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Post by Killix on Jan 29, 2014 15:41:57 GMT -5
Oh no, you figured out the twist: this isn't a story about Leanne at all... but a hot romance between von Killix and Riley. 8D *brick'd* Best plot twist ever.
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Post by Ted (the zombie Dalek) on Jan 30, 2014 1:46:11 GMT -5
Okay, I have a hunch, but I'm not going to say what it is in case it turns out to be right. I do have this to say, however. I cannot for the life of me think of an application in which soul magic could be ethically justified. To be "gifted" with such powerful magic would be a heavy burden for anyone with a conscience. One would either have to let go of their emotions and focus purely on duty or else not use them at all for fear of becoming a monster.
Also, Professor Riley gives me the willies. None of this stuff is plot-related so no real spoilers, but I think that you could conceive of ethically justified uses of soul magic. Obviously it would be a big burden and you'd have to fight the impulse to use it poorly-- but I could see of situations wherein it could be appropriately used... and could even be feature that is extremely helpful in certain professions. For example, a law enforcement type individual (of which there do exist in this world) having soul magic and being able to literally, without any risk of harm to himself, wrest a person "off the ledge". Or stop a crime in progress by literally stopping the offender in their tracks. Or even more generally, a bystander with soul magic stopping a small child from running into traffic on the street. Of course it'd be an ethically thin line between appropriate and inappropriate uses. And anyone with the magic would really have to keep themselves in check to make sure they're not going to fall into 'abuse' category. But I do see of a number of situations in which the soul magic could be used in an ethically justifiable way. Useful, yes. But it is still literally imposing your will onto another. It would take someone with a very narrow/certain worldview to use it. One would have to be completely sure that they were correct in their assumptions about the nature of the situation and of reality in general.
But then, I guess my view on this is affected by my belief that it is impossible to ever truly know anything. After all, how can one be certain of anything if they have been proved wrong before? All we can ever do is trust in our own interpretation of the evidence we've encountered. For instance, I do not personally believe that this is a computer simulation and that my family are not real in the sense that I imagine them to be. However, it is always possible. I could be in a coma. I could have been drugged by aliens who are now monitoring my brain patterns. There might be a fire on the building site across the road and I haven't been made aware of it yet. Anyway, that was a digression. (You can tell I'm a sucker for those kind of questions, haha.) But yes, I'm loving the plot so far, and I can't wait to see what happens next!
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Post by Avery on Jan 30, 2014 18:45:27 GMT -5
None of this stuff is plot-related so no real spoilers, but I think that you could conceive of ethically justified uses of soul magic. Obviously it would be a big burden and you'd have to fight the impulse to use it poorly-- but I could see of situations wherein it could be appropriately used... and could even be feature that is extremely helpful in certain professions. For example, a law enforcement type individual (of which there do exist in this world) having soul magic and being able to literally, without any risk of harm to himself, wrest a person "off the ledge". Or stop a crime in progress by literally stopping the offender in their tracks. Or even more generally, a bystander with soul magic stopping a small child from running into traffic on the street. Of course it'd be an ethically thin line between appropriate and inappropriate uses. And anyone with the magic would really have to keep themselves in check to make sure they're not going to fall into 'abuse' category. But I do see of a number of situations in which the soul magic could be used in an ethically justifiable way. Useful, yes. But it is still literally imposing your will onto another. It would take someone with a very narrow/certain worldview to use it. One would have to be completely sure that they were correct in their assumptions about the nature of the situation and of reality in general.
But then, I guess my view on this is affected by my belief that it is impossible to ever truly know anything. After all, how can one be certain of anything if they have been proved wrong before? All we can ever do is trust in our own interpretation of the evidence we've encountered. For instance, I do not personally believe that this is a computer simulation and that my family are not real in the sense that I imagine them to be. However, it is always possible. I could be in a coma. I could have been drugged by aliens who are now monitoring my brain patterns. There might be a fire on the building site across the road and I haven't been made aware of it yet. Anyway, that was a digression. (You can tell I'm a sucker for those kind of questions, haha.) But yes, I'm loving the plot so far, and I can't wait to see what happens next! Ahh, don't egg on the philosophy major who wrote 15-page term paper on skepticism last semester. XD
Sure, maybe we're all being deceived by Descartes' evil genius... or we're all brains in vats. It's true that we could never really know otherwise if so. But the skeptical position isn't without its flaws. First, there's the old Occam's razor: the simplest answer is probably true-- in this case being that no, we're not all drugged by aliens. Then there's the fallacy of over-generalization: I've been wrong before, so I can't ever trust myself again. That you've been wrong about particular things does not at all entail the conclusion that you're wrong about all things-- nor does it even seem to imply it. If one generally has reliable processes that seem to lead to correct results, then it is reasonable to trust in these processes, and thus trust in the results. There's also an enormous difference between not KNOWING something and being WRONG about something. If the building across the street is on fire and I don't know it because no one's yet made me aware, this does nothing to imply that I might know nothing at all, that all of my beliefs about the world are false. Rather, once I have the facts, I will be made aware of that fire, and I will know something about the world. That you haven't had the chance to learn a fact yet doesn't mean that fact is not learnable. If you want to use the "traditional" definition of knowledge, then knowledge = justified true belief. That is to say, a belief that is true AND you've also justifying reasons for thinking it (so if Penny randomly says "I bet John will eat chocolate today" just because, without any justification for it, and in fact he does eat chocolate today, that doesn't Penny had knowledge. It was just a lucky guess, even though the belief is true. Whereas if John tells her he is going to eat chocolate, and John is a generally trustworthy person who follows through with what he says, then Penny has justification AND a true belief, and so she could be said to have knowledge). Therefore so long as you have a true belief about something, and justification for that belief, then it's quite likely you have knowledge. Of course, the skeptical response is to vastly limit what counts as knowledge-- if not altogether exclude the possibility that there can be knowledge. And go back into those "WELL IT COULD BE THE EVIL GENIUS MANIPULATING EVERYTHING". But I think ultimately, the skeptical position is one that fails because you can't really adhere to it and still live a flourishing life. Even she who thinks that everything might just be an illusion, that she could just be a brain in a vat, cannot live day to day operating under these premises. In order to care about the world, and interact with the world in a meaningful way, she has to at least practically live life as if it is NOT this grand deception, as if she CAN know things, as if everything she thinks is not false. Otherwise, what would be the purpose of living a "good life"? Why even try to learn things at all, since she'll never be satisfied that she's ever gained knowledge?
... yeah I could go on about this for WAY TOO LONG. xD Aaand that is why you never engage the philosophy major. 8D; So yeah will stop hijacking this thread, lulz. But if you ever wanna talk about thought experiments/philosophically random issues, my inbox is always open. =D *scurries back into her hidey hole*
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Post by Gelquie on Jan 30, 2014 20:20:24 GMT -5
I, for one, am enjoying the ethical and philosophical discussion presented here. *Grabs popcorn.*
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Post by Avery on Jan 31, 2014 14:09:07 GMT -5
The art for chapter three is up! Chapter four shall be posted sometime today, so stay tuned. ;D
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Post by Avery on Jan 31, 2014 15:52:51 GMT -5
Chapter four's now up. ^^
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Post by Coaster on Feb 2, 2014 1:27:31 GMT -5
okay what do they have against bright green hair I'ma show them a thing or two
Taking care of a pet for a class and having all the supplies provided for you? Sounds like a pretty good deal to me. >_>
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Post by Avery on Feb 2, 2014 16:38:28 GMT -5
Chapter four artwork by the lovely Selm has been posted! Hopefully we'll have chapter five up within the next day or so. so take care of your pets y'all or professor wolf park be sad
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Post by Celestial on Feb 2, 2014 16:52:44 GMT -5
Chapter four artwork by the lovely Selm has been posted! Hopefully we'll have chapter five up within the next day or so. so take care of your pets y'all or professor wolf park be sadBut I don't have a pet. ;_; Can I have Von Killix as my pet?
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Post by Gelquie on Feb 2, 2014 20:54:31 GMT -5
Chapter four artwork by the lovely Selm has been posted! Hopefully we'll have chapter five up within the next day or so. so take care of your pets y'all or professor wolf park be sadBut I don't have a pet. ;_; Can I have Von Killix as my pet? ...Excuse me while I go on a wild ride with this and spread rumors about you and von Killix to everyone in the school. =D Glad I don't have to take care of any pets. How am I supposed to work on my studies with some lizard jumping at me all the time? Sheesh.
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Post by Coaster on Feb 2, 2014 23:43:46 GMT -5
But I don't have a pet. ;_; Can I have Von Killix as my pet? ...Excuse me while I go on a wild ride with this and spread rumors about you and von Killix to everyone in the school. =D Glad I don't have to take care of any pets. How am I supposed to work on my studies with some lizard jumping at me all the time? Sheesh. Wait, I thought this story was about Riley and von Killix, and now Professor Tiarl is in on it? >_> (this is getting very confusing)
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Post by Celestial on Feb 3, 2014 0:39:25 GMT -5
...Excuse me while I go on a wild ride with this and spread rumors about you and von Killix to everyone in the school. =D Glad I don't have to take care of any pets. How am I supposed to work on my studies with some lizard jumping at me all the time? Sheesh. Wait, I thought this story was about Riley and von Killix, and now Professor Tiarl is in on it? >_> (this is getting very confusing) Well of course. Somebody has to balance out their intimidating natures. Also, anybody who has ever been on Skype with us kind of saw it coming. xD (Riley/Tiarl/Von Killix is my OT3 now)
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Post by Ted (the zombie Dalek) on Feb 3, 2014 1:54:27 GMT -5
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Post by Killix on Feb 3, 2014 17:27:32 GMT -5
Leanne is starting to annoy me. XD Wait, I thought this story was about Riley and von Killix, and now Professor Tiarl is in on it? >_> (this is getting very confusing) Well of course. Somebody has to balance out their intimidating natures. Also, anybody who has ever been on Skype with us kind of saw it coming. xD (Riley/Tiarl/Von Killix is my OT3 now) Yes. OT3 forevar! Except you guys have it backwards, Riley and Tiarl are von Killix's pets. ;D
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Post by Gelquie on Feb 3, 2014 18:42:02 GMT -5
Chapter 5 is going to be delayed a bit, I'm afraid. But regardless of when we post Chapter 5, we will still post Chapter 6 at the usual time. Worst case scenario, you'll get them at the same time. Ultimately, there'll be less space between the postings of those two chapters. ^^ In the meantime, here's some preview art for Chapter 5! Drawn by Celestial.
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