Student Notices

Professor Surendra Arjoon, Department of Management Studies presents the Ethics and the Lord of the Rings – One Ring to Rule Them All weekly Seminar Series.

The series takes place on Mondays from noon to 1pm and will run from January 22 to April 23 at Room 103, Faculty of Social Sciences.

About Ethics and Lord of the Rings

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 a 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).

Hear what other students are saying about the seminar series here.

For more information, please contact Professor Surendra Arjoon at 662-2002 ext. 83304 or email Surendra.Arjoon@sta.uwi.edu.