Justice Posted November 11, 2017 Posted November 11, 2017 I’ve been thinking about the Kaladin chapter from this week and his conversation with Syl about what is “right”, while happening to re-read the end of WoR and Edgedancer and something leapt out regarding relative morality: Quote “I can’t help but feel a kinship to them, Syl.” “They conquered the city. They’re Voidbringers.” “No, they’re people. And they’re angry, with good reason.” A gust of wind blew across him, making him drift to the side. “I know that feeling. It burns in you, worms inside your brain until you forget everything but the injustice done to you. It’s how I felt about Elhokar. Sometimes a world of rational explanations can become meaningless in the face of that all-consuming desire to get what you deserve.” “You changed your mind about Elhokar, Kaladin. You saw what was right.” “Did I? Did I find what was right, or did I just finally agree to see things the way you wanted?” “Killing Elhokar was wrong.” “And the parshmen on the Shattered Plains that I killed? Murdering them wasn’t wrong?” “You were protecting Dalinar.” “Who was assaulting their homeland.” “Because they killed his brother.” “Which, for all we know, they did because they saw how King Gavilar and his people treated the parshmen.” Kaladin turned toward Syl, who sat on his shoulder, one leg tucked beneath her. “So what’s the difference, Syl? What is the diff rence between Dalinar attacking the parshmen, and these parshmen conquering that city?” “I don’t know,” she said softly. “And why was it worse for me to let Elhokar be killed for his injustices than it was for me to actively kill parshmen on the Shattered Plains?” “One is wrong. I mean, it just feels wrong. Both do, I guess.” “Except one nearly broke my bond, while the other didn’t. The bond isn’t about what’s right and wrong, is it, Syl. It’s about what you see as right and wrong.” “What we see,” she corrected. “And about oaths. You swore to protect Elhokar. Tell me that during your time planning to betray Elhokar, you didn’t—deep down—think you were doing something wrong.” “Fine. But it’s still about perception.” Kaladin let the winds blow him, feeling a pit open in his belly. “Storms, I’d hoped… I’d hoped you could tell me, give me an absolute right. For once, I’d like my moral code not to come with a list of exceptions at the end.” Emphasis added and all. Then I read in Edgedancer: Quote “But…” said the male initiate. “Is it really … I mean, shouldn’t we want them to return, so we won’t be the only order of Knights Radiant?” “Unfortunately, no,” Darkness said. “I once thought as you, but Ishar made the truth clear to me. If the bonds between men and spren are reignited, then men will naturally discover the greater power of the oaths. Without Honor to regulate this, there is a small chance that what comes next will allow the Voidbringers to again make the jump between worlds. That would cause a Desolation, and even a small chance that the world will be destroyed is a risk that we cannot take. Absolute fidelity to the mission Ishar gave us—the greater law of protecting Roshar—is required.” And Quote Darkness turned, striding past the others. “The minds of men are fragile, their emotions mutable and often unpredictable. The only path to Honor is to stick to your chosen code. This was the way of the Knights Radiant, and is the way of the Skybreakers.” This seems to be a series of hints to me. Our curren KR are bound by oaths, as the KR were in the past. What’s missing? A living Honor to guide the oaths. Without Honor, the oaths could lead to (and may have led to) another desolation. But you have to stick to a chosen code. The most recent oath Kaladin has spoken included the phrase “so long as it is right.” Yet his current situation with the Parshendi suggests that he is unsure of the foundation of what is right and wrong. How does one uphold an oath to do what is right when one doubts the foundations of right and wrong? Kaladin struggles with this more than any other POV up to this point. Now Dalinar is our main POV and he converses with Taravangian about what makes a good ruler. (An aside, Taravangian is about the most utilitarian moralist I’ve ever seen in a fantasy novel). The theory? Without Honor guiding the oaths, the foundations of the oaths that guide the KR lose their foundation. This revelation builds over time, resulting in the recreance, where the KR as a whole aknoclwge that, post honor’s death, by following their oaths, they have been enforcing a relative morality guided by the “fallen” heralds that has no moral foundation. Instead of continuing to abide by these oaths, they break their bonds and walk away from their duties. This solves the problem of 9 out of 10 with Darkness’ justification of his actions. Without delving too far into moral development, obeying the law is actually considered a lower level of moral development than following a code of ethics. To obey the law to avoid punishment is lower on the progression of morality than to follow your own moral compass. Yet Darkness retains his order by imposing the law, as it exists in a particular jurisdiction, as the chosen code. This allows his skybreakers to avoid the catastrophic impact of the death of Honor. They retain a reference to guide their oaths, while those orders who could care less about the particular laws of a given country, lose their moral foundation. Very much welcoming thoughts on this as we eagerly await Oathbringer’s release on Tuesday!!
Leyrann Posted November 11, 2017 Posted November 11, 2017 One problem. Honor has only been shattered after the Recreance: https://wob.coppermind.net/events/76-shadows-of-self-chicago-signing/#e6174
Justice Posted November 11, 2017 Author Posted November 11, 2017 Ah, thanks @Leyrann. Knew i probably jumped the gun on the theory there. Hard to keep the timeline straight when I get excited about something. The similarities between the issues that Kaladin and Nale/Nin/Darkness are having, along with the Tanavast and Dalinar discussion, and even the alleyway scene with Jasnah and Shallan all make my brain itch! Luckily we will know more in just a few days! It is probably just Kaladin’s processing to get to the next oath. But still, even if it is that, there’s something more there. It is almost as if there’s always another secret or something...
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