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I love the idea of this subspace. I'm a huge Tokien fan, fwiw, so this was an easy sell already.
Question: What are the overlaps between a Hobbit ethos and minimalism? at first it would seem like there are quite a few... mostly in the idea of a non-digital life. It's very organic, steady and measured.
Tolkien even talks about how the hobbits seemed to be pretty stuck in their ways. They were wary of outsiders and didn't travel far, or know many things outside of their own happy homes.
There's a kind of beauty in that, a simplicity and rest that comes from a minimal set of good inputs. I suspect that this itself would be immensely helpful for people.
On the other hand, it's worth pointing out that canonically, Hobbits were not minimalists. They had all kinds of junk. They had museums for junk they didn't want, but didn't want to throw away. ("Mathom Houses") That's not minimalist in the sense of asceticism or resource-lite consumption patterns.
Hobbits consumed quite a bit. Take an inventory of Bilbo's larder ... he had enough to feed Thorin&Co on very very short notice. He didn't seem to enjoy it, but he was well stocked.
There's no "You'll own nothing and be happy" in the Shire, that's for sure. They owned a lot of things, and were quite happy.
Maybe the idea of the tranquility and peace-of-mind that comes from the pastoral hobbit ethos is a byproduct of their fictional existence. Or maybe it's a description of a real pastoral sort of tranquility that WAS present in places Tolkien had seen and experienced in rural England.
The tranquil mind and environment is worth pursuing, and could be had (whether or not you have a hobbit hole). It might mean aiming for that kind of tranquility and Peace, and taking conscious steps to make your mental habits move you that direction. That doesn't mean adopting a Shire aesthetic (which would still be fun), but recognizing the underlying structure of life that brings for peace.
That might seem like a step backwards to most people. Then again, so does the gemini protocol. But fwiw, I think it's both possible and good. What beliefs and cognitive habits led traditional cultures (like Tolkien's rural English countryside) to inspire a Shire-like tranquility?
Nov 14 · 5 weeks ago · 👍 gemalaya
Came here to post about hobbit anti-minimalism and saw that you covered this, so I'll just convey where I agree. I think without our modern consumer culture our modern minimalism would have no "action" to react to. Without the explosion of consumer goods and demands for our attention we might find ourselves experiencing the end state most try to achieve with minimalism without the consicious consideration and stripping away we find necessary to achieve it.
🌲 Half_Elf_Monk [OP] · Nov 15 at 15:51:
@digler - I appreciate your thoughts. It's funny how minimalism feels like a bit of a reaction against incautious abundance. That said, I don't think the problem is consumer goods in themselves, so much as a lacking in the cognitive habits (hobbits?) to use them wisely. Older cultures thought of this when (for example) the medieval Christians preached against avarice/sloth, and suggested fasting. It wasn't that minimalism was the aim, so much as the well-ordered soul that didn't try to find its satisfaction in material goods.
🌲 Half_Elf_Monk [OP] · Nov 15 at 16:01:
As an aside that probably belongs in /s/philosophy or /s/minimalism, I'm utterly unconvinced that eliminative matieralism is a fitting vehicle to carry a person to think and live like that ('minimalist' in the sense of non-greedy). If the material world and its power/pleasure is all there is, what real reason does anyone have to restrain themselves? Apart from appeal to 'the greater good' (a terrifying phrased when used against you), all we have are the epicurean deal that trades quality of life for a bit more quanitity. It's evident that this doesn't convince very many people.
Point is: the rampant consumer lifestyles that are awful are... a side effect of something deeper about the way we think. So also are the pleasant pastoral scenes of Shire life. I don't mean a side effect of man's relationship to his Things (see aforementioned Mathom Houses), but rather man's understanding of himself in the external world, and the world's relationship to anything transcendant. That question looms upstream of contentment with life, and the capacity to successfully live a happy life apart from "Things."
I guess not much of this has direct bearing on Hobbits, since Tolkien gave a rosy illustration of the Shire, but not much by way of its philosophy. Sorry let's get back to the midmorning tea. And Elevensies.