publish below an article Verlyn Flieger which anticipates the conference Tolkien and philosophy, to be held Saturday, May 22 in Modena, where the famous scholar and Tolkien, author of the seminal book Pieces of light, will participate with a speech entitled " Tolkien's philosophy of time and language "(Hotel Raffaello, road Cognento 5, Modena).
Question of wisdom
The conference organized by the Institute of Philosophical Studies and the Association of Roman Thomistic Studies Tolkien May 22 in Modena will be an important opportunity to consider the issue "Tolkien and philosophy." At first glance, may seem a strange combination, because it is natural to associate Tolkien - the author of the popular fantasy of modern times, the inventor of the Hobbits, the man who wrote of Elves and Dwarves and Dragons - with the very concept of "academic" philosophy. However, a closer analysis of Tolkien's philosophy and show us what these two are actually closely linked. Literally, philosophy means philo sophia, meaning "love of wisdom." However, the "wisdom" is not so easy to define, since it includes a wide variety of references, including mythology, theology, politics and psychology. The issue, therefore, should include the study of Tolkien's wisdom on all these levels and on all these perspectives. Tolkien's major works: his "mythology for England", the Silmarillion, and even more his epic romance, the Lord of the Rings contain his deepest thoughts on human existence. They are narrated in a series of stories (myths) about the relationship between humanity and its creator (theology) through a fictional history (political) concerning human actions and reactions (psychology).
In short, these books are philosophical in the most practical sense of the word. But since Tolkien was a philologist, their philosophy is based on language, since without a knowledge of the history of words and their meanings change over time, so we do not have anything to do: tell stories, to question the existence of God, explain the human history, or explore the interactions between people. I invented languages \u200b\u200bof Tolkien were the inspiration behind the myths, the most important foundations of his novel, and the vehicle of his philosophy. In the essay "On Fairy Stories", Tolkien wrote that "To ask what is the genesis of the tales ... is wondering what the origin of language and the human mind" ( Tree and Leaf, p. 30)., And a preliminary draft of the same essay that "the myth is language, and language is mythology." It was quite possible to write the same philosophy, which is also related to the words we use, through which we seek both to describe and understand our world. When we read the stories of legendarium Tolkien read his philosophy turned into a drama. Stories of Men and Elves and Hobbits who strive to maintain their balance in Middle-earth show us a world so similar to that in which we live, we can see the beauty and danger, familiarity and strangeness, such as images fantastic reflections of our own.
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