Fordim asks:
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Is Middle-earth a mysterious dream? A rational experience? Some hybrid of the two? Is it understandable through the laws of science in the primary world, or does it operate according to its own rules? Are those rules rational/scientific? Non-rational/mysterious? Or some combination thereof?
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The simple answer as I see it (and I'm saying what others have already eloquently expressed), is that of course Middle Earth reflects basic scientific knowledge which we share. This is what makes it a solid, believable world. And of course there is also magic, as this is what makes Middle Earth a fantasy world. Without either of these things then Middle Earth would either be the same as our world, or incomprehensible to a reader.
On the issue of magic/miracle, I do not separate the two. Both suggest occurrences which are unexplainable and unexpected. I also view science and 'faith' as inextricably linked. Both are used to explain and to control the world we live in. Faith was, and still is, used to explain occurrences which humans could not or cannot explain with reason. Many tenets of faith have since been explained by science, and for many, the scientific explanation has now overtaken the 'faith' explanation, e.g. evolution. At the beginning of time, the ability to make fire was seen as divine, and in our time, the ability to communicate with the 'spirits' is taken as divine. Along with this, many would have seen making fire as devilry and many see communicating with spirits as trickery. Who is to say whether the latter 'magic' will one day be explained by science? Even now physicists are working at the outer limits of what most of us can comprehend by experimenting with the nature of time and matter itself. Personally, I hope that scientists will remain unable to explain
everything.
With theoretical science, we can see that the area often verges on the mystical itself. Tolkien was not against science, but the application of science, i.e. technology, in a context that is free of considerations of morals or philosophy or 'faith' - not sure how this should really be termed, as faith often means something different to me. Both Gandalf and Saruman possessed knowledge of a suspiciously gunpowder like substance. While Gandalf, operating in the context of not causing others any harm, used it to make fireworks, Saruman, operating without moral considerations, used it to cause damage. We can see in our own world, as each new development in theoretical science gives way to its inevitable application in technology, we are confronted with new moral dilemmas. For example, scientists discovered genetics, which has given way to many morally contentious applications of genetics, e.g. GM crops.
I think Tolkien's message is not that science is wrong, but that the misapplication of technology, in a moral void, is wrong. Both science and faith work together in Middle Earth as this is right. What is totally acceptable about this (unless you side with Sauron!) is that there is no one religion in Middle Earth, but there is a strong, and liberal, moral context.