The Flame Imperishable

Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
Introduction
J.R.R. Tolkien, Metaphysician
Approaches to Tolkien: Christian, Catholic, Medieval, Philosophical, and Thomistic
Tolkien’s Thomism
Tolkien’s Thomistic Sources
Method and Outline
ONE The Metaphysics of Eru
Faith and Reason in St. Thomas
Faith and Reason in Middle-earth
The Existence of God in St. Thomas and Tolkien
Eru: Plotinian One or Thomistic Esse?
Divine Presence in St. Thomas and Tolkien
The Metaphysics of Eucatastrophe
St. Thomas on the Trinity
Trinity in Middle-earth
Conclusion
TWO The Metaphysics of the Ainur
St. Thomas on the Divine Ideas
Tolkien and the Divine Ideas
Divine Freedom in St. Thomas and Tolkien
St. Thomas on Divine Possibility
Ockham on Divine Possibility
Tolkien on Sub-Creative Possibility
Conclusion
THREE The Metaphysics of the Music and Vision
Ainulindalë and the Musica Universalis
St. Thomas’s Metaphysics of Beauty
Metaphysics of the Music
Metaphysics of the Vision
Tolkien’s Metaphysics of Eucatastrophe
Conclusion
FOUR The Metaphysics of the Valar
Introduction
Thomas and the Question of Angelic Creation
Tolkien and the Question of Angelic Creation
Tolkien’s Valar and Plato’s Demiurge
Sub-Creation, Con-Creation, and Free Will
The Thomistic Philosophy of the Angels
Tolkien’s Philosophy of the Angels
Conclusion
FIVE The Metaphysics of Melkor
Introduction
Tolkienian Evil: Neoplatonic, Manichaean, or Augustinian?
St. Thomas, Evil, and Creation
Tolkien’s Hierarchy of Evil
Evil and Creation
Evil and Sub-creation
Evil and Preservation
Evil and Domination
Evil and the Objectification of the Self
Evil and Annihilation
Conclusion
FINAL THEME Of Metaphysics and Myth
Bibliography