Morals in Fantasy
- Elijah Jeffery
- Feb 4
- 1 min read
One of my favorite aspects of writing fiction, particularly fantasy, has got to be the ability to explore very real questions and problems using absurd scenarios. Fantasy is where "good" and "evil" can be full-fledged characters, not just concepts, just to illustrate.
When I study philosophy, I notice that there's a whole lot of absurd scenarios used to explain difficult concepts, from the trolley problem to Plato's allegory of the cave. Or, practically any of the scenarios used to justify categorical imperatives. To really illustrate their point, a philosopher has to create a highly unlikely metaphor that acts as a stand-in for a real-world dilemma.
Perhaps this is a large part of why fantasy can be so effective. This is certainly what C.S. Lewis saw as fantasy's main purpose. He believed that fantasy should primarily serve as a medium of teaching lessons, particularly Christian ones. His position makes a lot more sense to me now that I've published a few fantasy books myself. I still don't fully agree, but after seeing some very important statements and questions about ethics make their way into my books, as always happens when you write a story about believable characters, I can see where Lewis is coming from a lot more easily.
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