The Philosophy of Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings

Here are the relevant excerpts from my Tolkien class syllabus. The stuff I removed was admin stuff like papers, participation points, academic dishonesty policies, and when our final exam is scheduled. The usual.

Texts: JRR Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, Peter Kreeft, The Philosophy of Tolkien: The Worldview Behind The Lord of the Rings.

Objective: To discover the vision of truth conveyed via the imagination in JRRT's greatest work. We will find that, with the 'veil of familiarity' removed, the great perennial philosophical truths about God, man, and the universe are presented to the mind and heart of the reader, proposed as exemplars for a profoundly wise life both in theory and in practice: the real existence and relevance of God, the nature of man as a rational animal, the objectivity of moral standards, the robust power of the human mind to know the truth with certainty, and excellence as mandatum. Tolkien himself was alive with the love of truth and the knowledge of goodness, and deliberately suffused his work with this spirit.

Method: The course will proceed by both lectures and class discussion. In this discussion, familiarity with the reading is of course required, and ensuing questions, debate, and commentary are both encouraged and expected. It remains, however, to the instructor to provide intellectual order and discipline.

Miscellany: (all that stuff about unexcused absences and laptops/recorders that I mentioned earlier)

And that's it. Yes, the syllabus is filled with yucky touchy-feely language like "heart" (as the seat of morality, not the biological organ), "God", and "love" but I'm going to try and enjoy it as much as possible regardless. I will document my experience and hopefully keep you as abreast of the proceedings as you like. In the meantime, off to dinner, and (in the great tradition of Hobbits everywhere) supper after that.

Follow-Up (UPDATED!)

Hey guys! A couple of weeks ago, I asked you to participate in a poll regarding how I should respond to a certain "X" who wanted to initiate a friendship with eyes towards marriage in 1 or 2 years. I tallied up the FOUR VOTES and the most common response was "Thanks but no thanks" so I wrote and sent the following just now:

Hello,

Again, I am not available for (or interested in) an arrangement like the one you're proposing.

Thank you for your interest,
-Priya

PS. If you were really that interested in my Twitter account to begin with, you would have remembered my handle in the first place. Good luck.

I'll keep you updated as to any responses I receive, but I hope there won't be much to report.

UPDATE!
X wrote back. Twice. And here's what he said:

Hello,

That's o.k. I am new to twitter. I don't know how to use it that well. I'm too busy to find time to understand how to use it. I found you through ur blog while looking some one else up. I was just kidding. I havent even seen ur pic.

Thanks anyway and bye,
X

Followed quickly by this:

Hello,

I still think its kind of rude on ur part to not even give room for friendship,

X

MEE-OW! Seriously though, what would be the point of such a venture? Let's be friends! Based on...nothing! For...no reason! I have enough trouble managing the friends I do have without adding some monstrous relationshippy joke to the mix. THANKS FOR THE OPPORTUNITY, THOUGH!

FairlyAlarmed INTERACTIVE!

I've made tons of jokes about suitors and Bio-Data (it's kind of like a resume of your accomplishments and attributes that you put on the internet - it's kind of like online dating but with the express intent of getting married to a fellow Indian Person instead of just "seeing where it goes"), so everyone knows I think it's bullshit, and I've also expressly forbidden my parents from putting my information on the internet in hopes that I will "find a mate" via the World Wide Web. But who knew I've been in the process of creating my own Bio-Data this whole time?

Hi Priya,

I found you on twitter the other day. I Just got back to India from Houston. I was working for AT&T there. I was in the US for 6 years. I first got an MBA at L University. Then worked for a couple of years as a [redacted] and then as [redacted] for [a company] there. Currently I am in [Indian city] working as a Manager for a small startup company. The following is my facebook profile: [link redacted]

I am 27 years old and plan on getting married soon. I am looking for someone with a similar profile to me preferably in Houston. If you are interested we could chat further. I plan on coming back to US sometime next year.

Thanks and Regards,
X

So I just stared at that in shock for a couple hours, and finally crafted this response:

Hi X,

Thanks for your interest, but I am not available at this time.

Best of luck,
-Priya

I mean...I didn't want to let loose on this guy like AND WHO THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU IS ANYWAY because he would have no idea what I was talking about and I would be the psycho in that situation, not him. Wow. So much to say. But this is the risk you take when you message someone with an online blog thingy, guys - she may publish anything you send her. And she may not be as kind as I was with the redactions.

UPDATE!

Hi Priya,
I am in no hurry. I am looking at the next 1-2 yrs maybe. Lets just be friends. Who knows what could happen in the 1-2 yrs :).

Regards,
X

So now I'm thinking...how should I respond? And that's where you guys come in!

How do I answer this?

And oh my god, he just wrote me AGAIN.

hi Priya,

What is ur twitter Id?? I forgot it.

X

Oh you have GOT to be kidding me. Are you EVEN TRYING?! Okay guys, I already know what I want to do, but I already went through the trouble of hacking this damn poll so go ahead and vote to your heart's content! And I shall faithfully follow through.

Oh boy, X, I HOPE YOU'RE IN FOR IT!

Throwing it Away

Those of you who live with your parents still know how important it is to have a place to hide your shit - your cigarettes, fancy underwear (why do you need that, Priya? I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT), and other sentimental whatevers that just wouldn't stand up to mom's inquiry - and the underwear drawer has become mine. It's where I stashed the left-over Vicodin from my oral surgery a few years ago, for example.

Yesterday I was digging through it idly, waiting for a phone call, and randomly caught up a red ribbon, tied lovingly in a bow. It had been folded delicately against the far side of the drawer, hidden under something else. I stared at it - it had obviously meant so much to me at one time, that I took so much care to keep it away from prying eyes. I know I must have held it to my nose and breathed deeply, or even kissed it, before I put it away. Maybe it had come tied around a vase of flowers, maybe it had kept a gift bag securely closed. I don't know anymore.

There are things in my lifetime which I'll never forget - certain phone calls, confessions, inside jokes...the sensation of a certain hand on the small of my back, the inner-ear pattern which is starkly unique to an individual - and there are sensations which I think will mean so much, forever, whose brand of import will fade away while I'm not even thinking about it, worrying that it's a possibility.

I find that this is a great tragedy of the human experience, that moments fraught with personal significance, seemingly permanently, will often lose that significance while we aren't looking. When I put that ribbon away - whenever that was - I know I had a deep conviction that I would never, ever forget what it meant to set eyes upon it for the first time. And now I have forgotten.

Maybe the person who gave it to me has forgotten too, and I am just a silly girl who can't throw away a piece of piercingly scarlet trash because it once was attached to something else which I have forgotten also. But I'm keeping that ribbon. I can't help it. The knot in that bow is still important, because I tied it. And it's important because I'm keeping it. Maybe it doesn't say anything about the ribbon itself anymore, but it certainly says something about me. It says that I won't give up. And I don't mind that.