Characters who get philosophy wrong
Do not trust anyone who attributes thesis, antithesis and synthesis to Hegel
If you have any suggestions, feel free to contribute
If you have any suggestions, feel free to contribute
3 Games
Caesar
When discussing his claim to the Mojave, he describes its political situation using Fichtian terminology and saying it's Hegelian Dialectics. That's because Caesar is a stupid dictator and misremembering an abridged high-school philosophy book is no justification for founding a fascist state.
When discussing his claim to the Mojave, he describes its political situation using Fichtian terminology and saying it's Hegelian Dialectics. That's because Caesar is a stupid dictator and misremembering an abridged high-school philosophy book is no justification for founding a fascist state.
Akechi Goro
The first time you meet him, he says, paraphrasing Hegel, that there can be no growth without thesis and synthesis. That is because Akechi is a stupid highschooler who thinks he's much cooler than he is and believes (mis)quoting German philosophers makes him sound smart.
ENDGAME SPOILERS FROM HERE
Maruki Takuto should really have read some Kierkegaard. In Either/Or, the Danish philosopher rejects the idea that one should never suffer. He states every person has a bit of despair in them, but accepting it is a sign of spiritual maturity. The thing is, Maruki seemingly refuses to accept a reality where pain is a factor, overwriting it with his own fantasy which ends up hurting more than it does good.
The first time you meet him, he says, paraphrasing Hegel, that there can be no growth without thesis and synthesis. That is because Akechi is a stupid highschooler who thinks he's much cooler than he is and believes (mis)quoting German philosophers makes him sound smart.
ENDGAME SPOILERS FROM HERE
Maruki Takuto should really have read some Kierkegaard. In Either/Or, the Danish philosopher rejects the idea that one should never suffer. He states every person has a bit of despair in them, but accepting it is a sign of spiritual maturity. The thing is, Maruki seemingly refuses to accept a reality where pain is a factor, overwriting it with his own fantasy which ends up hurting more than it does good.
Pascal (as suggested by Cold_Comfort)
At the start of a scene where you take control of Pascal, the robot is reading Nietzsche, commenting on how the man was either brilliant or simply crazy, likely believing the latter to be the case. Since I find it a bit misguided to just call Nietzche a nutcase (let's leave that title to those who deserve it, like early Nick Land) let's give Pascal a spot here. Still, I bet they have a much better understanding of philosophy than fucking Caesar anyways, even though by all accounts human books should have disintegrated by the time Automata is set, whereas in NV they're still somewhat available.
At the start of a scene where you take control of Pascal, the robot is reading Nietzsche, commenting on how the man was either brilliant or simply crazy, likely believing the latter to be the case. Since I find it a bit misguided to just call Nietzche a nutcase (let's leave that title to those who deserve it, like early Nick Land) let's give Pascal a spot here. Still, I bet they have a much better understanding of philosophy than fucking Caesar anyways, even though by all accounts human books should have disintegrated by the time Automata is set, whereas in NV they're still somewhat available.
5 Comments
Andrew Ryan in BioShock built a whole pseudo-objectivist nightmare after reading some Ayn Rand
Thank you for the suggestions!
@Cold_Comfort Regarding the Nier robots, I am excluding 99% of the philosophical references, since most are either name-drops (Marx, Engels and Hegel spring to mind) or actually accurate concepts (like the android who talks aboit the ship of Theseus). I will however add an entry about Pascal, since it kind of fits.
@letshugbro I have sadly never played Bioshock (one more game to the wishlist pile!) so I am not sure about putting Andrew Ryan in. I know he's basically an objectivist / Ayn Rand fanboy, but unless he gets something wrong about that philosophy I don't feel comfortable including him.
@Cold_Comfort Regarding the Nier robots, I am excluding 99% of the philosophical references, since most are either name-drops (Marx, Engels and Hegel spring to mind) or actually accurate concepts (like the android who talks aboit the ship of Theseus). I will however add an entry about Pascal, since it kind of fits.
@letshugbro I have sadly never played Bioshock (one more game to the wishlist pile!) so I am not sure about putting Andrew Ryan in. I know he's basically an objectivist / Ayn Rand fanboy, but unless he gets something wrong about that philosophy I don't feel comfortable including him.
P5R also has Maruki, that has spoiler reasons as to why he fits here.
@SuperSpeedRaven Thank you, I hadn't actually completed p5r before i made this list, but i can definitevely work Maruki in here
Cold_Comfort
2 years ago