80-207 Philosophy & Literature: Tolkien, Lewis, and the Inklings

9 units, Carnegie Mellon University

Does literature simply "dress up," or even distort, the claims of reason? Or can literature illuminate certain truths that philosophy does not (or cannot) express? Tackling this "ancient quarrel" between the disciplines, this course explores the work of the Inklings, a group of early 20th century Oxford thinkers committed to a strong version of the thesis that literature can articulate, even "create," unique and irreducible kinds of truth and meaning. We examine the creative and philosophical work of the four principal members of the Inklings (C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Owen Barfield, and Charles Williams) and take up their debates in the work of later scholars, such as Martha Nussbaum, Nathan A. Scott, Douglas Hedley, and Judith Wolfe. The first half of this course examines the philosophical writings of the Inklings on problems of ancient and modern philosophy alongside questions of literary genre and form. In the second half, we bring these philosophical frameworks to bear in close readings of some of the Inklings' most famous works, including The Chronicles of Narnia and The Lord of the Rings.

Prerequisites: none listed

Offered: Fall 2026

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