User:Sol Pacificus/Assassin philosophy - Revision history

imported>Sol Pacificus at 18:38, 1 February 2023

2023-02-01T18:38:45Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:38, 1 February 2023
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	These limits of {{wiki\|empiricism}} are given expression in the line "''everything is permitted''", which serves as a reminder that it is {{wiki\|Problem of induction\|fallacious to presume the uniformity of nature}}. Patterns of the present are not proofs of the future, which can always be radically different from all that has preceded it. As teased by a message left by the [[Isu]] for humanity in [[Oun-mAa Niye Ressoot]], all the regularities of sentient beings' lifelong experiences, too, cannot falsify the possibility that they exist only within a "masterfully crafted simulation" or a "dream within a dream".<ref name="The Empirical Truth">''[[Assassin's Creed: Origins]]'' – [[Layla Hassan's personal files#The Empirical Truth\|The Empirical Truth]]</ref>		These limits of {{wiki\|empiricism}} are given expression in the line "''everything is permitted''", which serves as a reminder that it is {{wiki\|Problem of induction\|fallacious to presume the uniformity of nature}}. Patterns of the present are not proofs of the future, which can always be radically different from all that has preceded it. As teased by a message left by the [[Isu]] for humanity in [[Oun-mAa Niye Ressoot]], all the regularities of sentient beings' lifelong experiences, too, cannot falsify the possibility that they exist only within a "masterfully crafted simulation" or a "dream within a dream".<ref name="The Empirical Truth">''[[Assassin's Creed: Origins]]'' – [[Layla Hassan's personal files#The Empirical Truth\|The Empirical Truth]]</ref>

	Confronted by this complexity of reality, humans are compelled to simplify it into comprehensible models, but some react with a more intense impulse: insecurity in the face of uncertainty. With this insecurity comes the desire to resolve it through the assumption of a truth and obtain a measure of certainty, a certainty that is inherently self-deceptive.<ref name="Forsaken"~~>''[[Assassin's Creed: Forsaken]]''<~~/~~ref~~> A danger arises when an individual, in their fixation on their truth, becomes convinced of its universality and strives to impose it onto the world as the grand solution, a project that inevitably involves the violent erasure of other epistemic communities.<ref name="Codex" /><ref name="Forsaken" /> Replication of this imaginary truth across the ages in the form of harmful discursive practices and repression of dissent can cement it in societal consciousness as a self-evident Truth—a "realization"<ref name="Lee's Last Stand">''[[Assassin's Creed III]]'' – [[Lee's Last Stand]]</ref>—but it will always remain fundamentally a falsehood. The Assassins identify this progression from fear of uncertainty to the cloaking of an illusion as Truth to be a destructive force to humanity and a recurring theme among authoritarians like their sworn enemies, the Templars.<ref name="Codex" /> When [[Al Mualim]] betrayed the Assassins in 1191, Altaïr recognized that their own leader had succumbed to this same temptation.<ref name="Al Mualim">''[[Assassin's Creed]]'' – [[Assassination (Al Mualim)]]</ref>		Confronted by this complexity of reality, humans are compelled to simplify it into comprehensible models, but some react with a more intense impulse: insecurity in the face of uncertainty.<ref name="Codex" /><ref name="Forsaken">''[[Assassin's Creed: Forsaken]]''</ref> With this insecurity comes the desire to resolve it through the assumption of a truth and obtain a measure of certainty, a certainty that is inherently self-deceptive.<ref name="Forsaken" /> A danger arises when an individual, in their fixation on their truth, becomes convinced of its universality and strives to impose it onto the world as the grand solution, a project that inevitably involves the violent erasure of other epistemic communities.<ref name="Codex" /><ref name="Forsaken" /> Replication of this imaginary truth across the ages in the form of harmful discursive practices and repression of dissent can cement it in societal consciousness as a self-evident Truth—a "realization"<ref name="Lee's Last Stand">''[[Assassin's Creed III]]'' – [[Lee's Last Stand]]</ref>—but it will always remain fundamentally a falsehood. The Assassins identify this progression from fear of uncertainty to the cloaking of an illusion as Truth to be a destructive force to humanity and a recurring theme among authoritarians like their sworn enemies, the Templars.<ref name="Codex" /> When [[Al Mualim]] betrayed the Assassins in 1191, Altaïr recognized that their own leader had succumbed to this same temptation.<ref name="Al Mualim">''[[Assassin's Creed]]'' – [[Assassination (Al Mualim)]]</ref>

	As a result, Assassins teach their pupils that complex answers to life should be embraced,<ref name="Codex" /> and uncertainty should be accepted as natural.<ref name="Forsaken" /> Wisdom begins with uncertainty and not from self-assurance. While this {{wiki\|pedagogy\|pedagogical}} practice, alongside anti-authoritarianism, gives the Creed a normative slant, the starting Assassin premise against Templar ideology rests still on epistemic grounds. Many of the leading Assassins throughout history, such as Altaïr Ibn-La'ahad and [[Ezio Auditore da Firenze\|Ezio Auditore]] reify their moral convictions to {{wiki\|cultural pluralism\|pluralism}}, {{wiki\|humanitarianism}}, and {{wiki\|egalitarianism}} by reference to the Creed, but the Creed itself may not necessarily entail these political stances. Its core argument remains that sentient beings do not truly know anything and that no single norm is correct for every individual and every culture in all contexts. In the Assassin's eyes, if the Templars are in error, that error lies not just in ~~the inhumane consequences of~~ their deeds but also in their self-denial that their own truth does not amount to universal reality, for it is not any more or less objective than the Assassins' own ethical values. The classic Templar conception of their [[Assassin-Templar War\|perennial conflict]] with the Assassins hinges on {{wiki\|false dilemma\|false binaries}} such as "order" vs. "freedom", presupposing parity in incommensurable first-order claims. This narrative actually elides the proposition of fallibility central to Assassin thought, the admission that even the Assassin way is not absolute. Unlike the Templars, the Assassins engage in higher-order questions of {{wiki\|meta-ethics}}.		As a result, Assassins teach their pupils that complex answers to life should be embraced,<ref name="Codex" /> and uncertainty should be accepted as natural.<ref name="Forsaken" /> Wisdom begins with uncertainty and not from self-assurance. While this {{wiki\|pedagogy\|pedagogical}} practice, alongside anti-authoritarianism, gives the Creed a normative slant, the starting Assassin premise against Templar ideology rests still on epistemic grounds. Many of the leading Assassins throughout history, such as Altaïr Ibn-La'ahad and [[Ezio Auditore da Firenze\|Ezio Auditore]] reify their moral convictions to {{wiki\|cultural pluralism\|pluralism}}, {{wiki\|humanitarianism}}, and {{wiki\|egalitarianism}} by reference to the Creed, but the Creed itself may not necessarily entail these political stances. Its core argument remains that sentient beings do not truly know anything and that no single norm is correct for every individual and every culture in all contexts. In the Assassin's eyes, if the Templars are in error, that error lies not just in their deeds' inhumane outcomes but also in their self-denial that their own truth does not amount to universal reality, for it is not any more or less objective than the Assassins' own ethical values. The classic Templar conception of their [[Assassin-Templar War\|perennial conflict]] with the Assassins hinges on {{wiki\|false dilemma\|false binaries}} such as "order" vs. "freedom", presupposing parity in incommensurable first-order claims. This narrative actually elides the proposition of fallibility central to Assassin thought, the admission that even the Assassin way is not absolute. Unlike the Templars, the Assassins engage in higher-order questions of {{wiki\|meta-ethics}}.

	The introspective quality of Assassin philosophy is evinced in the self-awareness by [[Rebecca Crane]] and [[Shaun Hastings]] that to be ~~an Assassin~~ does not necessarily mean to be a "good ~~guy~~"; they make no claims that they are a force of flawless, moral good, only that their way of life is chosen because they believe it is the best they can do to prevent greater harm to humanity. It is apparent in Altaïr's reflections of the "ironies" in their order's practices: that they murder while seeking to promote peace, that they mandate discipline to a code of rules while seeking to open minds, and that they embody ideals ~~resting~~ in ~~leaps of~~ faith despite warning against blind faith.<ref name="Codex" /> To be an Assassin is to recognize that nothing is absolute and yet to be an Assassin means to cherish the sanctity of life. They cherish this sanctity ~~and~~ punish those who do not, ~~yet employ~~ violence against life in doing so.		The introspective quality of Assassin philosophy is evinced in the self-awareness by [[Rebecca Crane]] and [[Shaun Hastings]] that to be Assassins does not necessarily mean to be the "good guys"; they make no claims that they are a force of flawless, moral good, only that their way of life is chosen because they believe it is the best they can do to prevent greater harm to humanity. The introspection is again apparent in Altaïr's reflections of the "ironies" in their order's practices: that they murder while seeking to promote peace, that they mandate discipline to a code of rules while seeking to open minds, and that they embody ideals requiring leaps in faith despite warning against blind faith.<ref name="Codex" /> To be an Assassin is to recognize that nothing is absolute, and yet to be an Assassin means to cherish the sanctity of life. They cherish this sanctity, yet punish those who do not, employing violence against life in doing so.

	The paradoxes between their theory and practice has not been lost on Assassins through the ages. To meditate on one's own internal contradictions, on the possibility of hypocrisy, is a central ~~pillar~~ of their philosophy. In answering his own charge, Altaïr hazards to circle back to the Creed, for ~~it contains~~ within it the ~~observation~~ that ~~"one~~ may be ~~two things—opposite in every way—simultaneously"~~.<ref name="Codex" /> ~~Ezio Auditore reminded his lover [[Sofia Sartor]]~~ that ~~the Creed itself~~ is ~~merely descriptive~~ of ~~reality~~.~~<ref name="A Homecoming" />~~ When queried by the Maya Mentor [[Ah Tabai]], [[Edward Kenway]] offered the insight that the Creed was "only the beginning of wisdom, and not its final form".<ref name="...Everything is permitted">''[[Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag]]'' – [[...Everything Is Permitted]]</ref> It is ~~owing to~~ the ~~paradoxical~~ nature of reality that ~~reality is complex and uncertain~~.		The paradoxes between their theory and practice has not been lost on Assassins through the ages. To meditate on one's own internal contradictions, on the possibility of hypocrisy, is a central facet of their philosophy. In answering his own charge, Altaïr hazards to circle back to the Creed, for contained within it is the perception that polar opposites may be true simultaneously.<ref name="Codex" /> The nature of reality is paradoxical and that is why it is complex and full of uncertainties. When queried by the Maya Mentor [[Ah Tabai]], [[Edward Kenway]] offered the insight that the Creed was "only the beginning of wisdom, and not its final form".<ref name="...Everything is permitted">''[[Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag]]'' – [[...Everything Is Permitted]]</ref> The descriptive affirmation that "nothing is true, everything is permitted" does not prevent an individual from developing their own value and belief system, but the Assassins hold that without prior acknowledgement of the subjective source of those convictions, there can be no wisdom no matter the content of those principles. Were the maxim the "final form" of wisdom, i.e. doctrine in itself, one might be forgiven for assuming that "nothing is true" entails ethical nihilism and "everything is permitted" entails hedonism, but it is actually altogether a warning against fanaticism.<ref name="The Temple">''[[Assassin's Creed: Unity]]'' – [[The Temple]]</ref>

			In asking for awareness that nothing in nature is forbidden, it does not prescribe any particular lifestyle. What an individual chooses to do with this understanding of reality is pursuant to their own will. [[Assassin apprentice\|Newcomers to the order]], such as [[Parisian Brotherhood of Assassins\|Parisian Assassin]] [[Arno Dorian]], typically undergo a self-journey before realizing this meaning behind the Creed. Others, such as his hardline master [[Pierre Bellec]], who murdered their Mentor [[Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, comte de Mirabeau\|Honoré Mirabeau]] for extending goodwill to Templars, never did.<ref name="Confrontation">''[[Assassin's Creed: Unity]]'' – [[Confrontation]]</ref> In the time of Altaïr, he observed that many recruits were "driven mad" as the "revelation undoes them".

	[This introspective quality... example of Shaun and Rebecca remarking on the ethical dilemma of assassinations?]		[This introspective quality... example of Shaun and Rebecca remarking on the ethical dilemma of assassinations?]

imported>Sol Pacificus at 18:22, 30 January 2023

2023-01-30T18:22:52Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:22, 30 January 2023
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	As a result, Assassins teach their pupils that complex answers to life should be embraced,<ref name="Codex" /> and uncertainty should be accepted as natural.<ref name="Forsaken" /> Wisdom begins with uncertainty and not from self-assurance. While this {{wiki\|pedagogy\|pedagogical}} practice, alongside anti-authoritarianism, gives the Creed a normative slant, the starting Assassin premise against Templar ideology rests still on epistemic grounds. Many of the leading Assassins throughout history, such as Altaïr Ibn-La'ahad and [[Ezio Auditore da Firenze\|Ezio Auditore]] reify their moral convictions to {{wiki\|cultural pluralism\|pluralism}}, {{wiki\|humanitarianism}}, and {{wiki\|egalitarianism}} by reference to the Creed, but the Creed itself may not necessarily entail these political stances. Its core argument remains that sentient beings do not truly know anything and that no single norm is correct for every individual and every culture in all contexts. In the Assassin's eyes, if the Templars are in error, that error lies not just in the inhumane consequences of their deeds but also in their self-denial that their own truth does not amount to universal reality, for it is not any more or less objective than the Assassins' own ethical values. The classic Templar conception of their [[Assassin-Templar War\|perennial conflict]] with the Assassins hinges on {{wiki\|false dilemma\|false binaries}} such as "order" vs. "freedom", presupposing parity in incommensurable first-order claims. This narrative actually elides the proposition of fallibility central to Assassin thought, the admission that even the Assassin way is not absolute. Unlike the Templars, the Assassins engage in higher-order questions of {{wiki\|meta-ethics}}.		As a result, Assassins teach their pupils that complex answers to life should be embraced,<ref name="Codex" /> and uncertainty should be accepted as natural.<ref name="Forsaken" /> Wisdom begins with uncertainty and not from self-assurance. While this {{wiki\|pedagogy\|pedagogical}} practice, alongside anti-authoritarianism, gives the Creed a normative slant, the starting Assassin premise against Templar ideology rests still on epistemic grounds. Many of the leading Assassins throughout history, such as Altaïr Ibn-La'ahad and [[Ezio Auditore da Firenze\|Ezio Auditore]] reify their moral convictions to {{wiki\|cultural pluralism\|pluralism}}, {{wiki\|humanitarianism}}, and {{wiki\|egalitarianism}} by reference to the Creed, but the Creed itself may not necessarily entail these political stances. Its core argument remains that sentient beings do not truly know anything and that no single norm is correct for every individual and every culture in all contexts. In the Assassin's eyes, if the Templars are in error, that error lies not just in the inhumane consequences of their deeds but also in their self-denial that their own truth does not amount to universal reality, for it is not any more or less objective than the Assassins' own ethical values. The classic Templar conception of their [[Assassin-Templar War\|perennial conflict]] with the Assassins hinges on {{wiki\|false dilemma\|false binaries}} such as "order" vs. "freedom", presupposing parity in incommensurable first-order claims. This narrative actually elides the proposition of fallibility central to Assassin thought, the admission that even the Assassin way is not absolute. Unlike the Templars, the Assassins engage in higher-order questions of {{wiki\|meta-ethics}}.

			The introspective quality of Assassin philosophy is evinced in the self-awareness by [[Rebecca Crane]] and [[Shaun Hastings]] that to be an Assassin does not necessarily mean to be a "good guy"; they make no claims that they are a force of flawless, moral good, only that their way of life is chosen because they believe it is the best they can do to prevent greater harm to humanity. It is apparent in Altaïr's reflections of the "ironies" in their order's practices: that they murder while seeking to promote peace, that they mandate discipline to a code of rules while seeking to open minds, and that they embody ideals resting in leaps of faith despite warning against blind faith.<ref name="Codex" /> To be an Assassin is to recognize that nothing is absolute and yet to be an Assassin means to cherish the sanctity of life. They cherish this sanctity and punish those who do not, yet employ violence against life in doing so.

			The paradoxes between their theory and practice has not been lost on Assassins through the ages. To meditate on one's own internal contradictions, on the possibility of hypocrisy, is a central pillar of their philosophy. In answering his own charge, Altaïr hazards to circle back to the Creed, for it contains within it the observation that "one may be two things—opposite in every way—simultaneously".<ref name="Codex" /> Ezio Auditore reminded his lover [[Sofia Sartor]] that the Creed itself is merely descriptive of reality.<ref name="A Homecoming" /> When queried by the Maya Mentor [[Ah Tabai]], [[Edward Kenway]] offered the insight that the Creed was "only the beginning of wisdom, and not its final form".<ref name="...Everything is permitted">''[[Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag]]'' – [[...Everything Is Permitted]]</ref> It is owing to the paradoxical nature of reality that reality is complex and uncertain.

	[This introspective quality... example of Shaun and Rebecca remarking on the ethical dilemma of assassinations?]		[This introspective quality... example of Shaun and Rebecca remarking on the ethical dilemma of assassinations?]

imported>Sol Pacificus at 00:40, 5 January 2023

2023-01-05T00:40:17Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 02:40, 5 January 2023
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	Confronted by this complexity of reality, humans are compelled to simplify it into comprehensible models, but some react with a more intense impulse: insecurity in the face of uncertainty. With this insecurity comes the desire to resolve it through the assumption of a truth and obtain a measure of certainty, a certainty that is inherently self-deceptive.<ref name="Forsaken">''[[Assassin's Creed: Forsaken]]''</ref> A danger arises when an individual, in their fixation on their truth, becomes convinced of its universality and strives to impose it onto the world as the grand solution, a project that inevitably involves the violent erasure of other epistemic communities.<ref name="Codex" /><ref name="Forsaken" /> Replication of this imaginary truth across the ages in the form of harmful discursive practices and repression of dissent can cement it in societal consciousness as a self-evident Truth—a "realization"<ref name="Lee's Last Stand">''[[Assassin's Creed III]]'' – [[Lee's Last Stand]]</ref>—but it will always remain fundamentally a falsehood. The Assassins identify this progression from fear of uncertainty to the cloaking of an illusion as Truth to be a destructive force to humanity and a recurring theme among authoritarians like their sworn enemies, the Templars.<ref name="Codex" /> When [[Al Mualim]] betrayed the Assassins in 1191, Altaïr recognized that their own leader had succumbed to this same temptation.<ref name="Al Mualim">''[[Assassin's Creed]]'' – [[Assassination (Al Mualim)]]</ref>		Confronted by this complexity of reality, humans are compelled to simplify it into comprehensible models, but some react with a more intense impulse: insecurity in the face of uncertainty. With this insecurity comes the desire to resolve it through the assumption of a truth and obtain a measure of certainty, a certainty that is inherently self-deceptive.<ref name="Forsaken">''[[Assassin's Creed: Forsaken]]''</ref> A danger arises when an individual, in their fixation on their truth, becomes convinced of its universality and strives to impose it onto the world as the grand solution, a project that inevitably involves the violent erasure of other epistemic communities.<ref name="Codex" /><ref name="Forsaken" /> Replication of this imaginary truth across the ages in the form of harmful discursive practices and repression of dissent can cement it in societal consciousness as a self-evident Truth—a "realization"<ref name="Lee's Last Stand">''[[Assassin's Creed III]]'' – [[Lee's Last Stand]]</ref>—but it will always remain fundamentally a falsehood. The Assassins identify this progression from fear of uncertainty to the cloaking of an illusion as Truth to be a destructive force to humanity and a recurring theme among authoritarians like their sworn enemies, the Templars.<ref name="Codex" /> When [[Al Mualim]] betrayed the Assassins in 1191, Altaïr recognized that their own leader had succumbed to this same temptation.<ref name="Al Mualim">''[[Assassin's Creed]]'' – [[Assassination (Al Mualim)]]</ref>

	As a result, Assassins teach their pupils that complex answers to life should be embraced,<ref name="Codex" /> and uncertainty should be accepted as natural.<ref name="Forsaken" /> Wisdom begins with uncertainty and not from self-assurance. While this {{wiki\|pedagogy\|pedagogical}} practice, alongside anti-authoritarianism, gives the Creed a normative slant, the starting Assassin premise against Templar ideology rests still on epistemic grounds. Many of the leading Assassins throughout history, such as Altaïr Ibn-La'ahad and [[Ezio Auditore da Firenze\|Ezio Auditore]] reify their moral convictions to {{wiki\|cultural pluralism\|pluralism}}, {{wiki\|humanitarianism}}, and {{wiki\|egalitarianism}} by reference to the Creed, but the Creed itself may not necessarily entail these political stances. Its core argument remains that sentient beings do not truly know anything, ~~and~~ if the Templars are in error, that error lies not just in the inhumane consequences of their deeds but also in their self-denial that their own truth does not amount to reality, for it is not any more or less objective than the Assassins' own ethical values. The classic Templar conception of their [[Assassin-Templar War\|perennial conflict]] with the Assassins hinges on {{wiki\|false dilemma\|false binaries}} such as "order" vs. "freedom", presupposing parity in incommensurable first-order claims. This narrative actually elides the proposition of fallibility central to Assassin thought, the admission that even the Assassin way is not absolute. Unlike the Templars, the Assassins engage in higher-order questions of meta-ethics.		As a result, Assassins teach their pupils that complex answers to life should be embraced,<ref name="Codex" /> and uncertainty should be accepted as natural.<ref name="Forsaken" /> Wisdom begins with uncertainty and not from self-assurance. While this {{wiki\|pedagogy\|pedagogical}} practice, alongside anti-authoritarianism, gives the Creed a normative slant, the starting Assassin premise against Templar ideology rests still on epistemic grounds. Many of the leading Assassins throughout history, such as Altaïr Ibn-La'ahad and [[Ezio Auditore da Firenze\|Ezio Auditore]] reify their moral convictions to {{wiki\|cultural pluralism\|pluralism}}, {{wiki\|humanitarianism}}, and {{wiki\|egalitarianism}} by reference to the Creed, but the Creed itself may not necessarily entail these political stances. Its core argument remains that sentient beings do not truly know anything and that no single norm is correct for every individual and every culture in all contexts. In the Assassin's eyes, if the Templars are in error, that error lies not just in the inhumane consequences of their deeds but also in their self-denial that their own truth does not amount to universal reality, for it is not any more or less objective than the Assassins' own ethical values. The classic Templar conception of their [[Assassin-Templar War\|perennial conflict]] with the Assassins hinges on {{wiki\|false dilemma\|false binaries}} such as "order" vs. "freedom", presupposing parity in incommensurable first-order claims. This narrative actually elides the proposition of fallibility central to Assassin thought, the admission that even the Assassin way is not absolute. Unlike the Templars, the Assassins engage in higher-order questions of {{wiki\|meta-ethics}}.

	[This introspective quality... example of Shaun and Rebecca remarking on the ethical dilemma of assassinations?]		[This introspective quality... example of Shaun and Rebecca remarking on the ethical dilemma of assassinations?]

imported>Sol Pacificus: /* The Creed */

2023-01-04T07:39:38Z

The Creed

← Older revision		Revision as of 09:39, 4 January 2023
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	As a result, Assassins teach their pupils that complex answers to life should be embraced,<ref name="Codex" /> and uncertainty should be accepted as natural.<ref name="Forsaken" /> Wisdom begins with uncertainty and not from self-assurance. While this {{wiki\|pedagogy\|pedagogical}} practice, alongside anti-authoritarianism, gives the Creed a normative slant, the starting Assassin premise against Templar ideology rests still on epistemic grounds. Many of the leading Assassins throughout history, such as Altaïr Ibn-La'ahad and [[Ezio Auditore da Firenze\|Ezio Auditore]] reify their moral convictions to {{wiki\|cultural pluralism\|pluralism}}, {{wiki\|humanitarianism}}, and {{wiki\|egalitarianism}} by reference to the Creed, but the Creed itself may not necessarily entail these political stances. Its core argument remains that sentient beings do not truly know anything, and if the Templars are in error, that error lies not just in the inhumane consequences of their deeds but also in their self-denial that their own truth does not amount to reality, for it is not any more or less objective than the Assassins' own ethical values. The classic Templar conception of their [[Assassin-Templar War\|perennial conflict]] with the Assassins hinges on {{wiki\|false dilemma\|false binaries}} such as "order" vs. "freedom", presupposing parity in incommensurable first-order claims. This narrative actually elides the proposition of fallibility central to Assassin thought, the admission that even the Assassin way is not absolute. Unlike the Templars, the Assassins engage in higher-order questions of meta-ethics.		As a result, Assassins teach their pupils that complex answers to life should be embraced,<ref name="Codex" /> and uncertainty should be accepted as natural.<ref name="Forsaken" /> Wisdom begins with uncertainty and not from self-assurance. While this {{wiki\|pedagogy\|pedagogical}} practice, alongside anti-authoritarianism, gives the Creed a normative slant, the starting Assassin premise against Templar ideology rests still on epistemic grounds. Many of the leading Assassins throughout history, such as Altaïr Ibn-La'ahad and [[Ezio Auditore da Firenze\|Ezio Auditore]] reify their moral convictions to {{wiki\|cultural pluralism\|pluralism}}, {{wiki\|humanitarianism}}, and {{wiki\|egalitarianism}} by reference to the Creed, but the Creed itself may not necessarily entail these political stances. Its core argument remains that sentient beings do not truly know anything, and if the Templars are in error, that error lies not just in the inhumane consequences of their deeds but also in their self-denial that their own truth does not amount to reality, for it is not any more or less objective than the Assassins' own ethical values. The classic Templar conception of their [[Assassin-Templar War\|perennial conflict]] with the Assassins hinges on {{wiki\|false dilemma\|false binaries}} such as "order" vs. "freedom", presupposing parity in incommensurable first-order claims. This narrative actually elides the proposition of fallibility central to Assassin thought, the admission that even the Assassin way is not absolute. Unlike the Templars, the Assassins engage in higher-order questions of meta-ethics.

			[This introspective quality... example of Shaun and Rebecca remarking on the ethical dilemma of assassinations?]
	[Need to explain: rejection of innate knowledge & divinity, fallibility principle, impossibility of knowledge citing limits of senses]		[Need to explain: rejection of innate knowledge & divinity, fallibility principle, impossibility of knowledge citing limits of senses]

imported>Sol Pacificus at 06:18, 3 January 2023

2023-01-03T06:18:12Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 08:18, 3 January 2023
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	Confronted by this complexity of reality, humans are compelled to simplify it into comprehensible models, but some react with a more intense impulse: insecurity in the face of uncertainty. With this insecurity comes the desire to resolve it through the assumption of a truth and obtain a measure of certainty, a certainty that is inherently self-deceptive.<ref name="Forsaken">''[[Assassin's Creed: Forsaken]]''</ref> A danger arises when an individual, in their fixation on their truth, becomes convinced of its universality and strives to impose it onto the world as the grand solution, a project that inevitably involves the violent erasure of other epistemic communities.<ref name="Codex" /><ref name="Forsaken" /> Replication of this imaginary truth across the ages in the form of harmful discursive practices and repression of dissent can cement it in societal consciousness as a self-evident Truth—a "realization"<ref name="Lee's Last Stand">''[[Assassin's Creed III]]'' – [[Lee's Last Stand]]</ref>—but it will always remain fundamentally a falsehood. The Assassins identify this progression from fear of uncertainty to the cloaking of an illusion as Truth to be a destructive force to humanity and a recurring theme among authoritarians like their sworn enemies, the Templars.<ref name="Codex" /> When [[Al Mualim]] betrayed the Assassins in 1191, Altaïr recognized that their own leader had succumbed to this same temptation.<ref name="Al Mualim">''[[Assassin's Creed]]'' – [[Assassination (Al Mualim)]]</ref>		Confronted by this complexity of reality, humans are compelled to simplify it into comprehensible models, but some react with a more intense impulse: insecurity in the face of uncertainty. With this insecurity comes the desire to resolve it through the assumption of a truth and obtain a measure of certainty, a certainty that is inherently self-deceptive.<ref name="Forsaken">''[[Assassin's Creed: Forsaken]]''</ref> A danger arises when an individual, in their fixation on their truth, becomes convinced of its universality and strives to impose it onto the world as the grand solution, a project that inevitably involves the violent erasure of other epistemic communities.<ref name="Codex" /><ref name="Forsaken" /> Replication of this imaginary truth across the ages in the form of harmful discursive practices and repression of dissent can cement it in societal consciousness as a self-evident Truth—a "realization"<ref name="Lee's Last Stand">''[[Assassin's Creed III]]'' – [[Lee's Last Stand]]</ref>—but it will always remain fundamentally a falsehood. The Assassins identify this progression from fear of uncertainty to the cloaking of an illusion as Truth to be a destructive force to humanity and a recurring theme among authoritarians like their sworn enemies, the Templars.<ref name="Codex" /> When [[Al Mualim]] betrayed the Assassins in 1191, Altaïr recognized that their own leader had succumbed to this same temptation.<ref name="Al Mualim">''[[Assassin's Creed]]'' – [[Assassination (Al Mualim)]]</ref>

	As a result, Assassins teach their pupils that complex answers to life should be embraced,<ref name="Codex" /> and uncertainty should be accepted as natural.<ref name="Forsaken" /> Wisdom begins with uncertainty and not from self-assurance. While this {{wiki\|pedagogy\|pedagogical}} practice, alongside anti-authoritarianism, gives the Creed a normative slant, the starting Assassin premise against Templar ideology rests still on epistemic grounds. Many of the leading Assassins throughout history, such as Altaïr Ibn-La'ahad and [[Ezio Auditore da Firenze\|Ezio Auditore]] reify their moral convictions to {{wiki\|cultural pluralism\|pluralism}}, {{wiki\|humanitarianism}}, and {{wiki\|egalitarianism}} by reference to the Creed, but the Creed itself may not necessarily entail these political stances.		As a result, Assassins teach their pupils that complex answers to life should be embraced,<ref name="Codex" /> and uncertainty should be accepted as natural.<ref name="Forsaken" /> Wisdom begins with uncertainty and not from self-assurance. While this {{wiki\|pedagogy\|pedagogical}} practice, alongside anti-authoritarianism, gives the Creed a normative slant, the starting Assassin premise against Templar ideology rests still on epistemic grounds. Many of the leading Assassins throughout history, such as Altaïr Ibn-La'ahad and [[Ezio Auditore da Firenze\|Ezio Auditore]] reify their moral convictions to {{wiki\|cultural pluralism\|pluralism}}, {{wiki\|humanitarianism}}, and {{wiki\|egalitarianism}} by reference to the Creed, but the Creed itself may not necessarily entail these political stances. Its core argument remains that sentient beings do not truly know anything, and if the Templars are in error, that error lies not just in the inhumane consequences of their deeds but also in their self-denial that their own truth does not amount to reality, for it is not any more or less objective than the Assassins' own ethical values. The classic Templar conception of their [[Assassin-Templar War\|perennial conflict]] with the Assassins hinges on {{wiki\|false dilemma\|false binaries}} such as "order" vs. "freedom", presupposing parity in incommensurable first-order claims. This narrative actually elides the proposition of fallibility central to Assassin thought, the admission that even the Assassin way is not absolute. Unlike the Templars, the Assassins engage in higher-order questions of meta-ethics.

	[Need to explain: rejection of innate knowledge & divinity, fallibility principle, impossibility of knowledge citing limits of senses]		[Need to explain: rejection of innate knowledge & divinity, fallibility principle, impossibility of knowledge citing limits of senses]
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	<s>They identify their foes' error in the very denial of the reality that all perspectives are fallible and not just from the ethical opprobrium against the inhumane consequences of their actions.</s>		<s>They identify their foes' error in the very denial of the reality that all perspectives are fallible and not just from the ethical opprobrium against the inhumane consequences of their actions.</s>

			<s> Unlike the exclusively first-order claims of Templar thought, the Assassins thus engage in higher-order questions of meta-ethics.</s>

	To the Assassins, the Templars' error is not just in the inhumane consequences of their thoughts and actions but also in their very unwillingness to admit to that truths are unknowable.		To the Assassins, the Templars' error is not just in the inhumane consequences of their thoughts and actions but also in their very unwillingness to admit to that truths are unknowable.

imported>Sol Pacificus: /* The Creed */

2023-01-03T06:00:24Z

The Creed

← Older revision		Revision as of 08:00, 3 January 2023
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	While Assassins recognize the limits to empiricism, they also reject the belief in innate knowledge. They reject appeals to innate knowledge or divinity and claims to ''a priori'' truths, leaving empirical reasoning, for all its limits, as the best and sole recourse to understanding. [Does not reject pursuit of knowledge despite their belief it is not truly attainable].		While Assassins recognize the limits to empiricism, they also reject the belief in innate knowledge. They reject appeals to innate knowledge or divinity and claims to ''a priori'' truths, leaving empirical reasoning, for all its limits, as the best and sole recourse to understanding. [Does not reject pursuit of knowledge despite their belief it is not truly attainable].

			[Thus, the difference between the Templars and Assassins is that the former denies the fallibility of their beliefs, treating it as absolute, while the latter teaches that ultimately, an Assassin must be prepared even to admit that the Assassin way is fallible.] [Note Shaun & Rebecca correcting Desmond that because they kill, they are not necessarily good guys.]

	[End with Edward's answer that the Creed is the beginning of wisdom and not its final form].		[End with Edward's answer that the Creed is the beginning of wisdom and not its final form].

imported>Sol Pacificus: /* The Creed */

2023-01-03T05:54:13Z

The Creed

← Older revision		Revision as of 07:54, 3 January 2023
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	To the Assassins, the Templars' error is not just in the inhumane consequences of their thoughts and actions but also in their very unwillingness to admit to that truths are unknowable.		To the Assassins, the Templars' error is not just in the inhumane consequences of their thoughts and actions but also in their very unwillingness to admit to that truths are unknowable.

			The core argument remains that sentient beings do not truly know anything and if the Templars are in error, that error lies not just in the inhumane consequences of their deeds but also in their self-denial that their own truth does not amount to reality, for it is not any less objective than the Assassins' own ethical values.

	While Assassins recognize the limits to empiricism, they also reject the belief in innate knowledge. They reject appeals to innate knowledge or divinity and claims to ''a priori'' truths, leaving empirical reasoning, for all its limits, as the best and sole recourse to understanding. [Does not reject pursuit of knowledge despite their belief it is not truly attainable].		While Assassins recognize the limits to empiricism, they also reject the belief in innate knowledge. They reject appeals to innate knowledge or divinity and claims to ''a priori'' truths, leaving empirical reasoning, for all its limits, as the best and sole recourse to understanding. [Does not reject pursuit of knowledge despite their belief it is not truly attainable].

imported>Sol Pacificus: /* Philosophy and goals */ I have discarded almost every sentence I wrote today...

2023-01-03T05:49:50Z

Philosophy and goals: I have discarded almost every sentence I wrote today...

← Older revision		Revision as of 07:49, 3 January 2023
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	==Philosophy and goals==		==Philosophy and goals==
			{{Quote\|To recognize nothing is true and everything is permitted. That laws arise not from divinity, but reason. I understand now that our Creed does not command us to be free. It commands us to be wise.\|Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, 1191\|Assassin's Creed\|Assassination (Sibrand)}}
	===Origins===		===Origins===
	Since its earliest beginnings, the Assassin Order has taken it upon themselves to be a force for the protection of humanity against social injustice, abuses of power, state terror, and enslavement. They have prided themselves on sacrificing their lives to "champion the poor and powerless"<ref name="The Guardian 2">''[[Assassin's Creed: Revelations]]'' – [[The Guardian, Part 2]]</ref> while embracing human rights ideals such as equality, liberty, justice, and welfare. This premise can be traced back to the order's founding as the Hidden Ones by the last [[Medjay]] of [[Egypt]], [[Bayek]], and his wife [[Aya\|Amunet]]. Recognizing that their sworn enemies, the [[Order of the Ancients]], "work[ed] in the shadows of kings and queens" to control nations for their whims, Bayek advocated that there needed to be those who "work in the shadows. . .to defend the free will of the people".<ref name="The Aftermath">''[[Assassin's Creed: Origins]]'' – [[The Aftermath]]</ref> True to his Medjay roots, Bayek was bringing to the fledgling group the principle of ''{{wiki\|ma'at}}'' he had lived by in his service to Egypt.<ref name="Bayek's Promise">''[[Assassin's Creed: Origins]]'' – [[Bayek's Promise]]</ref> His ardent belief was that the Medjay was not merely the protector of the pharaoh but the protector of the Egyptian people as well, especially the downtrodden among them. Nor did their duty stop at protection; it extended further to the advancement of their well-being.<ref name="The False Oracle">''[[Assassin's Creed: Origins]]'' – [[The False Oracle]]</ref> It was the determination of the first Hidden Ones that their society's unity owed not to an exalted leader but in the shared values of their cause, encapsulated in the Creed.<ref name="The Aftermath" /> An individual-centric, rather than a state-centric, orientation and the concept of peace as self-fulfillment rather than merely security are themes which have echoed through the ages in Assassin political action, undergirding their opposition to coercive authority.<ref name="Codex">''[[Assassin's Creed II]]'' – [[Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad's Codex]]</ref><ref name="Power to the People">''[[Assassin's Creed II]]'' – [[Power to the People]]</ref>		Since its earliest beginnings, the Assassin Order has taken it upon themselves to be a force for the protection of humanity against social injustice, abuses of power, state terror, and enslavement. They have prided themselves on sacrificing their lives to "champion the poor and powerless"<ref name="The Guardian 2">''[[Assassin's Creed: Revelations]]'' – [[The Guardian, Part 2]]</ref> while embracing human rights ideals such as equality, liberty, justice, and welfare. This premise can be traced back to the order's founding as the Hidden Ones by the last [[Medjay]] of [[Egypt]], [[Bayek]], and his wife [[Aya\|Amunet]]. Recognizing that their sworn enemies, the [[Order of the Ancients]], "work[ed] in the shadows of kings and queens" to control nations for their whims, Bayek advocated that there needed to be those who "work in the shadows. . .to defend the free will of the people".<ref name="The Aftermath">''[[Assassin's Creed: Origins]]'' – [[The Aftermath]]</ref> True to his Medjay roots, Bayek was bringing to the fledgling group the principle of ''{{wiki\|ma'at}}'' he had lived by in his service to Egypt.<ref name="Bayek's Promise">''[[Assassin's Creed: Origins]]'' – [[Bayek's Promise]]</ref> His ardent belief was that the Medjay was not merely the protector of the pharaoh but the protector of the Egyptian people as well, especially the downtrodden among them. Nor did their duty stop at protection; it extended further to the advancement of their well-being.<ref name="The False Oracle">''[[Assassin's Creed: Origins]]'' – [[The False Oracle]]</ref> It was the determination of the first Hidden Ones that their society's unity owed not to an exalted leader but in the shared values of their cause, encapsulated in the Creed.<ref name="The Aftermath" /> An individual-centric, rather than a state-centric, orientation and the concept of peace as self-fulfillment rather than merely security are themes which have echoed through the ages in Assassin political action, undergirding their opposition to coercive authority.<ref name="Codex">''[[Assassin's Creed II]]'' – [[Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad's Codex]]</ref><ref name="Power to the People">''[[Assassin's Creed II]]'' – [[Power to the People]]</ref>
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	Confronted by this complexity of reality, humans are compelled to simplify it into comprehensible models, but some react with a more intense impulse: insecurity in the face of uncertainty. With this insecurity comes the desire to resolve it through the assumption of a truth and obtain a measure of certainty, a certainty that is inherently self-deceptive.<ref name="Forsaken">''[[Assassin's Creed: Forsaken]]''</ref> A danger arises when an individual, in their fixation on their truth, becomes convinced of its universality and strives to impose it onto the world as the grand solution, a project that inevitably involves the violent erasure of other epistemic communities.<ref name="Codex" /><ref name="Forsaken" /> Replication of this imaginary truth across the ages in the form of harmful discursive practices and repression of dissent can cement it in societal consciousness as a self-evident Truth—a "realization"<ref name="Lee's Last Stand">''[[Assassin's Creed III]]'' – [[Lee's Last Stand]]</ref>—but it will always remain fundamentally a falsehood. The Assassins identify this progression from fear of uncertainty to the cloaking of an illusion as Truth to be a destructive force to humanity and a recurring theme among authoritarians like their sworn enemies, the Templars.<ref name="Codex" /> When [[Al Mualim]] betrayed the Assassins in 1191, Altaïr recognized that their own leader had succumbed to this same temptation.<ref name="Al Mualim">''[[Assassin's Creed]]'' – [[Assassination (Al Mualim)]]</ref>		Confronted by this complexity of reality, humans are compelled to simplify it into comprehensible models, but some react with a more intense impulse: insecurity in the face of uncertainty. With this insecurity comes the desire to resolve it through the assumption of a truth and obtain a measure of certainty, a certainty that is inherently self-deceptive.<ref name="Forsaken">''[[Assassin's Creed: Forsaken]]''</ref> A danger arises when an individual, in their fixation on their truth, becomes convinced of its universality and strives to impose it onto the world as the grand solution, a project that inevitably involves the violent erasure of other epistemic communities.<ref name="Codex" /><ref name="Forsaken" /> Replication of this imaginary truth across the ages in the form of harmful discursive practices and repression of dissent can cement it in societal consciousness as a self-evident Truth—a "realization"<ref name="Lee's Last Stand">''[[Assassin's Creed III]]'' – [[Lee's Last Stand]]</ref>—but it will always remain fundamentally a falsehood. The Assassins identify this progression from fear of uncertainty to the cloaking of an illusion as Truth to be a destructive force to humanity and a recurring theme among authoritarians like their sworn enemies, the Templars.<ref name="Codex" /> When [[Al Mualim]] betrayed the Assassins in 1191, Altaïr recognized that their own leader had succumbed to this same temptation.<ref name="Al Mualim">''[[Assassin's Creed]]'' – [[Assassination (Al Mualim)]]</ref>

	As a result, Assassins teach their pupils that complex answers to life should be embraced,<ref name="Codex" /> and uncertainty should be accepted as natural.<ref name="Forsaken" /> Wisdom begins with uncertainty and not from self-assurance. While this {{wiki\|pedagogy\|pedagogical}} practice, alongside anti-authoritarianism, gives the Creed a normative slant, the starting Assassin premise against Templar ideology rests still on epistemic grounds. Many of the leading Assassins throughout history, such as Altaïr Ibn-La'ahad and [[Ezio Auditore da Firenze\|Ezio Auditore]] reify their moral convictions to {{wiki\|cultural pluralism\|pluralism}} and {{wiki\|egalitarianism}} by reference to the Creed, but the Creed itself ~~does~~ not necessarily entail these political stances.		As a result, Assassins teach their pupils that complex answers to life should be embraced,<ref name="Codex" /> and uncertainty should be accepted as natural.<ref name="Forsaken" /> Wisdom begins with uncertainty and not from self-assurance. While this {{wiki\|pedagogy\|pedagogical}} practice, alongside anti-authoritarianism, gives the Creed a normative slant, the starting Assassin premise against Templar ideology rests still on epistemic grounds. Many of the leading Assassins throughout history, such as Altaïr Ibn-La'ahad and [[Ezio Auditore da Firenze\|Ezio Auditore]] reify their moral convictions to {{wiki\|cultural pluralism\|pluralism}}, {{wiki\|humanitarianism}}, and {{wiki\|egalitarianism}} by reference to the Creed, but the Creed itself may not necessarily entail these political stances.

	While Assassins recognize the limits to empiricism, they also reject the belief in innate knowledge.		[Need to explain: rejection of innate knowledge & divinity, fallibility principle, impossibility of knowledge citing limits of senses]

			<s>The classic Templar conception of their [[Assassin-Templar War\|perennial conflict]] with the Assassins is the incommensurability of their political beliefs. The former believes it to be a given that the corruptibility of human nature requires that lasting peace can only be achieved by an enlightened few establishing "order" (à la monopolizing global power); the latter naïvely maintains a faith in humanity's potential to foster peace by permitting their "freedom". While this broadly speaks true to their platforms, the false binary masks a critical difference in the nature of their philosophies. Templar thought revolves solely around first-order normative claims while the Creed deals in higher-order questions of meta-ethics.</s>

			<s>The classic Templar conception of their [[Assassin-Templar War\|perennial conflict]] with the Assassins is the incommensurability of their political beliefs vis-à-vis pessimistic vs. optimistic views of human nature and "order" vs. "freedom", but these {{wiki\|false dilemma\|false binaries}} elide the proposition of fallibility central to Assassin thought. Unlike the exclusively first-order claims of Templar thought, the Assassins engage higher-order questions of meta-ethics.</s>

			<s>Its core argument remains that humans do not truly know anything and that no perspective is infallible. To the Assassins, the error of those who impose their worldviews as Truth lies not merely in the harmful consequences but also in the very denial of its real fallibility. The classic Templar conception of their [[Assassin-Templar War\|perennial conflict]] with the Assassins is the incommensurability of their political beliefs vis-à-vis pessimism vs. optimism towards human nature and "order" vs. "freedom", but these {{wiki\|false dilemma\|false binaries}} elide this proposition of fallibility central to Assassin thought.</s>

			<s>They identify their foes' error in the very denial of the reality that all perspectives are fallible and not just from the ethical opprobrium against the inhumane consequences of their actions.</s>

			To the Assassins, the Templars' error is not just in the inhumane consequences of their thoughts and actions but also in their very unwillingness to admit to that truths are unknowable.

			While Assassins recognize the limits to empiricism, they also reject the belief in innate knowledge. They reject appeals to innate knowledge or divinity and claims to ''a priori'' truths, leaving empirical reasoning, for all its limits, as the best and sole recourse to understanding. [Does not reject pursuit of knowledge despite their belief it is not truly attainable].

			[End with Edward's answer that the Creed is the beginning of wisdom and not its final form].

	====Applications====		====Applications====

imported>Sol Pacificus: /* Philosophy and goals */ I am hella stuck on this next part...

2023-01-03T03:07:16Z

Philosophy and goals: I am hella stuck on this next part...

← Older revision		Revision as of 05:07, 3 January 2023
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	Because of its symbolic role for the Assassins' values, the Creed, consisting of a central maxim and three proscriptive tenets, has served as the highest authority guiding the ethics of their actions and as their foundational code.<ref name="The Aftermath" /><ref name="ACfilm">''[[Assassin's Creed (film)\|Assassin's Creed: The Movie]]</ref> It has often been misinterpreted literally by their [[Templars\|Templar]] enemies and third-parties alike to prescribe {{wiki\|moral nihilism}},<ref name="Codex" /> enable wanton hedonism,<ref name="Nothing is True...">''[[Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag]]'' – [[Nothing Is True...]]</ref> and propagate the pursuit of absolute individual freedoms without a mind to the risk of "chaos".<ref name="Father and Son">''[[Assassin's Creed III]]'' – [[Father and Son]]</ref><ref name="We the People">''[[Assassin's Creed: Rogue]]'' – [[We the People]]</ref> While certain Assassins across history, such as [[Spanish Brotherhood of Assassins\|Spanish Assassins]] [[María]] and [[Aguilar de Nerha]], have been more dogmatic in their obeisance to it than others,<ref name="ACfilm" /> the Creed's maxim is fundamentally a descriptive claim about the nature of reality to be contemplated and not a doctrine to be followed.<ref name="A Homecoming">''[[Assassin's Creed: Revelations]]'' – [[A Homecoming]]</ref> For all their idealism, the Assassins' philosophy begins with {{wiki\|epistemology\|epistemological}} principles and not {{wiki\|normative ethics}}.		Because of its symbolic role for the Assassins' values, the Creed, consisting of a central maxim and three proscriptive tenets, has served as the highest authority guiding the ethics of their actions and as their foundational code.<ref name="The Aftermath" /><ref name="ACfilm">''[[Assassin's Creed (film)\|Assassin's Creed: The Movie]]</ref> It has often been misinterpreted literally by their [[Templars\|Templar]] enemies and third-parties alike to prescribe {{wiki\|moral nihilism}},<ref name="Codex" /> enable wanton hedonism,<ref name="Nothing is True...">''[[Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag]]'' – [[Nothing Is True...]]</ref> and propagate the pursuit of absolute individual freedoms without a mind to the risk of "chaos".<ref name="Father and Son">''[[Assassin's Creed III]]'' – [[Father and Son]]</ref><ref name="We the People">''[[Assassin's Creed: Rogue]]'' – [[We the People]]</ref> While certain Assassins across history, such as [[Spanish Brotherhood of Assassins\|Spanish Assassins]] [[María]] and [[Aguilar de Nerha]], have been more dogmatic in their obeisance to it than others,<ref name="ACfilm" /> the Creed's maxim is fundamentally a descriptive claim about the nature of reality to be contemplated and not a doctrine to be followed.<ref name="A Homecoming">''[[Assassin's Creed: Revelations]]'' – [[A Homecoming]]</ref> For all their idealism, the Assassins' philosophy begins with {{wiki\|epistemology\|epistemological}} principles and not {{wiki\|normative ethics}}.
	<blockquote>"Nothing is true, everything is permitted."</blockquote>		<blockquote>"Nothing is true, everything is permitted."</blockquote>
	This claim pertains to {{wiki\|philosophical skepticism}} and {{wiki\|moral relativism}}. "''Nothing is true''" is an affirmation that Truth, as an absolute, flawless worldview applicable to all contexts, does not exist—or if it does, then [[human\|human beings]] lack the capacity to know it. As the [[Mentor]] [[Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad]] reflected in his [[Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad's Codex\|Codex]], perfect objectivity is unachievable because the sheer amount of variables and formulae needed to construct an ideal paradigm for our world's quandaries and travails is infinitely great. The intricate depths of reality is awe-inspiring and fathomless, and its labyrinthine web of interconnections are impossible to thoroughly unravel. Humans can reach for perfection by employing the {{wiki\|~~empiricism~~\|empirical}} ~~process~~ of information-gathering, thereby becoming ever more and more objective in our understandings, but Truth shall always remain elusive and just beyond our grasp.<ref name="Codex" />		This claim pertains to {{wiki\|philosophical skepticism}} and {{wiki\|moral relativism}}. "''Nothing is true''" is an affirmation that Truth, as an absolute, flawless worldview applicable to all contexts, does not exist—or if it does, then [[human\|human beings]] lack the capacity to know it. As the [[Mentor]] [[Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad]] reflected in his [[Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad's Codex\|Codex]], perfect objectivity is unachievable because the sheer amount of variables and formulae needed to construct an ideal paradigm for our world's quandaries and travails is infinitely great. The intricate depths of reality is awe-inspiring and fathomless, and its labyrinthine web of interconnections are impossible to thoroughly unravel. Humans can reach for perfection by employing the {{wiki\|empirical research\|empirical process}} of information-gathering, thereby becoming ever more and more objective in our understandings, but Truth behaves {{wiki\|asymptote\|asymptotically}}—it shall always remain elusive and just beyond our grasp.<ref name="Codex" />

	These limits of empiricism are given expression in the line "''everything is permitted''", which serves as a reminder that it is {{wiki\|Problem of induction\|fallacious to presume the uniformity of nature}}. Patterns of the present are not proofs of the future, which can always be radically different from all that has preceded it. As teased by a message left by the [[Isu]] for humanity in [[Oun-mAa Niye Ressoot]], all the regularities of sentient beings' lifelong experiences, too, cannot falsify the possibility that they exist only within a "masterfully crafted simulation" or a "dream within a dream".<ref name="The Empirical Truth">''[[Assassin's Creed: Origins]]'' – [[Layla Hassan's personal files#The Empirical Truth\|The Empirical Truth]]</ref>		These limits of {{wiki\|empiricism}} are given expression in the line "''everything is permitted''", which serves as a reminder that it is {{wiki\|Problem of induction\|fallacious to presume the uniformity of nature}}. Patterns of the present are not proofs of the future, which can always be radically different from all that has preceded it. As teased by a message left by the [[Isu]] for humanity in [[Oun-mAa Niye Ressoot]], all the regularities of sentient beings' lifelong experiences, too, cannot falsify the possibility that they exist only within a "masterfully crafted simulation" or a "dream within a dream".<ref name="The Empirical Truth">''[[Assassin's Creed: Origins]]'' – [[Layla Hassan's personal files#The Empirical Truth\|The Empirical Truth]]</ref>

	Confronted by this complexity of reality, humans are compelled to simplify it into comprehensible models, but some react with a more intense impulse: insecurity in the face of uncertainty. With this insecurity comes the desire to resolve it through the assumption of a truth and obtain a measure of certainty, a certainty that is inherently self-deceptive.<ref name="Forsaken">''[[Assassin's Creed: Forsaken]]''</ref> A danger arises when an individual, in their fixation on their truth, becomes convinced of its universality and strives to impose it onto the world as the grand solution, a project that inevitably involves the violent erasure of other epistemic communities.<ref name="Codex" /><ref name="Forsaken" /> Replication of this imaginary truth across the ages in the form of harmful discursive practices and repression of dissent can cement it in societal consciousness as a self-evident Truth—a "realization"<ref name="Lee's Last Stand">''[[Assassin's Creed III]]'' – [[Lee's Last Stand]]</ref>—but it will always remain fundamentally a falsehood. The Assassins identify this progression from fear of uncertainty to the cloaking of an illusion ~~for~~ Truth as a destructive force to humanity and a recurring theme among authoritarians like their sworn enemies, the Templars.<ref name="Codex" /> When [[Al Mualim]] betrayed the Assassins in 1191, Altaïr recognized that their own leader had succumbed to this same temptation.<ref name="Al Mualim">''[[Assassin's Creed]]'' – [[Assassination (Al Mualim)]]</ref>		Confronted by this complexity of reality, humans are compelled to simplify it into comprehensible models, but some react with a more intense impulse: insecurity in the face of uncertainty. With this insecurity comes the desire to resolve it through the assumption of a truth and obtain a measure of certainty, a certainty that is inherently self-deceptive.<ref name="Forsaken">''[[Assassin's Creed: Forsaken]]''</ref> A danger arises when an individual, in their fixation on their truth, becomes convinced of its universality and strives to impose it onto the world as the grand solution, a project that inevitably involves the violent erasure of other epistemic communities.<ref name="Codex" /><ref name="Forsaken" /> Replication of this imaginary truth across the ages in the form of harmful discursive practices and repression of dissent can cement it in societal consciousness as a self-evident Truth—a "realization"<ref name="Lee's Last Stand">''[[Assassin's Creed III]]'' – [[Lee's Last Stand]]</ref>—but it will always remain fundamentally a falsehood. The Assassins identify this progression from fear of uncertainty to the cloaking of an illusion as Truth to be a destructive force to humanity and a recurring theme among authoritarians like their sworn enemies, the Templars.<ref name="Codex" /> When [[Al Mualim]] betrayed the Assassins in 1191, Altaïr recognized that their own leader had succumbed to this same temptation.<ref name="Al Mualim">''[[Assassin's Creed]]'' – [[Assassination (Al Mualim)]]</ref>

	As a result, Assassins ~~taught~~ that ~~the~~ complex ~~nature of reality~~ should be embraced<ref name="Codex" /> and uncertainty accepted.<ref name="Forsaken" /> Wisdom begins with uncertainty and not from self-assurance. While this pedagogical practice, alongside anti-authoritarianism, gives the Creed a normative slant, the starting Assassin premise against Templar ideology rests still on epistemic grounds. While Assassins recognize the limits to empiricism, they also reject the belief in innate knowledge.		As a result, Assassins teach their pupils that complex answers to life should be embraced,<ref name="Codex" /> and uncertainty should be accepted as natural.<ref name="Forsaken" /> Wisdom begins with uncertainty and not from self-assurance. While this {{wiki\|pedagogy\|pedagogical}} practice, alongside anti-authoritarianism, gives the Creed a normative slant, the starting Assassin premise against Templar ideology rests still on epistemic grounds. Many of the leading Assassins throughout history, such as Altaïr Ibn-La'ahad and [[Ezio Auditore da Firenze\|Ezio Auditore]] reify their moral convictions to {{wiki\|cultural pluralism\|pluralism}} and {{wiki\|egalitarianism}} by reference to the Creed, but the Creed itself does not necessarily entail these political stances.

			While Assassins recognize the limits to empiricism, they also reject the belief in innate knowledge.

	====Applications====		====Applications====

imported>Sol Pacificus: /* The Creed */ I'm writing this while sleeping btw.

2023-01-02T11:18:46Z

The Creed: I'm writing this while sleeping btw.

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:18, 2 January 2023
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	Confronted by this complexity of reality, humans are compelled to simplify it into comprehensible models, but some react with a more intense impulse: insecurity in the face of uncertainty. With this insecurity comes the desire to resolve it through the assumption of a truth and obtain a measure of certainty, a certainty that is inherently self-deceptive.<ref name="Forsaken">''[[Assassin's Creed: Forsaken]]''</ref> A danger arises when an individual, in their fixation on their truth, becomes convinced of its universality and strives to impose it onto the world as the grand solution, a project that inevitably involves the violent erasure of other epistemic communities.<ref name="Codex" /><ref name="Forsaken" /> Replication of this imaginary truth across the ages in the form of harmful discursive practices and repression of dissent can cement it in societal consciousness as a self-evident Truth—a "realization"<ref name="Lee's Last Stand">''[[Assassin's Creed III]]'' – [[Lee's Last Stand]]</ref>—but it will always remain fundamentally a falsehood. The Assassins identify this progression from fear of uncertainty to the cloaking of an illusion for Truth as a destructive force to humanity and a recurring theme among authoritarians like their sworn enemies, the Templars.<ref name="Codex" /> When [[Al Mualim]] betrayed the Assassins in 1191, Altaïr recognized that their own leader had succumbed to this same temptation.<ref name="Al Mualim">''[[Assassin's Creed]]'' – [[Assassination (Al Mualim)]]</ref>		Confronted by this complexity of reality, humans are compelled to simplify it into comprehensible models, but some react with a more intense impulse: insecurity in the face of uncertainty. With this insecurity comes the desire to resolve it through the assumption of a truth and obtain a measure of certainty, a certainty that is inherently self-deceptive.<ref name="Forsaken">''[[Assassin's Creed: Forsaken]]''</ref> A danger arises when an individual, in their fixation on their truth, becomes convinced of its universality and strives to impose it onto the world as the grand solution, a project that inevitably involves the violent erasure of other epistemic communities.<ref name="Codex" /><ref name="Forsaken" /> Replication of this imaginary truth across the ages in the form of harmful discursive practices and repression of dissent can cement it in societal consciousness as a self-evident Truth—a "realization"<ref name="Lee's Last Stand">''[[Assassin's Creed III]]'' – [[Lee's Last Stand]]</ref>—but it will always remain fundamentally a falsehood. The Assassins identify this progression from fear of uncertainty to the cloaking of an illusion for Truth as a destructive force to humanity and a recurring theme among authoritarians like their sworn enemies, the Templars.<ref name="Codex" /> When [[Al Mualim]] betrayed the Assassins in 1191, Altaïr recognized that their own leader had succumbed to this same temptation.<ref name="Al Mualim">''[[Assassin's Creed]]'' – [[Assassination (Al Mualim)]]</ref>

	As a result, Assassins taught that the complex nature of reality should be embraced<ref name="Codex" /> and uncertainty accepted.<ref name="Forsaken" /> Wisdom begins with uncertainty and from self-assurance. While this pedagogical practice, alongside anti-authoritarianism, gives the Creed a normative slant, the starting Assassin premise against Templar ideology rests still on epistemic grounds. While Assassins recognize the limits to empiricism, they also reject the belief in innate knowledge.		As a result, Assassins taught that the complex nature of reality should be embraced<ref name="Codex" /> and uncertainty accepted.<ref name="Forsaken" /> Wisdom begins with uncertainty and not from self-assurance. While this pedagogical practice, alongside anti-authoritarianism, gives the Creed a normative slant, the starting Assassin premise against Templar ideology rests still on epistemic grounds. While Assassins recognize the limits to empiricism, they also reject the belief in innate knowledge.

	====Applications====		====Applications====