Peter Hodge
10-08-1998, 03:22 PM
> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-birthright@Phaser.ShowCase.MPGN.COM
> [mailto:owner-birthright@Phaser.ShowCase.MPGN.COM]On Behalf Of Daniel
> McSorley
> Sent: Friday, 9 October 1998 0:05
> To: birthright@MPGN.COM
> Subject: Re: [BIRTHRIGHT] - Alignment (Again?!)
:)
> An individual can certainly believe anything he likes. However, he can
> also be completely wrong about morality, and therefore evil.
How on earth can someone be "wrong about morality" - morality can't be
divided into right and wrong except on a totally individual basis. You may
find another person's actions to be morally wrong, but that is in no way an
absolute - it is simply your moral view. And while I accept that there are
some things (eg. murder) that most people will agree are morally "wrong", it
is still only a relative view - relative to the societal (I think that's the
word I want!) average if you will.
> Within the structure of the game, we do have an absolute scale of good
> and evil. The alignment system is set up this way on purpose. If we let
> everyone say that what they believed was correct, then there would be no
> evil on that chart at all! But, it measures on an absolute scale, because
I don't agree with this - I don't think the AD&D game has an "absolute"
scale of good and evil. For example, in the harshness of the Dark Sun
setting, many acts which could possibly be considered "evil" or morally
"wrong" in another setting (FR or BR, for example), could go unremarked. I
think that Lawful Good in Dark Sun is alot different than Lawful Good in FR.
Anyway, the above ramble condenses down to my opionion that there is no such
thing as an absolute scale of good and evil - it is all totally relative to
environment, upbringing, society, and a whole host of other factors which
can differ totally from one place to another, and thus give rise to a whole
different set of moral "absolutes" (whether in the real world or in
fantasy).
Peter "Dragon" Hodge
E-mail: dragon@uq.net.au
Website: Dragon's Lair (www.uq.net.au/~zzphodge)
ICQ: 2863795
>
> From: owner-birthright@Phaser.ShowCase.MPGN.COM
> [mailto:owner-birthright@Phaser.ShowCase.MPGN.COM]On Behalf Of Daniel
> McSorley
> Sent: Friday, 9 October 1998 0:05
> To: birthright@MPGN.COM
> Subject: Re: [BIRTHRIGHT] - Alignment (Again?!)
:)
> An individual can certainly believe anything he likes. However, he can
> also be completely wrong about morality, and therefore evil.
How on earth can someone be "wrong about morality" - morality can't be
divided into right and wrong except on a totally individual basis. You may
find another person's actions to be morally wrong, but that is in no way an
absolute - it is simply your moral view. And while I accept that there are
some things (eg. murder) that most people will agree are morally "wrong", it
is still only a relative view - relative to the societal (I think that's the
word I want!) average if you will.
> Within the structure of the game, we do have an absolute scale of good
> and evil. The alignment system is set up this way on purpose. If we let
> everyone say that what they believed was correct, then there would be no
> evil on that chart at all! But, it measures on an absolute scale, because
I don't agree with this - I don't think the AD&D game has an "absolute"
scale of good and evil. For example, in the harshness of the Dark Sun
setting, many acts which could possibly be considered "evil" or morally
"wrong" in another setting (FR or BR, for example), could go unremarked. I
think that Lawful Good in Dark Sun is alot different than Lawful Good in FR.
Anyway, the above ramble condenses down to my opionion that there is no such
thing as an absolute scale of good and evil - it is all totally relative to
environment, upbringing, society, and a whole host of other factors which
can differ totally from one place to another, and thus give rise to a whole
different set of moral "absolutes" (whether in the real world or in
fantasy).
Peter "Dragon" Hodge
E-mail: dragon@uq.net.au
Website: Dragon's Lair (www.uq.net.au/~zzphodge)
ICQ: 2863795
>