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"Goodest of the good" and why Hell is a bad place
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<blockquote data-quote="klofft" data-source="post: 3220087" data-attributes="member: 40326"><p>Note to the moderators: My request for philosophical opinions here borders vaguely on the religious. My intention is not to violate the code here; let me know if I've stepped over the line.</p><p></p><p>I have two related points of a philosophical nature that I'm seeking opinions on.</p><p></p><p>I am trying to construct the fundamental elements of the cosmology of my homebrew. I think that I want to run a world in which the universe is a fundamentally ordered place and a good place. I am appealing here to the Augustinian notion that what "is" is good, and that what is called "evil" is such because it lacks goodness, not that evil has substance in itself.</p><p></p><p>Based on this, I'm wondering: which of the three good alignments is, if you will, the "goodest of the good"? Subjectively, one can make a case for each. However, as CG prioritizes individual freedom so highly, it seems like it couldn't qualify according to my metaphysical description above.</p><p></p><p>LG would seem to be the answer, as it appeals to both benevolent action and a respect for order and structure.</p><p></p><p>However, NG seems to recognize that appeals to order and/or law can lead to a misplaced notion of good. After all, a law isn't inherently good simply because it's a law, and that's true whether you're talking about a civil law or a divine law.</p><p></p><p>So...if you were playing a really, really, truly good character, what alignment would he or she be?</p><p></p><p>In contrast, why do demons, devils, and evil gods live in such crap-holes? Especially for beings capable of divinely morphing their environment, why would they continue to live in such inhospitable "places"? Sure, one can argue that a devil (e.g.) is immune to most of the hazards of Hell, but not all of them. Furthermore, many of the "lower" planes such as the Abyss are not even all that stable. How to plot the destruction of the cosmos if you can't even be sure your own house will hold together long enough?</p><p></p><p>It would seem that, based on the cosmological premise I began with above, that it is their lack of goodness that creates an inhospitable environment. They can't help but make this environment what it is, because their own will over all others (a decent enough definition of evil) prevents them from accepting the benevolence of an order that exists beyond them. The conflict between their will and the ultimate benevolence of creation results in a misery of their own making.</p><p></p><p>I'm confident this made more sense in my head before I started typing. I'm hoping it's clear enough and perhaps compelling enough to begin a conversation.</p><p></p><p>Thoughts?</p><p>C</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="klofft, post: 3220087, member: 40326"] Note to the moderators: My request for philosophical opinions here borders vaguely on the religious. My intention is not to violate the code here; let me know if I've stepped over the line. I have two related points of a philosophical nature that I'm seeking opinions on. I am trying to construct the fundamental elements of the cosmology of my homebrew. I think that I want to run a world in which the universe is a fundamentally ordered place and a good place. I am appealing here to the Augustinian notion that what "is" is good, and that what is called "evil" is such because it lacks goodness, not that evil has substance in itself. Based on this, I'm wondering: which of the three good alignments is, if you will, the "goodest of the good"? Subjectively, one can make a case for each. However, as CG prioritizes individual freedom so highly, it seems like it couldn't qualify according to my metaphysical description above. LG would seem to be the answer, as it appeals to both benevolent action and a respect for order and structure. However, NG seems to recognize that appeals to order and/or law can lead to a misplaced notion of good. After all, a law isn't inherently good simply because it's a law, and that's true whether you're talking about a civil law or a divine law. So...if you were playing a really, really, truly good character, what alignment would he or she be? In contrast, why do demons, devils, and evil gods live in such crap-holes? Especially for beings capable of divinely morphing their environment, why would they continue to live in such inhospitable "places"? Sure, one can argue that a devil (e.g.) is immune to most of the hazards of Hell, but not all of them. Furthermore, many of the "lower" planes such as the Abyss are not even all that stable. How to plot the destruction of the cosmos if you can't even be sure your own house will hold together long enough? It would seem that, based on the cosmological premise I began with above, that it is their lack of goodness that creates an inhospitable environment. They can't help but make this environment what it is, because their own will over all others (a decent enough definition of evil) prevents them from accepting the benevolence of an order that exists beyond them. The conflict between their will and the ultimate benevolence of creation results in a misery of their own making. I'm confident this made more sense in my head before I started typing. I'm hoping it's clear enough and perhaps compelling enough to begin a conversation. Thoughts? C [/QUOTE]
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