get to The Hobbit and Philosophy: For When You've Lost Your Dwarves, Your Wizard, and Your Way (after that protracted detour). After repeated questions on the distinctions between elves, dwarves, and hobbits (I dodged the “orcs versus goblins” question altogether), I headed over to the library to find a book of art inspired by the novel. Not a set of promotional photographs for Peter Jackson's movies, mind you, but art from the last sixty year or so years since the novel was published.

While looking for the art (perhaps I should review that one, too?) I found sitting on the shelf The Hobbit and Philosophy: For When You've Lost Your Dwarves, Your Wizard, and Your Way. I’ve read The Hobbit dozens of times, but somehow I’ve never spent much time thinking about the philosophy behind it. I’ve read more and thought more about The Lord of the Rings in that regards, mostly, I think because it comes across as a weightier book. The parallels with J.R.R.Tolkien’s experience and view of World War II are obvious, while The Hobbit was published prior to the war and was primarily aimed at a juvenile market. Like juvenile fiction in the modern era, though, The Hobbit is perhaps a far more interesting and deep book than it is often given credit for. In that regard, The Hobbit and Philosophy, which is a collection of essays by various contributors, approaches what is perhaps the most popular fantasy novel of the last century with a serious and, occasionally at least, playful eye.

Here you will essays on Tao, enlightenment, man’s place in society, greed, humility, glory, art and beauty, and more. Some are dry (after all, it is philosophy, right?), and others are light, playful, or inspirational. All are interesting and insightful.

I’ve already burned 600 plus words talking about how I even found the book, and I’ve not said much about the essays other than this: it’s worth reading.

I’m not really the philosophical type and I don’t think it helped me make The Hobbit more interesting to my daughters. But it did make the book more interesting to me, which is saying something about a book I already love and enjoy. show less