Lord of the Rings and Philosophy @ Concordia University Wisconsin

[davem]

Originally Posted by Dûrbelethwen

3) Tolkien's view: Evil is real and absolutely different from good. But evil is less than, because dependent on good.

Not sure he did - he felt it was a corruption of Good, rather than a thing in itself - therefore it cannot be ''absolutely different' from good.

If evil is successful in destroying something good, then like a parasite, it either destroys itself or survives only by finding a new host.
Evil cannot survive by itself, and in its quest for power is really a slave to those it depends on. (Everything that is evil is a corruption of what was good. ex. Orcs, trolls) (the Ring the most evil thing has no power when no one claims it, those who had it were originally good.)

Again, not if evil is a perversion of good, because to the extent it contains 'good' (even Orcs desire freedom) it can survive without a source of 'pure' good to feed off. The fact that evil is perverted or corrupted good guarantees the possibility of redemption even in the most evil

Theologically God is good and the ground of all being, therefore everything God creates is good in itself. So evil can only be a perversion of good, never a substance in its own right

Which contradicts the earlier point (as I stated)...

What is the power of the ring?
1) The ring enhances power of the wielder: more scope for evil
2) The ring grants "invisibility: deception is necessary for evil to prevail
3) The ring destroys community: (When the person is invisible then the person is out of the society of those around him.) (The discord that Melkor put into the song of the creation) It denies our social, inter-related nature, and affirms our radical autonomy.

1) the question is does the Ring enhance the power of the wielder - or does it 'lend' power to the wielder in order to trick him/her into believing it is enhancing his/her power?

2) I'm not sure 'deception' is necessary for evil to prevail - but power is - a supremely powerful being would not need to deceive anyone about anything.

3) define 'community' ...