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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Viktyr Gehrig" data-source="post: 2156426" data-attributes="member: 9249">No alignment can claim intellectual superiority.I have seen inspiring and thought-provoking philosophical arguments in favor of philosophies that could correspond to roughly every D&D alignment. I have also seen people dogmatically and incoherently assert the value of ideologies that would correspond roughly to the D&D alignments, who have damaged the esteem of their worldview in my eyes.Most people will argue that Good is morally superior to Neutral and Evil-- this is almost seen as a truism. I tend to disagree with this, especially with the version of Good I so often see portrayed in alignment threads around here. That kind of willful naivete and rejection of pragmatic means, while providing a feel-good glow of moral satisfaction, also fails to adequately protect against either self-serving evil or mindless destructive evil.If a philosophy requires every last person on Earth to adopt it in order to succeed, it is flawed-- and most peoples' definition of Good seems to fall under that unfortunate condition.Lawful Neutral is the alignment most conducive to maintaining the stability of society and providing the greatest good for all. It rejects the selfishness of Chaos and Evil, and is willing to be appropriately ruthless and practical in protecting society from either influence; it also shows the judgement and restraint necessary to avoid the cruelty and destructive tendencies of Evil-- including the more subtle and insidious Lawful Evil.Neutrality is not necessarily the refusal to decide or the inability to adhere to either Good or Evil; it can also be the conscious and willful decision to maintain a middle path, avoiding the follies of either. Neutrality can also represent a worldview that regards neither Good nor Evil as valid concerns-- such as placing another value, perhaps either stability or freedom, ahead of either compassion or cruelty.</blockquote>

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