LucasSloan comments on The Sword of Good - Less Wrong

85 Post author: Eliezer_Yudkowsky 03 September 2009 12:53AM

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Comment author: LucasSloan 04 September 2009 05:23:18AM *  8 points [-]

I agree that screaming at characters that they FAIL ETHICS FOREVER can interrupt enjoyment of a story, but it is far worse to never realize that their actions are, in fact, contemptible.

Comment author: Alicorn 04 September 2009 04:47:06PM 5 points [-]

Oh, I agree - but I try to postpone this contemplation until after I've finished the story, if I can.

Comment author: MichaelVassar 05 September 2009 03:47:26AM 1 point [-]

No, maybe disgusting, definitely enraging, but usuallynot contemptible. Agamemnon is an exception, but he's pretty much the villain in a story without clear villains. Odysseus is heroic in the extreme, not contemptible, but his heroism has nothing to do with good intentions or outcomes, only with displaying his desirability as an ally.