Vysionaad

Vysionaad is a term applied to describe a set of ethics created by the Classical Elven thinker Danaedas and expanded during the later Classical Period and throughout the Theridan period. While the word itself does not directly translate from Elven to Theridan, the best possible approximations of meaning refer to a concept of Societal Duty, or, more analytically, ethics by law.
Since its inception in the early Classical Period, Vysionaad has remained the closest parallel Elves had to religion. In recent years, a set of works by Elven philosopher and later Dausos Iyndrathyl Minyatur has described Vysionaad and other trains of Elven thought such as Elven Nihilism as 'states of secular certainty'.
Humans who are aware of the philosophy and understand it generally label it 'virtue worship', whilst those less educated are quick to denounce it as 'fanatical heresy'.
=History=
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Keepers in the present generally believe Vysionaad to be an offshoot of earlier forms of Secular Certainty developed before the Elven Classical Period. Prior to the development of Secular Certainty, deistic beliefs and pagan worship dominated Elven certainty. Elves, however, due to their theoretically infinite lifespans and, or so Keepers in the present claim, greater intellect were less inclined to follow deistic states of certainty than the other sentient races. Gradually Elven society became more inclined to believe it was more important to focus their reason on improving the mortal world than building wealth in the afterlife.
While Vysionaad-like beliefs had been practiced in Elven courts long before the recognized inception of the present definition of the 'Elven Classical Period', it wasn't until the crowning of the first Dausos of Isralthys that Vysionaad was formulated. It was at this time that an influential scholar official by the name of Danaedas recorded and proliferated his theories regarding ethics in a treatise titled 'Vysionaad'.
From the time of the first Dausos to the end of Elven independence, Vysionaad remained not only the foundation of certainty, but the foundation of law. The governmental practice of 'Moral Legality' was instated in the early Classical period to popularize Vysionaad's concepts. Under the system, a class of educated government officials known collectively as Sars, subordinate to Isralthys and later, Naephas during the Wars of Conquest were dispatched throughout the Domains to assist local rulers in maintaining authority and coordinating projects of all sorts. In order to accede to the ranks of the Sars, one had to pass a rigorous entry examination querying knowledge of language and history, particularly in Vysionic classics, mathematics, and a score of other 'specialized practices'.
Sars would preside over virtually every legal dispute and hand down the verdicts, judging crimes and disputes not only on their nature, but their intent, and whether or not this intent was moral by the Vysionaad's theories. This system of 'Virtue Justice' ended following the Theridan Occupation, though many former Sars retained communal leadership as Keepers, passing down the old traditions to their designated heirs.
Theridan attempts to extinguish the Vysionaad have often proved counterproductive. As Zan Phaerus wrote in his /History of Elvhenan/, “Therid and his heirs on numerous occasion felt the duty to extinguish Elven Classics and replace them with deistic beliefs of some 'more cooperative' origin...What this replacement constituted, however, was quite the dubious matter. Virtually every multi-racially applicable belief that had once been adhered to across Paledia was despised by Theridian officials and no less conflictuous than Elven Ethics. And so it befell the Theridan Emperors to force their Humanocentric state cult onto the Elves through legal regulations, an act which drew the cult nothing but contempt....Indeed the Vysionaad is an abstract and often difficult to understand concept, so the Elven inclination towards its truth is generally not regarded as the [cause of the failure of] the attempts to expunge it. Instead, the [cause of failure] lies in the lack of a suitable substitute for the ancient system of certainty.”
=Tenants=
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Ultimately, the Vysionaad strives to maximize the amount of good in the world. According to Danaedas, “...there is no agent in this world capable of distinguishing what is 'good' down to the most precise of measurements. For our ineptitude, we rational agents must view the right as the most straightforward and least abstract way of measuring the good.” Danaedas in his first treatise explained the nature of morality and the inclination of all rational beings to feel a sense of right and wrong. He described this natural inclination as 'valor ethics' as opposed to 'duty ethics', the premise of Vysionaad, which he viewed as 'more accurate'.
==Universal Application==
Ethical rules which comprise duty, according to Danaedas, should be formulated by one's own ration for each action said individual commits to. A command misconception among Humans is the thought that 'Virtue Worship' has a defined code of unbreakable rules. It's actually rather the contrary. According to Danaedas, morality is naturally restrictive as a way for the rational part of the mind to regulate the free will. However, 'restriction for the sake of restriction' should not be adhered to, not because it hurts the being restricting his or herself, but because it could create an immorality. According to Danaedas, “all should strive to develop the most accurate measure of right and wrong not for themselves, but for others,” According to him and other Vysionic thinkers, the most accurate way all rational agents can distinguish right from wrong is through 'Universal Application'.
(IRL) The theory of Universal Application is much like the Categorical Imperative of Immanuel Kant, applied to Maxims as opposed to acts.
(IC) In Vysionaad, Danaedas made the conclusion that moral decisions are made by the rational part of the mind not for the end they accomplish, but for the principle they embody. For this reason, he concluded that the intent behind an act was more important in judging its moral validity than the result produced by it. Furthermore, because of the fact that the only //intrinsic good// was a good will, the only thing one can look to to measure good is the rational being's will. 
Universal Application prompts adherents to distinguish the right and wrong in their actions' intents by themselves in a process involving only reason. As its name should suggest, the theory prompts a follower to envision that their intent, or maxim, was obligatory as a universal law. Prior to Universal Application in regards to maxims, similar theories had existed pertaining to the acts themselves, theories Danaedas referred to as 'Act-Application'. Act-Application, according to Danaedas was an inferior mode of measuring morality against his 'Maxim-Application' not only due to 'Macroethical' reasons such as the notion that moral actions are made for principle and not end, but for several specific fallacies the act model carried. Danaedas was quick to flaunt the example of self-defense when arguing against Act-Application, “There are those thinkers among us who would have a man sit and smile while he is brutalized by another, for they argue killing and inflicting harm is immoral...This is but another fallacy in the [Act-Application model]. Our basic intuition would compel us to resist an unjustified assault, but the model presented before us argues that such an act would be immoral...[The model], however, cannot be considered a 'moral' model at all, for it fails to meet [the criterion that moral actions are made for principle and the good will is the only intrinsic will]...If I defend myself and kill my attacker, my maxim, depending on my level of deep thought could range from preserving my own life to re-asserting my own rational agency. Both these maxims are morally permissible, but a deeper level of thought makes the act of defending myself not only permissible, but obligatory...Every non-defensive attack has the base maxim of discounting my agency. If all else fails, I may employ the maxim of not consenting to my opponents maxim as not only a morally permissible, but obligatory maxim for my resistance...”
“...In evaluation of my maxims cited above and their conformity with my theories, envision their universal application. If all chose to reassert their own agency, their own autonomy, and resist immorality, the moral value in this world would be well near maximized.”
The Danaedian model of Universal Application remains the greatest concept in Vysionaad. Some more 'interested' Human scholars have equated the concept to the existence of the Emperor in the Imperial Cult, remarking that one cannot fully comprehend Vysionaad without understanding Maxim-Application.
==Moral Value==
Danaedas and later Vysionic thinkers elaborated into the side-concept of 'Moral Value'. He cited reason and the ability to act upon your reason, the concepts of rational agency and autonomy respectively as the foundations of all morality. Because morality can only be formed if one can think, and one cannot be a moral being otherwise, Danaedas argued in favor for a universal rule advocating respect for all rational agents, but a rule still subordinate to the theory of Universal Application. The weight of the concepts of Moral Value in comparison to the rest of Vysionaad has in the past been a highly controversial and hotly debated topic among adherent philosophical circles, but the general consensus in contemporary Vysionic thought argues that rational agency and autonomy are merely 'parts of maxims' as opposed to founding laws, but in their own right trump all other maxims.
In less abstract terms, rational agency and autonomy are seen as the first of several stepping stones towards the accomplishment of ultimate morality and then the accomplishment of good. The maxim of asserting rational agency of either oneself of others, for example, trumps all other maxims, while the accomplishment of rational agency in itself is a rather abstract concept and can have many paths relating to it.
===Animals===
Danaedas, always the propagator of his theories generally ignored the concept of animal rights in pertinence to his theories until his disappearance. It was not until the Late Classical Period when thinkers such as Sar Raethus discussed the topic, and they did so unwillingly. When asked for his opinion on the treatment of animals, Raethus famously remarked, “Why should I give a fuck?”. His staffers articulated the statement in a more comprehendable and less aggressive manner, later explaining that because Animals had no rational agency, they deserved no respect. 
===Racism===
A large part of Elven contempt for the Wild Races springs from Vysionaad. Because of its emphasis on rational agency, Elven adherents naturally looked down upon the so-called 'half-sentients'. After the ideas of Danaedas had been propagated, Human slavery in the Elven domains was promptly abolished, but Elven rulers felt more liberal in restricting the autonomy of the wild races because of their lack of the ability to 'utilize rights properly'.
===Deities===
Vysionic thinkers, past and present frequently spoke out against Deistic belief systems, especially those who worshiped figures who were alive in the past. Because a deity cannot think and/or act upon his thoughts in the same respect as a mortal, Vysionic thinkers generally argue against devoting resources to their respect. It has been argued in the past that a fear of the divine will help individuals become more moral, but Vysionic philosophers have been quick to point out that such is a fatal restriction on autonomy, and perhaps rational agency depending on the depth of one's faith.
=Following=
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To the reign of Jerolian I, belief in Vysionaad has remained near-universal amongst Elves as a paramount state of certainty. The extent to which an Elf understands the system, however, varies greatly among classes. While the Keepers and Vaal generally possess a great understanding for the faith and its tenants, the general Elven masses are generally bereft of the ability to reason through the system's more complicated concepts.
Category:Religion