fandomhigh | Practical Philosophy, Monday

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practical philosophy

Practical Philosophy, Monday

Ender waited until everyone was seated on the lawn, as per usual; his eyes skipped over the class, lingering briefly on Mara ~~if she was there~~, since she'd inspired today's class.

"Friendship," he said, "is a virtue which is ‘most necessary with a view to living … for without friends no one would choose to live, though he had all other goods’. At least, that's according to Aristotle, one of our most ancient philosophers. His definition of friendship is two people who bear good will towards each other, without this escaping their notice. With this, he meant that friendships had to be based on one of three things: an appreciation of each other's goodness, or pleasantness, or usefulness. Friendships based in full appreciation of each other and a willingness to wish each other well even when there's no immediate advantage in it for you, well, those were greatest of all."

He smiled faintly. "It sounds like a romantic ideal, but it's also good advice," he said. "Of course, Aristotle also believed there was such a thing as perfect friendship - to have a friend who is like another self. To appreciate each other's ability to exercise reason and virtue, that, he felt, was most important. You could certainly argue with that more strongly."

"One thing hasn't changed since Aristotle's time, though, and that's that we value such social bonds strongly," he continued. "Most cultures have some kind of fundamental belief about the necessity of friendship, though not everyone agrees on what that should be like. Or how to accomplish it. I'd like us to talk about this for a bit: have you ever had something approaching a 'perfect friend'? Do you believe you can sort friendships the way Aristotle did, or are things murkier? Is friendship that important to you?"

There. This shouldn't be too hard, surely. It was a nice day, even if the lawn smelled like cheese.

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Peridot looked like she was a little bit at a loss, here. She was still down a foot, and she'd clunk-CLUNKed her way to class today a little less frustrated and a little more resigned than she had been the week before.

Now she was hugging her knees again and looking... anywhere but at anybody else, mostly. The grass was a lovely verdant hue, she was going to ever so casually pick a few blades and compare them to her own arm.

"Don't really know what friends are about," she muttered. "Apparently they're important, here."

"You don't have any friends at present?" Ender asked.

He... might have been the only person in the universe who could ask that question without sounding like he was full of judgment one way or the other. His basic speaking voice was weirdly neutral like that. "Is it not a big part of your culture?"

"I... don't really know if they count as friends," Peridot admitted. "I'm not entirely certain what the qualifiers are. There are humans here that I don't dislike, and who have been useful since my arrival. But with the way humans talk about it, it seems as though there's more to it than that."

She was not fidgeting, shut up.

"On Homeworld, there isn't much room for frivolities like that. I'm aware the concept exists, and I've seen camaraderie between other Gems before, but that's a luxury left to those of a higher station, I suppose."

Ender nodded slowly, processing that. "Let's take this in steps, then," he said. "What do you think the human concept of friendship is, more or less?"

"It's..." Peridot frowned, a faint tint of blue coloring her cheeks. "It can't be as complicated as I'm making it, if humans can do it so readily, but it seems out of my grasp. People who... need one another? For emotional stability? Mutually beneficial relationships sustained by choice for... a... reason."

She was struggling with this one, Ender. Help her out, here.

"The nakedly biological explanation would be 'because working together makes us stronger, enabling us to survive longer, and bonding emotionally means both humans involved are looking out for each other's wellbeing, thus increasing their chances.'"

Breaking these things down into basic evolutionary sense seemed like an easy way to explain it to Peridot, at least.

"The slightly less overtly scientific version is... because yes, friends keep us emotional stability, they bring us joy, and maintaining a friendship over a longer period of time deepens the bond, increasing familiarity. Which improves the former two functions because we know how to stabilize and cheer up our friends more effectively."

He could work his way up this stairwell of explanations for a while if you needed him to, Peridot.

"So... friendship is a sort of symbiosis?"

That, at least, seemed to sort of make sense. Maybe not perfectly accurate sense, but it was a start. Peridot wasn't fidgeting as much, anyway.

"See it as a sense of symbiosis that can inspire cooperation and positive feelings," Ender said, nodding. "And if you're lucky, a sense of understanding of one another."

"The sense of understanding, I could definitely come to appreciate," Peridot decided. "And... cooperation. I do approve of anything that expedites progress."

Admitting she'd like the positive feelings as well would have involved admitting that she cared about things like that. Not happening.

Ender nodded, and smiled, and then thought of earlier in the conversation.

"You said camaraderie between gems was a luxury granted to those of a higher station," he said. "What did you mean by that?"

Peridot tilted her head at Ender for a moment, and then shrugged her shoulders.

"Some Gems are more important than others, so they have more leeway in what they do," she replied, matter-of-factly. "Or they've got a position that naturally leads to them interacting more with others. Rubies and different Quartz are strong, they're soldiers, they don't often go on missions alone, or they're at least in a position of power enough that others look up to them. Peridots... we work with our technology, we're given missions and we do them. There isn't much time to make friends, get to know other Gems. Any of that."

"So your work is almost always done alone?" Ender asked. "Isn't there much cooperation between Peridots?"

"Not generally," Peridot replied, shrugging her shoulders a little. "We aren't like Rubies, who just fuse if they need to be bigger or stronger. It only takes one Peridot to pilot a ship, or to run diagnostics on a Kindergarten."

"And you don't discuss information after you acquire it? How to fix a particularly difficult problem?" Ender asked.

"It all goes into logs. We don't sit around and chat about it or anything. It's right there at our fingertips if and when we need to access that information."

She held her hand up, let her fingers come apart to display her screen.

"We can access information from any Gem database across multiple star systems. There are few enough of us, we're spread that thin."

That sounded... lonely, but Ender was aware his own human perspective might have been playing into it.

"I see," he said. "That would affect your perspective of what relationships with other beings should be like."

It was terribly lonely. But until coming to the island, Peridot didn't know what it felt like to not be alone.

"It puts me at a disadvantage when it comes to understanding human relationships, at the very least. I know my place among other Homeworld Gems. That's what matters, for me."

By necessity, granted. But it made sense.

"Us humans have to eke out our own place in the community," Ender said quietly. "We are all born with some attributes that nudge us in one way or another, or steer us to different communities where making connections is easier, because you share a communality with them - whether it be religion, sexual orientation, or even a hobby."

He took a sip of his water.

"But in the end, we have to forge our connections ourselves, build a reputation. Find a place."

Peridot considered that quietly for a few moments.

"That sounds... terrifying," she decided, finally. "Gems are created with a place. With a role. If we can't fill that role..."

She shrugged, dancing around the consequences of that and re-claiming her screen so that she could spread her hands a little.

"... then what are we for?"

"We talked about that a little last time," Ender said, tilting his head. It was a recurring theme with Peridot, wasn't it?

"Humans aren't born knowing much of a purpose. Some possibilities are pushed at us; raise a family, get a job. But the particulars, we must discover ourselves, based on who we are. Identity comes first, for humans, and purpose must flow from it with time."

It was her entire world, Ender. With Homeworld as low on resources as it was, the threat of being harvested and put to use elsewhere was a very real one. Gems who were of no use as people made excellent components in Homeworld's tools, instead.

"But... what happens to you if you never find where you belong?"

"You settle in a role you can live with, and look for other ways to find meaning," Ender said gently. "Some people don't care overmuch for their job - their primary task - and focus whatever time they can on hobbies, family, or indeed - friends."

Peridot was kind of chewing on the inside of her cheek, now. She wasn't going to let herself stoop to jealously, or even longing for a life like that. That would be absurd. Comparing humans to Gems was like comparing comets to stars. There was little point.

Still...

"I was told by one of my..." She hesitated, not sure if she ought to use the word 'friends,' "... peers here that that's a strength, for humanity. Not a shortcoming. That being able to find your place and live the paths you choose for yourself is part of what pushes you forward as a species. And I'd have my doubts about that, but your species has made significant strides since the last time Gems came to Earth. Your relationships, your focus on family and friends... those appear to play into that, for you."

"I would go as far as to call that the very fabric of which my species is made," Ender said. "To be able to function independently, yet in unison when we need to be, based on our ties to one another. It has significant drawbacks as well, of course. But it has allowed us to thrive."

Though the Hive Queen had her own thoughts about that. Something about isolated humans who couldn't dream each other's dreams.

"Maybe... maybe aspects of that would be... beneficial... to my people, as well," Peridot hedged. "It bears consideration, at the very least. Research."

It was something for her to focus on until she could find a way to get home. Her Diamond would hear her out, she was certain, if it meant being able to make Homeworld stronger still.

Peridot was setting herself up for so much disappointment.

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