Tolkien's 'Machine' - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

davem · 12-04-2002, 03:28 AM

But what about the attitude - ie 'machine' thinking? Isn't it about a way of percieving reality & interacting with it?
The machine, as Christopher Tolkien states is about control & coercion. The Ring is the machine. Magic is the machine. Therefore, we're not talking about specific items, but about the mentality which produces & employs them. So, the machine is a way of relating to external reality/other people. A desire (to get all theological) to 're-make the world in your own image'. IE - it's the sin of Lucifer - the attempt to usurp the role of God. The opposite attitude could be summed up, maybe by the Aborigine concept of the Dreamtime/Dreaming, or by Tolkien as 'Art'. So, you have Artistic thinking & machine thinking. The Elves' approach is 'Artistic'. Create, perfect, preserve in a state of ideal beauty. Live life as an expression of your Art.
Does any of this make sense?

12-04-2002, 03:28 AM	#6
davem Illustrious Ulair Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: In the home of lost causes, and forsaken beliefs, and unpopular names,and impossible loyalties Posts: 4,240	But what about the attitude - ie 'machine' thinking? Isn't it about a way of percieving reality & interacting with it? The machine, as Christopher Tolkien states is about control & coercion. The Ring is the machine. Magic is the machine. Therefore, we're not talking about specific items, but about the mentality which produces & employs them. So, the machine is a way of relating to external reality/other people. A desire (to get all theological) to 're-make the world in your own image'. IE - it's the sin of Lucifer - the attempt to usurp the role of God. The opposite attitude could be summed up, maybe by the Aborigine concept of the Dreamtime/Dreaming, or by Tolkien as 'Art'. So, you have Artistic thinking & machine thinking. The Elves' approach is 'Artistic'. Create, perfect, preserve in a state of ideal beauty. Live life as an expression of your Art. Does any of this make sense? __________________ “Everything was an object. If you killed a dwarf you could use it as a weapon – it was no different to other large heavy objects."