FrankTrollman at [unixtime wrote:1071609863[/unixtime]]Heck, I can't even tell what Law and Chaos even are. Sometimes Law seems to be being true to yourself (example: Lawful Evil Swordsman with an unshakable, if perplexing, personal code) - while at other times it seems to be devotion to an external code regardless of personal beliefs (example: Lawful Neutral Judge who enforces all of the laws of the land to the letter). (snip)
Reading the above post (and I've just quoted the part which made me start thinking) I came to the conclusion that, there may be something these two contradictory examples of Lawful behaviour have in common, and thought I'd throw it out for discussion on whether that idea might form a better basis for definition of Lawful and Chaotic alignments than anything we currently have.
That something is Objectivity.
The swordsman and the judge both examine the situations in front of them and make their decisions based on some sort of rule framework that exists independantly of the situation and is not affected by it.
- The Judge sees an accusation, and applies the law code as it exists to the situation, determines guilt and applies punishment.
The swordsman faces another person and acts in response to that person's status and deeds, regardless of the consequences to him personally. A warrior would be met in one way, a noncombatant in another, his master in yet a third.
We need an opposite concept, and that might best be labelled Subjectivity. A person acting subjectively would act in accordance with how the situation appears to him, without regard to prior precedent or consistency in dealings. The Subjective person may modify their actions owing to perceived consequences (I want that guy's car, but I can't afford it and if I try to take it he'll beat me senseless) or not, if the desire to act is strong enough.
None of this directly impinges on morals (I hope).
Does it serve to get a handle on an absolute Law v Chaos methodology?
One implication that occurred to me. If I implemented this in a game, would I need to houserule the alignment of animals to Subjective (or Chaotic, under the old nomenclature), while Constructs became Objective (formerly Lawful)? Are there any other implications?
Oh, and Hi to those I do not already know.