They’re wild about Harry

Saturday, July 29, 2006 | 7:56 a.m.

Yale-trained philosopher and leadership guru Tom Morris is teaching a Community College of Southern Nevada continuing education class this weekend - on the practical wisdom of Harry Potter.

Apparently even Ph.Ds aren't immune to the best-selling children's fantasy series about a boy wizard.

"These books aren't about magic at all. They are about the classic virtues like courage and honesty," says Morris, one of dozens of philosophers, educators and English literature professors in Las Vegas this weekend to attend Lumos 2006, a symposium on all things Harry.

Sold out since March, 1,200 people are attending the adults-only conference at the JW Marriott Conference Center.

The symposium was organized by HP Education Fanon Inc., an educational, nonprofit corporation developed to promote and produce academic thought on the Harry Potter series, its influences and its impact on popular culture.

Catering primarily to fans wanting to delve deeper into the intricacies of Harry's world of wizardry but also to teachers and librarians needing continuing education credits, Lumos offers up to 20 hours of college-level classes. There are also "just for fun" classes that mimic those Harry takes at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, such as potions and the history of magic.

There's much to discuss, Morris says. In the same vein as fellow English authors C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, J.K. Rowling intertwines ancient myths, psychology and philosophy into her fantasy series by using her characters to extrapolate on such issues as the nature of love, good and evil, free will, depression and death.

"J.K. Rowling isn't just a great novelist, she's a great practical philosopher," Morris says.

Sometimes, Morris says, Rowling philosophizes directly, often through Harry's headmaster at wizarding school, Albus Dumbledore. In the second book, Dumbledore tells Harry that it is one's choices, not one's abilities, that determine one's identity. The importance of free will becomes a common theme throughout the books. At other times, she shares moral lessons through the actions of her characters.

As a motivational speaker with a doctorate in philosophy and religious studies from Yale, Morris takes great delight in highlighting such lessons for both fans and nonfans alike. Morris weaves lessons from the Harry Potter series into his speeches before business executives, and in May published "If Harry Potter Ran General Electric: Leadership Wisdom From the World of the Wizards." The book is a companion to his "If Aristotle Ran General Motors."

Most of the classes investigated the philosophy, morality or spirituality of the Harry Potter books, as well as the literary archetypes embedded in the series. Other dived into the psychological aspects of the books, including their characterization of depression and personality disorders.

UNR political science professor Maria Hsi Chang presented a paper Friday morning looking at Voldemort, Harry's archenemy, as suffering from malignant narcissism. Rowling shows a masterful understanding of the mental illness in her portrayal of Voldemort, Chang said, as he manifests every known symptom of extreme narcissism such as the grandiose visions of self and the inability to love others.

Chang compared Voldemort to Hitler and to the Christian mythology of Lucifer, who let vanity win over his love of God. Narcissism, in the form of vanity or pride, is probably the greatest struggle of our time, Chang said. The character of Voldemort illustrates that when narcissism dominates people's lives, they can lose their humanity.

Much like any other academic conference, presenters read papers they had prepared and then took questions from the audience. The focus of many classes was how to apply the issues raised in the book to real life. In one class on the use of love potions alone, presented by King's College philosophy professor David Baggett, audience members raised questions about Western versus Eastern views on free will, John Locke's ideas on the inalienable rights of man, Aristotle's views on what makes a moral person and Sigmund Freud's views on love.

Outside of classes, Harry Potter fans got into such intellectually stimulating discussions as comparing the bumbling Ministry of Magic to the Bush administration.

While philosophical discussions ran rampant at the conference on Thursday and Friday, the biggest debates were about what will happen in the still unpublished final book of the series.

The yet-untitled seventh book may not come out until 2008, and some fans fear Rowling will kill off the boy wizard.

But most attendees at the Las Vegas conference are betting on Harry putting the narcissistic Voldemort in his place.