The Hobbit and Philosophy
for When You've Lost Your Dwarves, Your Wizard, and Your Way

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.

(If so, how much could we get for that on eBay?) Draws on the insights of some of the world's deepest thinkers, from Confucius, Plato, and Aristotle to Immanuel Kant, William Blake, and contemporary American philosopher Thomas Nagel From the happy halls of Elrond's Last Homely House to Gollum's "slimy island of rock," The Hobbit and Philosophy is a must read for longtime Tolkien fans as well as those discovering Bilbo Baggins and his adventures "there and back again" for the first time.

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