Cyberpunk & Ethics

[grävling]

Feb 26, 2013 0:27:31 GMT -5 xdesperado said:

grävling to a certain degree all artists works will be influenced to a greater or lesser degree by the artists own life experiences and the society they reside within.
Those influences can easily be interpreted by those intent upon doing so to the resultant art being alagorical or having some sort of deeper message or meaning.
While some artists set out to intentionally create such messages with their works, a great number of them are simply expressing their creative urges and sharing their unique visions and dreams with others.

But that, of course, is the question.

Is it possible to have a unique vision or dream that isn't inherantly political or moral?

Even the statement 'I have no moral or political beliefs' is, in itself a political or moral statement. While it is clear that some creators -- moralists -- have a moral or political message in mind, which they are consciously trying to present, other creators apparantly get the same effect but not consciously. It is hard to argue that the second group are less moral or political than the first group. And surely whether a work has political or moral meaning should arise out of consideration of the work -- not the intentions (or lack of intentions) of the author while he or she was composing it?

[grävling]

Also re Aquinas -- Aquinas was as strongly influenced by Aristotle as it is possible to be. And Socrates was famous for through dialogs with ignorant youth, have them prove theorems in mathematics, or logic or ethics, or what have you. If you work this way it is difficult not to come to the conclusion that in teaching you aren't so much planting new ideas in others' heads as causing them to discover truths that they, in some sense, already had within them though they were unaware of it.

[missionhill]

grävling yes .. here is a phrase, "how do I know what I think until I hear myself say it?"

[xdesperado]

Feb 26, 2013 2:18:57 GMT -5 @missionhill said:

grävling yes .. here is a phrase, "how do I know what I think until I hear myself say it?"

Now that quote sounds like the perfect bases for a Cyberpunk story.
Imagine taking Joshua from the MnB story mode and using that quote as a logical extension of his story after his meeting with the mother and daughter...
Of course that's just convenient example of a possible story bases. No reason you couldn't create your own unique protagonist with his own back story to go with such a quote.

[missionhill]

xdesperado thanks for tip on Orson Scott Card story.

The moral lesson of just enjoying art is exactly that.
"Beauty is Truth and Truth Beauty" - Keats

Beauty is very relaxing. Nature, transcendence. Do I think to myself
Oh, what theme / motifs will I extolling from this story before I write it?
No. Unless I'm writing a review or a piece where my personal likes and dislikes need participate...
Review writing is boring.

Poetry is much easier for me than sci-fi... because I can't see nor feel the future.
I certainly enjoy show not tell writing. Characters and environment is all its about.
I write what I know... when it comes to s p speculative fiction... I write what I want to know?

Anyhow... My perspective is based in western ideology. Aquinas, Rousseau... I went to them as friends suggested it... and each says a community is built on shared ethic.

That's what I'm researching. Certainly lessons and possibility come out of narrative ... plot. It's a good place to know where you are going... I kept on seeing cyberpunk only saves the self. I disagreed. I give a different definition to self. Call it the all-there-is. The best story I can think of is Siddhartha.

@cory thanks for the update of political structure. It's more an autonomous zone. Reminds me of a book called T.A.Z. by Hakim Bey

I enjoyed the discourse. It will be awhile before I get any more of our NBZ Garden... It's a gift for the devs and the players. I have lingering pneumonia and its depressing. Maybe there is a chip for that... best..mh