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Originally Posted by davem
Of course, this eternal moral value system does pre-suppose some ultimate source exterior to Mankind. If accepted, Tolkien's position requires people to aknowledge an objective moral code, (& an objectively existing 'source' of that code). Hence, LotR belongs with 'pre-Enlightenment' works - as Tolkien said it is a 'heroic romance'. I think this is why many of the very same critics who condemn LotR have taken HDM to their hearts.
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I think another root may be that we exist in a world where we are growing increasingly smug and self satisfied that we
know; one of the drawbacks to the Age of Reason is that Reason has simply replaced wonder and become as dogmatic as wonder once could be. The critics seek out the clever, the self-referential, the
knowing. In contrast to this, Tolkien is not knowing, he leaves it for us to discover the answers in his work - he encourages wonder, which is a most dangerous thing to someone happy in their own self-knowledge, such as a critic can be.
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Originally Posted by davem
Aragorn tells Eomer that moral & ethical values do not change, & are the same among Elves & Dwarves as they are among Men. This is a clear rejection of moral & cultural relativism, that all moral codes are equally valid. In short, Tolkien is stating that some values are better than, suerior to others, - even worse, that some are Right & some are Wrong.
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I've got to say, I think there is quite a lot of moral relativism in LotR; I think it is no mistake that Gandalf is the Grey wizard given how he makes Frodo think for himself about Gollum and whether he is evil enough to be put to death. I also think that in the shape of Gollum we see a mass of contradictions such as we see in real people. Other characters reflect this to a lesser extent, e.g. Denethor and Boromir. While the text sets out what each of these characters do and how it leads to their downfall, it is not didactic; Tolkien merely shows the consequences, he leaves it to us to 'judge'.
However, what Tolkien draws upon in his work are values which are indeed universal, among them ideas of sacrifice, service, honour. For many of these values there are right and wrong ideals. Maybe some are uncomfortable with the idea that there are things which are right and wrong, which in turn makes me uncomfortable that these people might be opinion formers in our world.
