Post by mike on Apr 16, 2014 14:31:14 GMT -5
As I see it:
1). First and foremost, why are we even having this discussion? It's fantasy land. The answer *for me* is some people won't let me not have this conversation. Personally it's a buzzkill for me. But at the same time, I can see how it's fun to wrestle with these concept. And I can certainly see how it might be fun for others to have their characters RP wrestle with these concepts.
2) As I see it in our modern sense of the word, you can't be *evil* without free will. If there was no choice between doing evil and doing good, it's not really evil. So in this case there are no inherently evil creatures who have free will.
2) In the modern sense. Orcs and Dragons might still be "inherently evil" but only really in the sense that Ebola is inherently evil. They simply can not choose to do something non self serving or altruistic. Not impossible to imagine, but difficult.
3) So if orcs have free will (even if they are produced in a grotesque fashion), there exists the *possibility* of leading a good life. Or even redeeming themselves. However.,..
4) Where we usually end up is the problem of expedience. It is not practical to rehabilitate all the orcs. Raising children is costly in terms of resources. Raising an orc baby as your own and not simply ending it's likely suffering requires explanation. This isn't Star Trek where we have nearly limitless resources to give criminals every chance to change their ways. So when faced with an orc baby you can decide:
A) to halt you effort to stop/end evil (adventure) to raise this baby or find someone responsible and willing to. Possibly taking food out of the mouth(s) of human orphans. Where it will grow up in a world with extreme prejudice for it.
B) let it probably starve to death or be eaten by a wandering monster. At "best" it is found by orcs and raised evil.
C) kill it so it doesn't suffer long or grow up to be evil.
1). First and foremost, why are we even having this discussion? It's fantasy land. The answer *for me* is some people won't let me not have this conversation. Personally it's a buzzkill for me. But at the same time, I can see how it's fun to wrestle with these concept. And I can certainly see how it might be fun for others to have their characters RP wrestle with these concepts.
2) As I see it in our modern sense of the word, you can't be *evil* without free will. If there was no choice between doing evil and doing good, it's not really evil. So in this case there are no inherently evil creatures who have free will.
2) In the modern sense. Orcs and Dragons might still be "inherently evil" but only really in the sense that Ebola is inherently evil. They simply can not choose to do something non self serving or altruistic. Not impossible to imagine, but difficult.
3) So if orcs have free will (even if they are produced in a grotesque fashion), there exists the *possibility* of leading a good life. Or even redeeming themselves. However.,..
4) Where we usually end up is the problem of expedience. It is not practical to rehabilitate all the orcs. Raising children is costly in terms of resources. Raising an orc baby as your own and not simply ending it's likely suffering requires explanation. This isn't Star Trek where we have nearly limitless resources to give criminals every chance to change their ways. So when faced with an orc baby you can decide:
A) to halt you effort to stop/end evil (adventure) to raise this baby or find someone responsible and willing to. Possibly taking food out of the mouth(s) of human orphans. Where it will grow up in a world with extreme prejudice for it.
B) let it probably starve to death or be eaten by a wandering monster. At "best" it is found by orcs and raised evil.
C) kill it so it doesn't suffer long or grow up to be evil.