JRR TOLKIEN ‘1892-1973’ - A Study Of The Maker Of Middle-earth

Timecoded notes:

• 9:30 Modern World == The Machine
• Actualize desires requires domination
• 11:00 Internal combustion engine
• 11:10 Modern, labor-saving machinery, slavery
• 11:50 Labor-saving machinery only creates endless and worse labor.

Gemini on Machine and Labor Saving Devices

J.R.R. Tolkien held a strong dislike for what he termed the “machine,” viewing it as a symbol of coercion, domination, and the wrong solution to human desires (10:10-10:15). He believed that machines, in their broadest sense, represented an attempt to actualize desires and create power in the world, leading to a loss of inherent human capabilities (11:39-11:45) and ultimately fostering new and horrible evils (12:03-12:07).

Key aspects of his view on the “machine” include:

• Definition of “Machine”: For Tolkien, the term “machine” extended beyond literal devices like trains, motor cars, and airplanes (9:53-9:57). It encompassed any system or device that sought to coercion of other minds and other wills (10:30-10:37) and the tyrannous reformation of the earth (10:44-10:47). He believed this desire for control was a fundamental underlying theme in The Lord of the Rings, with the One Ring being the supreme mythological “machine” (12:40-12:48), representing magic as coercion (13:02-13:06).
• Dislike of Modernity: Tolkien intensely disliked the modern world and its reliance on machinery, seeing it as the great problem (8:21-8:50). He associated it with noise, congestion, and the destruction of cities (11:00-11:02), and believed it simply moved “slavery out of sight” into factories (11:12-11:20). He saw technology as fostering passivity and a loss of skills.
• Labor-Saving Devices: He was particularly critical of labor-saving machinery, stating it “only creates endless and worse labor” (11:48-11:55). His son recalls him saying that such devices merely move the “slavery out of sight” (11:10-11:14).
• Nuance: While he hated machines, Tolkien was not entirely against all tools or modern conveniences. He recognized the need to live in the world to an extent and even owned a telephone and a tape recorder when they were new (14:55-15:05). However, he maintained that telecommunications machinery and airliners were not what he truly wanted in the world (15:18-15:27). His concern was with the motive behind technology—whether it was used for domination or for the development of innate human powers.
• Contrast with Art: He contrasted machinery with art, noting that art is content to create a new secondary world in the mind, whereas machinery attempts to actualize desire and create power in the primary world, which he saw as ultimately unsatisfactory (11:31-11:48).
• In essence, Tolkien viewed unchecked technological power as a form of evil that led to servitude and destruction, preferring a life centered on human development and inherent skills.

NotebookLM on The Machine, Labor Saving Devices, and Man-Made

Based on the sources provided, J.R.R. Tolkien’s views on “The Machine,” “Labor Saving Devices,” and the “Man-made” are deeply intertwined with his dislike of the modern world and his belief that technology often serves as a tool for coercion.

The Problem of the “Man-made”

Tolkien’s secondary world (Middle-earth) is characterized by the relatively small space that the “man-made” occupies compared to the natural world. Christopher Tolkien notes that for his father, the man-made was “the great problem” and something he found “ultimately daunting and insupportable”. This distaste was rooted in his love for nature and his observation of how industrialization destroyed the English countryside of his youth.

”The Machine” as Coercion and Domination

To Tolkien, the term “The Machine” was a compendious word that represented more than just specific inventions like internal combustion engines, which he hated for their noise and destruction. Instead, he viewed the Machine as:

• An Alternative Solution: He saw it as a “wrong solution” to the development of human talents—an attempt to actualize desires, such as the desire to fly, through external apparatus rather than innate power.
• A Tool of Tyranny: He believed the essence of the Machine was coercion and domination of other minds and wills. He also viewed the “tyrannous reformation of the earth” as a characteristic activity of the modern machine-driven world.
• Mythologized as Magic: In his mythology, Tolkien equated magic with the Machine, as both represent an attempt to transform or coerce the world through apparatus. He specifically identified the One Ring as the “supreme machine” because it was created by Sauron specifically for the purpose of coercion.

Labor-Saving Machinery

Tolkien held a particularly cynical view of modern labor-saving devices, arguing that they do not truly reduce toil. His critiques included:

• Hidden Slavery: He suggested that labor-saving machinery merely “moves the slavery out of sight” by hiding the human cost in distant factories.
• Created Labor: He wrote that such machinery “only creates endless and worse labor”.
• Inevitable Evil: Drawing on the “Fall” of man, he believed that human devices eventually fail their intended purpose and turn toward “new and horrible evil,” using the progression from the myth of Daedalus to the modern “giant bomber” as an example.

Preference for Tools and Nature

Tolkien’s personal values favored the “fundamental simplicities” of the natural world and the use of tools rather than machines. He preferred materials used in traditional craftsmanship, such as stone and wood, and basic foods like bread, cheese, and wine. His grief over the impact of machines is most poignantly illustrated in the “Scouring of the Shire” in The Lord of the Rings, which depicts the “dirty ugliness” of new mills and the felling of beloved trees—a reflection of the real-world destruction he witnessed in the village of his childhood.

Despite these strong views, the sources note that Tolkien was not an “unreasonable man” or “eccentric”; he accepted that one must live in the world as it is, using a telephone and even a new-fangled tape recorder, even if they were not what he “wanted in the world”.