Substituted Science

[akhtene]

Well, I understand the word "science" here to mean not any particular branch or studies, but the general approach to describing the world of Middle Earth. Most everything, even magic, has its rules and laws. The reader can learn about the origin of things, the causes and development of events. Kin-strife wrote

Tolkien's myth ... bears the mark of being written in a scientific age.

I understand this as the feature of the readers for whom the books were created. Modern readers are not so easily made believe in magic and wonders. They want some basis, some ground to start thinking and asking questions. For me Tolkien's books combine the best features of a "real life" story with its plausible details and situations, and a myth (or fairy-tale) with its mysteries that anyone is vited to discuss and solve.