- "What is good? Only one definition endures. Good is pleasure in the absence of suffering. What then is the greater good? To calculate pleasure or suffering in the majority, we must account for the dimension of time. Each act must be measured not merely within the moment, but against all causality. The greater good, therefore, equates to total pleasure over time."
- ― Sophia Lamb in "Unity and Metamorphisis", Bioshock 2
The power to embody utilitarianism. A variation of Philosophy and Virtue Embodiment.
Capabilities[]
The user embodies the values of utilitarianism, a philosophy that puts emphasis on utility, which is defined as maximizing happiness and reducing suffering. The values of utilitarianism increase a person's ability to interact with the world and meet their goals.
Applications[]
- Philosophy-Based Powers (Exclusively with utilitarianism)
Main Utilitarian Values:
- Courage Inducement - Overcoming fear by channeling it in a constructive direction.
- Determination Embodiment - Strength of conviction.
- Diligence Inducement - The strength to not give up in the face of hardship.
- Discipline - Setting aside emotions.
- Fortitude - The ability to maintain integrity in the face of adversity.
- Frugality - Controlling one's assets with wisdom and temperance.
- Joy Bringer - Bring forth joy and happiness ending suffering.
- Order Inducement - Arranging one's surroundings in an efficient organized manner.
- Resourcefulness - Finding new, creative solutions to problems.
- Strength Embodiment - the ability to retain one's motivations in the face of hardship.
- Vigilance - Paying attention to threats to one's interest.
Overlap With Social Embodiment:
- Ambition Embodiment - The motivation to strive toward one's goals.
- Chastity Embodiment - Temperance and self-control.
- Happiness Embodiment
- Hope Embodiment
Overlap With Morality Embodiment:
- Passion: Deep caring. The capacity and inclination to cultivate deep and vivacious emotions. Best tempered with discipline and chastity (non-sexual, see definition above). Opposite of apathy.
- Purpose: Forming and maintaining a personal goal or adopting and maintaining a collective one. Opposite of disorientation or fecklessness.
A combination of all three:
- Duty: A sense of obligation to those with whom bonds of trust and loyalty have been formed. Closely related to loyalty, but also includes an element of industriousness in the name of the collective. Opposite of negligence.
- Friendship: The willingness to form social bonds based on affection and habit of facing joy and hardship together with friends rather than alone. Needs to be tempered with independence, see below. Opposite of severance.
- Humility: A realistic view of one's own limitations and place in the world, while at the same time possessing a true sense of one's own worth. This need not imply acceptance, unless one truly knows that one's lot cannot be changed. Opposite of pride or arrogance, both of which denote having an inflated sense of self-worth. Can also be regarded to be at odds with meekness, which is having a deflated sense of the same. A "golden mean" virtue.
- Independence: The abstinence from relying on others for the solution of problems that are more prudently dealt with by oneself in solitude. Opposite of dependency. Can be viewed as synonymous with self-sufficiency but that also carries problematic negative connotations, see solidarity.
- Mirth: Closely related to cheer but includes an element of sharing of one's joy through laughter or playful activity. Often follows cheer naturally and without further effort. Can also be simulated even when down in order to safeguard the cheer of others. Finding cheer for oneself is of course the preferred route to expressing mirth, however, since simulation of emotions in the long run is both exhausting and insincere. Opposite of glumness.
- Patience: The acceptance of the fact that things, including understanding, takes time, and the ability to suppress negative reactions that arise when the wait takes longer than initially expected. At first may seem trivial in a list of virtues, but it is truly of profound weight in order to avoid needless social tensions. And, as is well known, social tensions have a way of snowballing... Opposite of impatience.
- Prudence: The practical wisdom to distinguish between constructive and non-constructive action. Opposite of recklessness.
- Responsibility: Can in one sense be regarded as a synonym of duty. In another, it means having prudently analyzed the possible consequences of one's actions beforehand, weighing them into the decision. Also implies not shying from one's own responsibility for said consequences when they happen. Opposite of irresponsibility.
- Sincerity: Closely related to honesty. The drive to fully acknowledge one's deeper motivations, and not hiding them from trusted others. May lead one from a destructive path to a constructive one, hence the utilitarian implication. Opposite of delusionality.
Known Users[]
See Also: Virtue Vice Codification.
- Queen Watevra Wa’nabi (The LEGO Movie 2)
- Princess Celestia (My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic)