The Philosofy of Tolkien

"Peter Kreeft takes the reader on a voyage of discovery into the philosophical bones of Middle earth. Like a good concordance, this book organizes the philosophical themes in The Lord of the Rings into 50 categories, accompanied by over 1,000 references to the text." Since many of the great questions of philosophy are included in the 50-theme outline, this book can also be read as an introduction to philosophy. For each of the philosophical topics in The Lord of the Rings, Kreeft presents four tools by which they can be understood: an explanation of a key question; a key quotation showing Tolkien's answer; quotes from other writings of Tolkien that clarify the theme; and quotes from his close friend C. S. Lewis, which state the same philosophical points directly.

Filosofia