-- An excerpt from the famous debate between the honored philosophers Hamnock Gemtongue and philosophers Eri Leafmother, along with notes from the moderator.
Hamnock:
I agree with my esteemed colleague that concepts such as good and evil are unhelpful and outdated. However, I would posit that a scale of alignment is truly what is needed in order to encourage individuals to strive for perfection in Emptiness. Emptiness, the concept of one emptying oneself through selfless acts for others, is the most noble of all concepts. For society cannot help but to flourish when it's members seek the good of all. Every action should first be questioned to see how it can affect the welfare of the most individuals...
Eri Leafmother:
While I respect the more traditional position taken by my colleague, I would argue that his concept of morality and alignment is still basically a dichotomy between what he believes is 'good', Emptiness, and what he believes is 'evil', the concept of a Full Body. I would posit more fully that these traditional terms of good and evil have no place among the scholars of today and that in fact, the moral system laid out by Full Body proponents is of higher moral worth than Emptiness. Each individual member, when seeking the best outcome for themselves, will naturally work together in harmony and society will reach greater heights. We are all judged by our actions ultimately. What difference is there between someone who slays the Beast for the good of the innocents and another who slays the Beast for the glory and fame it will bring to themselves? Both actions result in the same end, however the second action also results in a net good to society because the Full Body adventurer gains glory and wealth from his actions and his wealth is spent among the people, becoming a net gain to society in general.
Moderator:
Both of my esteemed colleagues have made their cases well. Despite their insistence on ignoring the more balanced foundations of true neutrality, I believe that the dichotomy they have presented can be combined with the Way of Balance and set perpendicular to the dichotomy already argued by our esteemed society between Order and Chaos.
Combined together in this way, we arrive at a true Philosophy of Moral Alignment that I believe will stand the test of time as the most accurate. Nine beliefs emerge:
| Ordered Empty (Grong) | Balanced Empty (Berma) | Chaotic Empty (Usthera) |
| Ordered Balance (Beruth) | True Balance (Minos) | Chaotic Balance (Jae) |
| Ordered Full (Aesthera) | Balanced Full (Vinthun) | Chaotic Full (Firgo) |
Moderator's Note: at the risk of angering the religious elite, I have taken the liberty of including in my chart the deity I believe most embodies that position. Perhaps this may help the common person in their understanding of this philosophy. We can only hope to find a use for religion.