A philosophical exploration of J.R.R. Tolkien's beloved classic - just in time for the December 2012 release of Peter Jackson's new film adaptation, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit is one of the best-loved fantasy books of all time and the enchanting "prequel" to The Lord of the Rings. With the help of some of history's great philosophers, this book ponders a host of deep questions raised in this timeless tale, such as: Are adventures simply "nasty, disturbing, uncomfortable things" that "make you late for dinner," or are they exciting and potentially life-changing events? What duties do friends have to one another? Should mercy be extended even to those who deserve to die?
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: Thag You Very Buch x Introduction: Never Laugh at Live Philosophers 1 Gregory Bassham and Eric Bronson PART ONE DISCOVER YOUR INNER TOOK 1 The Adventurous Hobbit 7 Gregory Bassham 2 The Road Goes Ever On and On : A Hobbit's Tao 20 Michael C. Brannigan 3 Big Hairy Feet: A Hobbit's Guide to Enlightenment 32 Eric Bronson 4 Bilbo Baggins: The Cosmopolitan Hobbit 45 Dennis Knepp PART TWO THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE SLIMY 5 The Glory of Bilbo Baggins 61 Charles Taliaferro and Craig Lindahl-Urben 6 Pride and Humility in The Hobbit 74 Laura Garcia 7 My Precious : Tolkien on the Perils of Possessiveness 90 Anna Minore and Gregory Bassham 8 Tolkien's Just War 103 David Kyle Johnson 9 Pretty Fair Nonsense : Art and Beauty in The Hobbit 118 Philip Tallon 10 Hobbitus Ludens: Why Hobbits Like to Play and Why We Should, Too 129 David L. O'Hara PART THREE RIDDLES AND RINGS 11 The Lord of Magic and Machines : Tolkien on Magic and Technology 147 W. Christopher Stewart 12 Inside The Hobbit: Bilbo Baggins and the Paradox of Fiction 161 Amy Kind 13 Philosophy in the Dark: The Hobbit and Hermeneutics 176 Tom Grimwood PART FOUR BEING THERE AND BACK AGAIN 14 Some Hobbits Have All the Luck 193 Randall M. Jensen 15 The Consolation of Bilbo: Providence and Free Will in Middle-Earth 206 Grant Sterling 16 Out of the Frying Pan: Courage and Decision Making in Wilderland 218 Jamie Carlin Watson 17 There and Back Again: A Song of Innocence and Experience 235 Joe Kraus CONTRIBUTORS: Our Most Excellent and Audacious Contributors 251 INDEX: The Moon Letters 257
Reviews for Hobbit and Philosophy: For When Youve Lost Your Dwarves Your Wizard and Your
The value in this approach, of course, is that these essays are simple; they are incredibly short (each runs about five pages), and they are clear and accessible. (Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts, 1 February 2015) Gregory Bassham and Eric Bronson's anthology of essays, 'The Hobbit and Philosophy', may have an overblown title, but the authors do a good job of focusing on themes like possessiveness, providence and free will, courage and decision-making. (The Times Literary Supplement, 21 December 2012)
