What can J. R. R. Tolkien tell us today, in a world shaped by wars, generational uncertainty, and an increasingly dominant artificial intelligence?

Get ready to discover it together with Rick DuFer, author of Il pensiero incoraggiante (Bompiani).

The book:

For a long time, his fantasy universe was dismissed as mere escapism. But his stories, when read with a careful eye, speak to us again with strength, clarity, and surprising relevance.

Il pensiero incoraggiante is an unexpected and luminous journey in seven stages—seven lessons of wisdom inspired by the creator of The Lord of the Rings—to face the challenges of the present with the strength of values, the calm of awareness, and the courage of those who do not fear the battle.

From the climate crisis to the digital revolution, from the dark allure of power to the hunger for truth, the book explores the crucial themes of our time through the lens of Middle-earth, returning them to us more vivid, more human, more urgent.

With a clear and compelling style, Rick DuFer guides the reader along paths where philosophy, spirituality, and literature meet, showing how Tolkien’s world is not an escape, but an orientation: a compass in confusing times.

Because even when darkness seems to fall over everything, hope remains a concrete and revolutionary force, still capable of changing the world.

The author:

Rick DuFer (Thiene, 1987), pseudonym of Riccardo Dal Ferro, is a philosopher, communicator, and performer.

He speaks about ideas and culture to tens of thousands of people every day through YouTube and the podcast Daily Cogito, available on Spotify, iTunes, and Spreaker.

Among his works: Spinoza e popcorn. Da Game of thrones a Stranger things, capire la filosofia sparandosi un film o una serie TV (De Agostini, 2019), I racconti della vera nuova carne (Poliniani, 2020), Seneca tra gli zombie. Guida filosofica di sopravvivenza al caos (Feltrinelli, 2022), La parola a don Chisciotte (Feltrinelli, 2023), and Critica della ragion demoniaca. Quali forze sono al comando della tua vita? (Feltrinelli, 2024).