Why do so many heroes in fiction appear to follow virtue ethics(character and moral virtues as the foundation of ethical behavior), while misguided villains or very morally grey anti-heroes often seem to align with deontological(duty-based rules) or utilitarian (outcomes-based, greatest good for the greatest number) perspectives? Are writers subconsciously biased toward Aristotle’s ethics because it’s the easiest framework to write a protagonist following?
>>153075247Because the majority of people in the real world use virtue ethics mixed with a bit of utilitarian ethics for their framework. Purely virtue-based ethics quickly becomes contextual to culture, pure utilitarianism allows for easy rationalization of immoral actions, and pure deontological ethics is full of moral traps.
>>153075247I don't know, man.
>>153075657This, + it’s just easier to write people based off a clump of traits than a biography. There’s a reason all those shitty OCs come bundled with one-word likes/dislikes and personality descriptions instead of descriptions of why they think the way they do.It’s also worth noting that a lot of the less objectively virtuous heroes, like the Punisher (who’s more deontological) or Doctor Strange (who’s always had an undercurrent of utilitarianism), have either been vilified in the modern day or completely mishandled because of >>153075657. So, by process of natural selection, virtuous heroes are most of the ones still left in the public eye and writer’s hands.
>>153076128*personality descriptors, not descriptions. Damn you, autocorrect.
>>153075247The value systems in fiction are reductions from the real world of the writer. In an individualistic society of slaveholders, morality can only be tolerated as an individual’s trait by which that soul is judged alone, while the morality of intercommunalism and civilization must remain unconsciously delegated to the hero’s counterpart.
>>153076128>There’s a reason all those shitty OCs come bundled with one-word likes/dislikes and personality descriptions instead of descriptions of why they think the way they do.Those are made by, and for, autistic kids who treat characters like barbie dolls. Not people who actually write meaningful characters.
>>153075247Interesting thread. Greater good morality is used by villains in real life to justify wars and genocides so it leaves a bad taste in people's mouths. It comes down to what the writer thinks readers want to see, since these are power fantasies they want to write things that make the reader feel good and empowered. That could be a character who kills villains and is untroubled by moral quandries or it could be a character who is so competent he always finds a way to stop evil without stooping to his enemy's level depending on the writer's personal views.
>>153076755Have writers actually wanted their audience to feel good and empowered for the last 20 years
