What Were the Elements of Harmony Based On? · 4:18pm Jun 16th, 2023
Do they correspond to any real-world ethical philosophy, or are they simply random general virtues?
Blog Number 225: Ethical Precursors Edition
To clarify, I'm not necessarily interested in later embellishments, such as the Pillars' list of alternatives or Sunset's role being treated as the seventh element of "empathy". (Although I wouldn't mind some light on the subject there, because tangents are magic, nevertheless those virtues aren't the priority of this blog). What I want to know is - back when the show started - was there some behind-the-scenes reason as to why, say, honesty et al were selected as elements by the show crew?
Given they're (at least initially) the core of the show's pro-friendship outlook, I wondered if the virtues of the Elements of Harmony (honesty, kindness, laughter, loyalty, generosity/inspiration, and "magic") had some sort of real-world predecessor, similar to the traditional Seven Heavenly Virtues. Only I've found no trivia on the wiki, Wikipedia, or even TV Tropes to indicate as such.
Incidentally, since it seems this would come under virtue ethics, I did find a juicy page on Wikipedia listing various... well, lists of virtues, namely the Socratic*, the Stoic**, and especially the Aristotelian.
* Although calling one virtue (knowledge) a "list" is pushing the definition beyond breaking point.
** Which, by the look of it, formed the precursor to the more familiar Seven Heavenly Virtues, specifically the Four Cardinal Virtues:
- Prudence (φρόνησις, phrónēsis; Latin: prudentia; also Wisdom, Sophia, sapientia), the ability to discern the appropriate course of action to be taken in a given situation at the appropriate time, with consideration of potential consequences.
- Justice (δικαιοσύνη, dikaiosýnē; Latin: iustitia): also considered as fairness;[3] the Greek word also having the meaning righteousness
- Fortitude (ἀνδρεία, andreía; Latin: fortitudo): also termed courage: forbearance, strength, endurance, and the ability to confront fear, uncertainty, and intimidation
- Temperance (σωφροσύνη, sōphrosýnē; Latin: temperantia): also known as restraint, the practice of self-control, abstention, discretion, and moderation tempering the appetition. Plato considered sōphrosynē, which may also be translated as sound-mindedness, to be the most important virtue.
"Yes, yes, and I'm this universe's Anti-Twi. Magic is Satanic, kids! Ignore the grown-ups and have fun with it!"
I told you tangents were magic. 🤓
So, any thoughts?
That's all for now. Impossible Numbers, out.
-Impossible Numbers, 2023.
That's it. That's my only contribution.
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It's a mark of how poor my knowledge of Internet slang is that I actually had to look up "based".
Now I'm wondering which definition you meant.🙃
Interestingly, the element of "Laughter" was originally supposed to be "Mirth", a much more complex concept; but the showrunners were concerned that their target audience wouldn't know or understand the word. And to be fair, it is becoming something of an archaism, unfortunately.
I also like the "alternative" values ascribed to the elements by Princess Celestia in the "slap some wings on her" episode, that help to clarify the deeper meaning of them: Charity (Generosity), Compassion (Kindness), Devotion (Loyalty), Integrity (Honesty), Optimism (Laughter/Mirth), and Leadership; particularly the clarification of Twilight's "Magic" element as Leadership, since that's the most common role she performs in her friend group, and of course defines her role in larger Equestrian society from then on.
What is even more interesting is that the original name for the elements embody what tend to be more passive or reactive concepts, while the alternates are more active and demanding.
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Alongside that, I know that Generosity was originally supposed to be Inspiration. Probably changed for similar reasons?
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Very likely; plus it doesn't work as well as a "element of friendship".
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According to the wiki:
The references 5 and 6 come from Faust's Twitter account and the 2012 Q and A at BronyCon.
Personally, I much prefer "Inspiration", partly because "Generosity" is too close to "Kindness" and partly because that kind of uplifting ambition just speaks to me a little more.
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Where did you learn that? I can't find any mention of it on the wiki the same way I did for Rarity's "Inspiration", and I have to admit I've never come across it before.
Ooh, good catch! I'd forgotten about that. An extra ingredient in the virtue ethics pot. 🤔
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IIRC it was Lauren Faust's Twitter where that originally came out, not sure if it's documented anywhere. It might also be in the big show artbook, published a number of years ago, that has her original character and story concepts. I'd check my copy, but it's currently in storage (and has been for the five years since I last moved).