Editorial Review
Can power be wielded for good, or must it always corrupt? Does technology destroy the truly human? Is beer essential to the good life? The Lord of the Rings raises many such searching questions, and this book attempts some answers. Divided into five sections concerned with power and the Ring, the quest for happiness, good and evil in Middle-earth, time and mortality, and the relevance of fairy tales, The Lord of the Rings and Philosophy mines Tolkien’s fantasy worlds for wisdom in areas including the menace of technology, addiction and fetishism, the vitality of tradition, the environmental implications of Tolkien's thought, Middle-earth's relationship to Buddhism and Taoism, and more.
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Customer Reviews
Quality varies, as with any multi-authored work. 
2006-06-27
Some of the essays offer real insight into LOTR; others seem to be using LOTR as a convenient peg on which to hang the authors' special interest. However, all show that LOTR is a work of more substance than many would give it credit for.
Its about Philosophy. 2005-07-22
If you buy this book looking for what philosophical ideals Tolkien imbued his literature with, you may be disappointed with this book. While there are some essays I think Tolkien would certainly agree with, there are also many he wouldn't. This book is first and foremost about philosophy. What this book does is illustrate different philosophical ideas by using characters and situations from the Lord of the Rings as examples to help you understand. With this in mind, I think a lot of people can certainly enjoy this book.
For Philosophers Only --well mainly 
2004-11-11
If you don't have any interest in higher thinking, and just want to read something else that deals with the Lord of the Rings or thought that the picture on the cover looked cool. I suggest going over to the Fiction section in Amazon, this book is not for you.
For intellecutally minded people. This book will help getting you to see many different levels in what you read. The first essay takes Nietzsche and introduces UberHobbits...I really appricated seeing more serious types of philosophy being interegrated into the thought provoking literature that has come about in this day and age.
I also suggest the other Popular Culture and Philosophy series, for serious minded people. Having a basic understanding of Philosophy is helpful before picking these up. They do not spell out what the philosophical theories they are applying they are expecting you to know it already.
Superb 2004-08-15
This was an absolutly wonderful book. As a fan of Tolkien and his universe, I was joyfully bemused to find that there was a "Lord of the Rings for smart people", and this book has lived up to its montif.
I waited this long for this? 
2004-02-23
the most disappointing so far in the 'popular culture and philosophy' series, these essays have little to do with either LotR or Philosophy in the traditional sense, instead attempting to cover everything from environmentalism to narrative structure. As a general format, the authors state their intentions to mold Tolkien's world to their own pet ideas and quote profusely while saying little that convinces. One of the essays even admits that the Buddist parallels it's spent the last few pages proposing are clearly "superficial" - why waste the print, then? Another oddity here is a collection of quotes by various noted philosophers that have nothing to do with either the themes in LotR, or, in many cases, the topics the essays address. Extremely discouraging.
Lord of the Rings Philosophy: A great book for SERIOUS fans 2004-01-15
Can power be wielded for good, or must it always corrupt? Does technology destroy the truly human? Is beer essential to the good life? The Lord of the Rings raises many such searching questions, and this book attempts some answers. Divided into five sections concerned with power and the Ring, the quest for happiness, good and evil in Middle-earth, time and mortality, and the relevance of fairy tales, The Lord of the Rings and Philosophy mines Tolkien’s fantasy worlds for wisdom in areas including the menace of technology, addiction and fetishism, the vitality of tradition, the environmental implications of Tolkien's thought, Middle-earth's relationship to Buddhism and Taoism, and more.
A waste like Mordor 
2004-01-02
Horrible book. This series only superficially mentions philosophy. It is a waste of money. For a better study of the Lord of the Rings, Tolkien's Sanctifying Myth by Bradley Birzir is much better, though still not teriffic, as there is no great study on Tolkien in print yet.
Blah 2003-12-30
I'll admit that I haven't finished this book, but it's also worth noting that I don't intend to. The essays I've read so far were not very interesting (or, for that matter, very well-written), and I have little hope for the remaining ones. What I had hoped for was a book that would use Tolkien's Trilogy to illustrate philosophical themes. What I got was more like a bunch of writers reviewing the boks in question, and occasionally commenting on some "(not-so) deep meaning". It just got too boring after a while.
I tried to stick with it. I really did. But sometimes the only way to preserve your sanity is to quit.
Freshman term papers 2003-12-20
If I were a junior college lit instructor who gave the assignment, "Write a paper on the philosophical implications of The Lord of the Rings", and received these papers, I'd give most of them solid B's. They're diligently researched, competently written, and show that the authors have grasped the nature of the problems they discuss. But the authors aren't college freshmen, they're professors themselves. They shouldn't look like children next to the scholars in "Tolkien the Medievalist", "Tolkien's Legendarium", or "J.R.R. Tolkien and His Literary Resonances", but they do. One expects them to do better than this, and to integrate their two subjects with subtlety instead of undergraduate bland awkwardness. One author who'd not get a B is Scott A. Davison, who completely messes up his summary of Tom Shippey's subtle but clear perspective on the nature of evil in Tolkien, as expressed in his "The Road to Middle-earth" and "J.R.R. Tolkien: Author of the Century", thus unfairly making Shippey out to be an idiot.
Symbolism and philosophical foundations of Middle Earth 2003-10-19
Fans of Tolkien and Middle Earth who have more than a passing interest in the topic will relish Lord Of The Rings And Philosophy, a collaboratively compiled compendium by Gregory Bassham and Eric Bronson of seventeen young philosophers who examine the myth, symbolism and philosophical foundations of Middle Earth. Applications to everyday living provide a seasoned assessment of insights on good, evil, freedom and basic issues raised in the course of the Lord of the Rings. The lively tone makes Lord Of The Rings And Philosophy completely accessible to academic scholars and non-specialist general readers alike.
