The Elements of Harmony and Aristotle · 12:25am Apr 20th, 2013
According to the philosophy of Aristotle, true happiness is obtained when there is a balance between extremes. For example, being courageous is the midpoint between being cowardly and being reckless. Now, if we apply this to the Elements of Harmony, we've already seen the negative end of the spectrum through Discord's corruption. But what about the positive end? And are the Element Bearers balanced in their approach to their respective Elements? Well, let's go down the list and find out.
Honesty
If the negative extreme of honesty is lying, then the positive extreme has to be telling the truth all the time. Now, I know what you're thinking. There's nothing wrong with being truthful. After all, honesty is always the best policy, right?
Actually, no. Remember Party of One? Applejack was obligated not to tell Pinkie Pie the truth, lest she ruin the surprise. Also, there are some thoughts that you just have to keep locked up in your head, no matter how fervently you believe them to be true. The balance comes from knowing when the truth is important (which to be fair is the majority of the time).
In this regard, Applejack at least tries to be balanced, but it's always painfully obvious when she lies. Rest assured, she's not going into any casinos anytime soon.
Kindness
When you think about it, this was a major theme in Putting Your Hoof Down. Fluttershy thought that she had to choose between one extreme (being a doormat) or the other (being a monster), not considering that there was an option in-between. Her epiphany of this midpoint shines through in her confrontation with Iron Will, and since that episode, she has been somewhat balanced.
Laughter
It's safe to say that Pinkie Pie is the least balanced of the Mane Six. Oh, it's not that she's unbalanced; she can be. It's that her balance shifts around constantly. She's been at the negative end of the spectrum (bitterness and melancholy), the positive end of the spectrum (having a positive attitude to the point where she treats things with only a modicum of seriousness and doesn't know when she's being insulted), and every point in-between. But then again, it's Pinkie Pie, so why would anyone expect anything different?
Generosity
I covered this in my story Gossamer, Gravity, and Greed, and I think it clearly illustrates my thoughts on the subject. Check it out in the Tagged Story below if you're interested.
Loyalty
At first, I thought Rainbow Dash had a very balanced approach to her Element. She doesn't leave ponies hanging, but at the same time, she's not a blind yespony who does whatever her friends tell her. If someone she respects and admires such as Gilda or Spitfire does something she doesn't approve of, she'll let them know it.
But after seeing Tanks for the Memories, I think Rainbow Dash is on the positive end of the spectrum in a different way. She's willing to go to any length to make sure the people she cares about don't have to leave, even when they do. However, this side of her hasn't been explored until Tanks for the Memories aired, so I believe that she hides this extreme side of herself quite well.
Magic
Seeing as Magic is supposedly all of the other Elements combined, it's safe to say the Twilight learned a sense of balance over the course of her studies. I'd say that before arriving in Ponyville, her balance going in order was positive (not afraid to speak her mind), slightly negative (she was antisocial, but still knew how to be polite), negative (took things way too seriously), balanced (there wasn't anything to suggest that she was selfish), and slightly positive (incredibly loyal to Celestia, but was not above trying to bend her rules when she disagreed with her). Of course, this is very much open to interpretation.
That concludes my analysis, and with that, the floor is open for discussion. Just, no "Mareistotle" puns, please.
You do realize that there will be some who will be disagree with you vehemently. I'm not one of them. Harmony always struck me as the balance between chaos and order, and it always bugged me when people tried to equate harmony with order, thus as the oppissate of freedom. Harmony is true freedom.
1020961 That's probably why my headcanon as to why Celestia decided to free Discord is because she wanted Equestria to have that balance between order and chaos. Well, that and maybe her little experience in my story War Games of the Mind.
1020973
And I will disagree with you on that. Keeping the balance is why my Celestia would never let him out, she knows full well what he is capable of and never again shall Equestria be subjected to the rule of the Chaos Tyrant.
1020997 Eh, fair enough.
1021020
Yeah... doesn't help that his main goal is to take down the boundary between Equestria and our world...
1021031 Oddly enough, I think it's possible for Discord to do that without having nefarious motives. Case in point, the Fourth Wall Theater Troupe. Going back to Aristotle's philosophy, chaos isn't in and of itself evil. Merely the excess of it. And on that, I think we can both agree.
I whole-heartedly agree with your analysis of the Elements of Harmony. Also, I am very happy that someone else has the same grasp of Aristotle's philosophy on Balance; although, I shouldn't be surprised considering what I read in The Do Dilemma.
On a tangential note, I would love to get your opinion on whether or not Progress can exist in a truly balanced system. For that matter, I should also ask what your definition of Progress is.
For me, Progress is the movement along the scale between Order and Chaos. In a purely Chaotic world, all is in ruin and insanity, leaving no room for Progression. Contrarily, Order leads to stagnation and "flat" thinking, rejecting Progress as it deviates from the system.
According to Aristotle's philosophy, true happiness - or true peace (I'm reluctant to use Harmony here) - is found in the perfect balance between Order and Chaos. That being said, would Balance also reject Progress since tipping the scale in either direction would potentially shatter that peace? And if Progress is rejected, would Balance then lead to stagnation and ruin?
1028758 That's, actually a very good question.
I'm no expert, but I'd say that I agree with your concept of Progress, if only because that's how balance is achieved in the first place. As such, I don't think it should be dismissed outright.
In fact (and I don't know if Aristotle himself does this), I would put Progress on the same balance scale. Like you said, too much progress leads to a chaotic mess, but too little leads to stagnation. Ergo, there must be a certain pace of progression that staves off stagnation, but is also manageable. After all, we don't really live in a static world. Things change whether we want them to or not, and we have to adapt to those changes.
That's just my two cents, so take it as you will.
1029048
The relating factor between Progress and Balance is time. As you said, time is always moving, always changing the world around us. This explains why Progress cannot exist within pure Chaos or pure Order. In Chaos, all is in ruin, making time meaningless since there is nothing left to change. In Order, time is essentially held in stasis preventing anything from changing.
You are absolutely right. Balance doesn't outright reject Progress. Quite the opposite: it embraces Progress by moving both Chaotically and Harmoniously in equal measure while time constantly moves forward.
I feel like a derp.