Philosophy Spotlight: Kodame
“Our behavior defines our character. If desires rule our actions, we are the subjects of nature’s whim, and we have as little control of our actions as we have of our desires. To experience true freedom, you cannot allow your unfiltered instincts to dictate what you do; instead, you must carefully reflect on each decision to ensure that it aligns with your better judgment.”
Inspiration: Kant’s Ethics
Kodame’s philosophy is an application of Kant’s ethics, particularly inspired from a seminar taught by Ermanno Bencivenga. Kodame is one of the oldest characters in our game, responsible for creating the forest that spread across Africa, so I wanted her quote to demonstrate a big picture mindset that Kant suits perfectly.
Kant’s ethical system is incredibly ambitious. He wants to explain how ethics apply universally while respecting each individual’s free will. In order to be universal, ethical laws cannot depend on what we desire. However, to respect our individual freedom, we must each be able to set our own values and priorities, and we must have the free will to causally determine our own actions.
The key challenge for Kant is the unpredictable influence of our desires. We do not choose our desires, and if we simply act on whatever desires we feel, we are passive subjects merely reacting to our given nature.
Kant believes our true identity is defined by our ability to reason. We have the unique ability to reflect on our desires and think through what we should do. Although reason does not tell us what we should want, it can help determine what limits we have to respect in order for our desires not to conflict with each other. This ability is what makes ethics possible. We mutually acknowledge our individual freedom to choose our own values and limit ourselves to actions that do not compromise our ability to live together peacefully.
The second requirement for freedom is satisfied by the same approach. Kant, agreeing with his predecessor David Hume, believes that causation is simply universal correlation. Our reasoning causes our behavior if and only if our actions always follow the limits imposed by it. Even a single instance of failure would prove that our decisions do not determine our actions and we are not ultimately free. But if our actions never stray from our best judgment, then we can truthfully say that our actions are directly attributable to our will.