Young Writers Society

The Circle of Life (Philosophies)

In worldbuilding (for all you non-fantasy/sci-fi writers, I'll bring this "back down to Earth" for you in a moment), religion is an important part of the fictional world [although Islam and Christianity aren't religions: they're lifestyles]. All right, back on the tracks. *scolds self* In talking with a writer friend of mine, we discussed what the 'essence' of a religion is, specifically the invented religions. She detailed how religion has four major points: a view on life, marriage, children, and death. However, in studying what each of those meant, I discovered a fifth, central tenet, the foundation for the religion: a view of God. And further study revealed something interesting- these five points can be applied to every worldview, life philosophy, and religion. Basically, these are the five main categories of how a person views the world around them. [Yes, I know I broke the number/antecedent agreement. Go back and read my chapter on sexist language.] First, an illustration.

That is the "Life Philosophy Diagram." Now, to explain what each of those Views means. The View of Life is not just how you live your life (your code of ethics and morality), but your origins, where you came from [think back farther than Biology class]. A View of Life includes the origins of the Universe and humanity, not just your parents or further back ancestors, but the origins of the first humans, and where everything came from, including the 'dust' of outer space [and space itself, people]. That is what the View of Life means. The View of Marriage may not seem important or even detailed beyond "Does the Church or State hold the authority to give marriage licenses?" and whether marriage is homo- or heterosexual. A View of Marriage could include the View that marriage isn't important [seriously, just because you dismiss the importance of an issue means you have a View on the issue]. And it's also important due to the next issue, Children. A View of Marriage also includes the purpose of marriage, whether it's designed to make two people happy or to propagate the human species. That brings us to the View of Children. A View of Children means their importance, who gets to raise them, their determination (are they an accident, an inconvenience?) and so on and so forth. Saying that Children serve little more purpose than to continue the human race and take care of us in our old age is one View of Children, but not the only or the best View. The last 'outer' View is a View of Death. Is Death the end? Is there an Afterlife? Do we have souls that live on, or do we just turn into dust? The answer to all of these is your View of Death. And finally, the central belief, a View of God. Does He (or It) exist? Is there One, or multiple? Which version? What religion is right? Is there no God? Is Atheism correct? Why not just live as if there is a God but never know for sure (Agnosticism)? Whatever your answer to the questions, "Is there a God? Which God?" you have a View of God. Saying He/It doesn't exist means you have a View of God. Your View of God affects all the other Views, which is why I placed it in the center. [If you don't understand my explanation or want more info/better explanation, just message me].

Now, on to the worldbuilding and character development. For all you inventing your own religion, a quick word of advice: think through it first. If it sounds retarded to you (think polytheism [multiple gods]), it's probably going to be absolute trash that no one would ever believe in, since you're already going to dismiss it out of hand. At least make sure that your gods sound like something people could have believed in. Seriously, I'm really tired of reading books with a 'gods' system, and there being nothing more than these immortal humans on steriods standing by to destroy the world, or a bunch of completely unbelievable stories that in no way dictate or even imply a need for the gods to be worshipped. Give the peole a reason to believe! *sighs* All right, rant over. But whether you're inventing a religion for your fantasy/sci-fi world or just building a new character, you need to consider the Five Views. Giving your character/religion a believable and defendable position will strengthen your writing and give you a chance to impress people by showing them that, hey, you actually sat back and thought about what you're writing. And inspecting a new character's worldview by feeling out how they view the world around them will give you greater insight into how to write them. Go exploring. Write a character who believes completely opposite everything you believe, and step into their shoes and defend their beliefs, not trash them. It will open your eyes and the readers' if you can showcase a philosophy and have the maturity to give an honest renditioning of its strengths and faults. The world (fictional or otherwise), and your writing, will be better for it.

Any questions? My apologies for anything that is unclear.

Addendum: The Big Three Questions

In 'real' philosophy (i.e. being philosophically correct in our usage of words), there are three "big" questions all philosophers pursue: where did I come from, why am I here, and where am I going? The Five Views, as outlined above, will be your answers to these questions. Where did I come from is answered by your View of Life; Why am I here is answered in your Views of Life, Marriage, and Children (and perhaps some bleed-over into your View of Death); and Where am I going is answered by your View of Death. Central to all of these is your View of God, which is your foundation for your other four Views, and ultimately your reasoning for your four Views will lead to your View of God.