I have a true philosophical morality question for the holy ones of goodness, the self-appointed guardians of the down trotted, the weak, the vulnerable, and those who are unable or unwilling to defend themselves. It is admirable that you wish to protect them all and put coins in their pockets and food in all of their mouths. HOW IS THE BEST WAY TO HELP THESE UNFORNTATE SOULS? I submit the following controversial idea as an honest truthful and best way. IF you truly seek to aid everyone that suffers in the world, you will only weaken yourself and them. You weaken yourself by expending valuable resources such as time, money, and energy that could be put to better use and challenges. You weaken them by not allowing them to be active participants in their struggles and challenges, which is teaching them to be victims. They gain the mind-frame of learned helplessness because when one steps in and fights their battles, overcomes their struggles and conflicts for them; this mere action of kindness really communicates to them that they are incapable of handling the struggles and conflicts that come with living life and need someone else to do it for them.
I feel if you truly care for others, then dispense with pity and sacrifice and recognize the value in letting them fight their own battles, so that when they triumph, they will be even stronger for the victory, and if they fail, they learn a valuable lesson in how to succeed next time. It is the internal struggles when fought and won on their own, that yield the strongest rewards.
When you fight for them, you are stealing that struggle from them, cheapening it, so they can’t appreciate what you have done. It also teaches them that they are unable to stand for themselves and that they require someone to face their challenges for them and fight their battles. I truly believe that it is not kindness that is being shown when of the down trotted, the weak, the vulnerable, and those who are unable or unwilling to defend themselves are protected and their battles fought for them all, and coins are put in their pockets, but a cruelty, for they are being set up and taught to be a victims for the rest of their lives.
To truly help them and empower them, it is best to teach them to farm, fish, and hunt so they can feed themselves, teach them how to fight and defend themselves so they will be able to protect themselves, their loved ones and their community, and teach them the art of diplomacy and negotiations to avoid conflict and de-escalate situations. To me taking the time to do THAT is true acts of kindness that ACTUALLY helps them and teaches self reliance. What are your thoughts??
I wasn't sure if these posts were Kadan or Sean
I hear you and some good points are made. I also think when it comes to the freedom of people to not be subjected to kidnapping and torture...there are laws in civilized societies that protect people and animals from such....and to ignore the breaking of those laws is not a lawful act...it really can be a fine line I agree. But I am feeling chaotic neutral at best would be a fair description...
If the laws of a society do not promise such freedoms then, not it would not be unlawful I would also have to say in fairness...but what kind of society would that be?....maybe Orc tribes or the Abyss!
Why such a deafening silence?? On this similar discussion track- Last game we had a situation where we found monstrous abominations in cages and we knew that they were part of some experiment to further the greater good by increasing the breath knowledge of healing. Some said this was a crisis of law vs chaos ... however I submit that it was truly a GOOD vs EVIL. I submit an excerpt from an essay on the morality of experimentation since it seems the most appropriate here. Those who argue that painful experimentation on people with disabilities and animals should be halted, or at least curtailed, maintain that pain is an intrinsic evil, and any action that causes pain to another creature is simply not morally permissible. Pointing to the words of the nineteenth-century utilitarian, Jeremy Bentham II, animal welfare advocates claim that the morally relevant question about animals is not "Can they reason? nor Can they talk? but, Can they suffer ?" And people with disabilities and animals do in fact suffer and do in fact feel pain. For example, the researcher who forces rats to choose between electric shocks and starvation to see if they develop ulcers does so because he or she knows that rats have nervous systems much like humans and feel the pain of shocks in a similar way. Pain is an intrinsic EVIL whether it is experienced by a child, an adult, a person with disabilities, or an animal. If it is wrong to inflict pain on a human being, it is just as wrong to inflict pain on an animal. After reading this excerpt the argument seems clear - it was truly a GOOD vs EVIL situation However, that said, would love to hear other perspectives and opinions ... through good discussions, we all grow. :)