Event

Professor Surendra Arjoon of the Department of Mangement Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences presents the Ethics and The Lord of the Rings seminar series.

This series takes place every Monday from September 5 to November 21 at noon to 1pm. 

Why be moral? Can we justify choosing a moral life even when the immoral life is more rewarding? If an immoral life leads to wealth, power, and fame while a morally virtuous life leads to poverty, powerlessness, and abuse, then why be moral? Plato’s response is simple: the immoral life is worse life than a morally virtuous life because ultimately the immoral life corrupts the soul of the immoralist. The immoral life leads to fundamental unhappiness: mental anguish, the loss of friends and loved ones, and emotional bankruptcy. All the power in the world cannot compensate for the psychological emptiness of an immoral life. The moral person, in contrast lives a life of integrity and personal fulfillment, even if he or she is limited in power, wealth and fame. Moral persons are at peace with themselves.

(Katz, Eric 2003. The Rings of Tolkien and Plato. In The Lord of the Rings and Philosophy: One Book to Rule Them All, Gregory Bassham and Eric Bronson (eds.), Open Court: Illinois).