Dungeons and Dragons and Philosophy

Rating: 3.5/5 Stars
Rounded up to 4 stars

A very entertaining read. Not exactly what I had imagined, however, I loved revisiting the different philosophical takes and perspectives and combining it with D&D and other fantasy works. Very fun to read. Not all of the essays were as entertaining or impactful, but it was a good read.

Quotes:

“Philosophers test moral theories by subjecting them to “thought experiments,” hypothetical situations set up and considered in an attempt to decide whether particular moral theories give the right answers in all possible circumstances. D&D games are nothing but thought experiments, hypothetical situations in which hypothetical people do hypothetical things. Of the various story-telling art forms that can serve as a source for thought experiments, D&D is particularly suitable because the D&D player is an active participant in the story, forced to make decisions based on the situations described by the Dungeon Master.”“As the Book of Exalted Deeds says, “Let their choices be difficult but not deadly ... Let their choices and actions matter.” “Where do we get evil? “The sad truth of the matter,” says Arendt, “is that most evil is done by people who never made up their mind to be either good or bad.”” “The primary sources of evil are indifference and self-deception. Both lead me to a life of convention, simply living up to the code of conduct given to me by my society. Arendt says that most people live like this; “they get used to never making up their minds.”” “we don't have much time to really think, and when we do, we don't want to spend our time thinking about what is ugly and bad. It is much more comfortable to think of evil as something done by villains in movies. There is something rather disturbing about the thought that one can become evil gradually. Once you realize that you can be evil without knowing it, you realize that you can be evil without knowing it.” “Every character has a bit – or a lot – of the player in them. With every character I make, I bring a new side of myself to the foreground, for the examination of myself and of others. And in doing so, I learn more about myself, and about my fellow players who are doing the same.” “A man defines himself by his make-believe as well as by his sincerest impulses.” “As Tolkien explains: “Fantasy remains a human right: we make in our measure and in our derivative mode, because we are made: and not only made, but made in the image and likeness of a Maker.”” “in The Will to Power: “‘Truth' is therefore not something there, that might be found or discovered – but something that must be created ... . It is a word for the ‘will to power.'”14” “Fantasy succeeds when it transports us to an imaginary land, and we escape the grayer parts of our own for a little while.” “Escapism is frequently described negatively (especially in relation to fantasy role-playing), but Tolkien reminds us that there are nobler escapisms. Beyond the desire to be free of traffic noise or workplace drudgery, there is also the desire to escape injustice, pain, sorrow, and, greater than these, death.” “It is the mark of a good fairy-story, of the higher or more complete kind, that however wild its events, however fantastic or terrible the adventures, it can give to child or man that hears it, when the “turn” comes, a catch of the breath, a beat and lifting of the heart, near to (or indeed accompanied by) tears, as keen as that given by any form of literary art, and having a peculiar quality.10” “Remember that fantasy succeeds when it satisfies the desire to escape into a different kind of world, but Chesterton's Doctrine of Conditional Joy and Tolkien's concept of eucatastrophe remind us that, at its heart, fantasy is about satisfying the desire to escape sorrow, injustice, and death, not the cultural or technological trappings of everyday life.” “One key method employed by any dominant and dominating system of power (political, social, pedagogical, you name it) is to curtail any collective change that might threaten its claims to legitimacy. One of the best ways to do this is to limit the ability of those under its power to imagine a different kind of reality.” “To limit the imagination is to limit critical thinking in the most brutal way, which keeps people subjected and afraid of change.” “The first step in all of this is, of course, to imagine oneself as a completely different person – but a different person who yet relies 100 percent on the mind and experiences of the creator. We find this mantra repeated in various editions of the Player's Handbook. In the second edition we are told: “The character you create is your alter ego in the fantasy realm of this game, a make-believe person who is under your control and through whom you vicariously explore the world the Dungeon Master (DM) has created.”7 In the fourth edition we are called to “take a minute to imagine your character. Think about the kind of hero you want your character to be. Your character exists in your imagination – all the game statistics do is help you determine what your character can do in the game.”8 In other words, the entire game is there merely to support your own creative vision, not to dictate it to you or to play it for you.” “Irigaray argues that we have an imaginary body that is largely imbued with fantasy. In other words, my body, as imagined by my mind (or ego) is not an objective representation of how it actually is (which is impossible to access) but is an artificial creation resulting from my entrance into language and society with others. What language says about bodies – male and female – within a cultural framework largely determines what we imagine our bodies are, what they can do, and what they look like.” “she asks, that is so captivating in the performance of drag? Whether in a show on a cruise ship or mildly exaggerated butch/femme identities in the gay and lesbian communities, drag reveals something that otherwise remains largely concealed from us. Namely, drag illustrates that gender itself is performative.” “Aristotle said that “there is also need of passage of time and the habits formed by living together, for as the adage has it, it is not possible for people to know each other until they have eaten together of the proverbial salt, nor is it possible, before this occurs, for them to accept each other and to be friends until each appears as lovable and is trusted” (1156b26–29).” “For since they wish to live with their friends, they pursue and share in those things in which they suppose living together consists” (1172a7–8).”