Aiwendil wrote:
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An implicit question here is whether morality actually exists (that is, whether there is really some rational justification for ideas of right and wrong) or whether it is merely a human invention. I hold out some hope for the former, but the more I think about things the more I am inclined toward the latter. And in this case, it makes no sense to talk about something actually being right or wrong; we can only talk about things being called right and wrong by humans.
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I think Tolkien would heartily disagree, since his worldview was deeply and staunchly Catholic. This (Catholic) worldview and morality pervades LOTR/SIL and all his other works; and since we are talking about morality and philosophy as pertains to Tolkien, we need to take that into account. Our views may differ, but imposing our views on Middle-Earth without considering Tolkien's views will give us a slanted view of the characters and their motives, and their (just or injust?) rewards.