Hobbits are curious creatures. Simple taste, a love of “good tilled earth” and yet surprisingly courageous. And according to Dr. Christopher Snyder, they might hold the key to living the good life.
This week, I had a delightful conversation with Dr. Snyder, medieval historian, Tolkien scholar, and author of Hobbit Virtues: Rediscovering Virtue Ethics Through J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.
Chris’s work as an academic intersects history, philosophy, and storytelling and even has taken him to the hallowed halls of Oxford University - Tolkien’s alma mater.
A few highlights from our conversation:
Why Hobbit Virtues?
Chris began writing this book in the aftermath of the 2016 election, during a time of cultural division. His thesis: virtue ethics can cut through polarization.
By focusing on virtues like courage, humility, sacrifice, and friendship, we can find common ground. Chris argues Tolkien’s writings are full of timeless virtues embodied in hobbits, elves, and men.
Fellowship as a Virtue
Friendship is something of a hot topic right now at Geeky Stoics. Chris didn’t shy away from the controversy, arguing:
Tolkien modeled his Fellowship of the Ring partly on the Arthurian Round Table and partly on his own experiences at Oxford, where “fellowship” literally meant scholars eating, drinking, and learning together.
Unlike utilitarian philosophy (the greatest good for the greatest number), Tolkien’s heroes make personal, sometimes costly, choices rooted in courage. Aragorn choosing to save Merry and Pippin instead of chasing Frodo isn’t “efficient,” but it’s the right thing to do.
Chris ties this back to our modern loneliness crisis. Where Aristotle emphasized the polis (the city), Tolkien and Lewis remind us that the quality of our friendships and fellowships challenge us to be our best selves.
Heroism: The Anglo-Pagan and Christian Ethic
Another fascinating insight: Tolkien blended ancient pagan heroic traditions with Christian ethics.
The “barbarian ethos” of the Vikings and Anglo-Saxons valued courage even when hope was lost.
Christianity introduced something radical: hope not reserved for emperors or warriors, but for the meek, the humble, and the forgotten.
Tolkien fused these in his hobbits: ordinary folk who, precisely because of their humility, are capable of great virtue.
As Chris put it, when Aragorn bows before the hobbits at his coronation, that’s Peter Jackson's interpretation of Tolkien’s ideal of kingship - ensuring Frodo and company “bow to no one.”
So What?
At Geeky Stoics, we’ve often said that pop culture stories are modern myths, our entry point for Western philosophy. Chris reminds us that this wasn’t accidental. Tolkien (like Lewis, like Lucas) used storytelling as a vessel for telling a greater truth.
We remember Qui-Gon’s line, “Your focus determines your reality” more than reading a philosophy textbook; we remember Sam carrying Frodo, or Obi-Wan telling Anakin, “You were my brother.”
Stories shape our moral imagination.
I’ll end this where Chris began our conversation:
“The elucidation of truth, and the encouragement of good morals in this real world, by the ancient device of exemplifying them in unfamiliar embodiments, that may tend to ‘bring them home.”
-J.R.R. Tolkien
MTFBWY,
-Riley
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