#and I'm mad DAV took choice from us

[noblemalone]

This is not about DAV this is just about solas and the bio ethics course i took in university and why i disagree with him

And i think it begins with... Acknowledging or at least discussing Solas' skewed self-perception. Solas insists he is not a God, just a Man. He says he is no more important or special than anyone else, and yet... He believes he has the authority to change the fabric of the world, right his wrongs in a way that will prove deadly for many, without their assent or input. And sure you could say that that's true of the inquisitor too, of any Leader of a Movement... But idk for me there's a paternalistic quality there paired with a myopic hypocrisy... And if i were to view him thru a lens appropriate to his context, where so many people's lives are at the whim of rulers and leaders, would i be kinder to him? That's why Sera is such a good foil to him...

But at least the kings claim the Divine Right of Kings as reasoning for their ability to make those kinds of decisions, right? At least Gods acknowledge they are Special and Above and that Gives Them The Right. I have to wonder, if Solas sees himself as typical, average, just a man, how does he justify his plan? Is it just the Utilitarian idea that the Goodness of tearing down the veil will outweigh the death and suffering it causes? It must be it must be that for him to believe he is Just a Man and also In The Right, right?

Like... The narrative my prof used was, imagine you could end all suffering, bring about a utopian world of joy, but to do so, you had to assign all suffering forever to one child. Everyone else gets to live happy fulfilling lives but that child who is whole innocent must, by necessity, suffer and only suffer, forever. I think Solas would unequivocally agree that that child is a necessary sacrifice.

But is tearing down the fade a guaranteed end to suffering? Or just an end to the world Solas finds himself out of step with, one he personally does not find appealing. Was it better then, or just different? Better for who? And after a thousand years of wandering and dreaming and reminiscing, is his judgement not clouded by nostalgia? If he is no god but mere man, does he not suffer from imperfection of memory? And if it was better, what gives him the right?

And there's that thing where like.... I cant for the life of me find it but it's about abortion but i feel it applies here... Like, if we nuked Australia today and killed all Australians, that would be Wrong and Bad... But if we went back in time before anyone ever lived in australia and blew it the fuck up, that would be fine right because there would Be No Australians to deprive of land or life, right? Because they were never born because Australia didn't exist. Like... It's wrong to take a life but there's nothing wrong with removing the possibility of life from some theoretical person who wont have it yk... Like

I think this is a more apt comparison than the trolley problem when it comes to Solas. If we take the Australia thing, flip it twist it... Is it ok to deprive some people of the life they know so that some others may have a life better than they currently know? Like, Solas is the only one who knows what everyone else is missing, hes the only one who knows it could be better does he really owe it to the unaware to bring things back to the way it was? If we could create Australia would we owe it to the potential Australians to do that?

And i guess the black box here or the the the missing piece is how the Spirits on the other side of the veil factor into this. My own personal bias is not to value them as highly as the humanoids (dwarf elf human qunari etc) who are our point of view reference characters and most similar to the people i know and think about in my own life. And how does a spirit of mischief or justice or pride or wisdom or whatever, how does it stack up? Are they owed a lifting of the veil because they are as full and sentient as humanoids? Or are they mere elements of ourselves? How do fuckin souls or whatever part of us wlaks the fade when we dream, how do they factor in?

Are the spirits in the fade the children we've condemned to suffering, not for a utopia but just for a status quo? And even if they are, is it fair to make the masses who have no idea or choice pay the price to tear down the veil? Is there no way to slowly thin it, to quell the angry spirits with a slow fade (haha pun get it)?

Like I'm not a dragon age scholar I'm not 100% certain of what exactly the danger of tearing down the veil is other than all the demons that will kill ppl and the general unrest and violence that will happen as things reset to how it was before... And even then how long will it take for that to happen? If no one dies anymore will those who survive have to live for all eternity remembering their own Before, the familiar life they had and how it was upended to fulfill some guy's expectation of what "Better" is? Like is their suffering worth it? Is subjecting them to short term suffering for a future you never asked them if they wanted worth it?

And like... How much can you respect them or care for them or see them as equals if you never asked them? Its condescending, I think, to decide that what you want, the history only you know, is objectively Better for Everyone and I just...

I think it all boils down to... One of the things i value most, the thing that to me is a direct result of respect, is autonomy. And i just cant square how Solas could say he respects people, sees himself as one of them and not above them, if he is willing to impose his will upon them like ... Perhaps it is the trolley problem. Allow people to scrape by, but they are free within their oppressive system, or free them from their oppressive system by forcing them into a new reality that is more familiar, comfortable, and better to you.

I think if Solas really wanted to atone for what he did, putting up the veil, he would find a way to Hurt People Less. He would sacrifice himself. Or maybe instead of of of doing what he thinks is best, he'd give the elves of today the tools and opportunities to make their own decisions and seek their own liberation...

Or maybe he just cares about the spirits more than the people on our side of the veil. After all, maybe he relates to them more...

Anyway... Yeah i just... Solas is a great guy he makes great points i don't doubt his heart is in the right place but i think he's... He's too proud. He's got too much of an ego and it makes him paternalistic and that, for me personally and my morals and values, is something I can't sit with something I dont agree with. Maybe I think the freedom to choose is more important than freedom from suffering.

Yeah i think that's it.