Systems of Harmony

The Systems of Harmony is the main philosophical belief behind the Twin Dragon religion. Therefore, in order to be a true philosophy, the ethical system must be based off of two things, a metaphysical system and an epistemological system. In a book written by Hydra Blackwater, he lays out the basis of a philosophical system supporting harmony.

= Systems of Harmony =

Metaphysics
Metaphysics is the question of what things are. This is divided between what makes up things and how you categorize things. So for the first question, a scientist would answer that things are made up of parts decreasing in size until you reach an atom, while a follower of plato would say that everything is a reflection of a pure form from the heavens.

The Five Elements and Form
In the Twin Dragon religion, there are 5 elements. This is incorporated easily into the philosophy as the things that make up everything in the world. The five elements are Fire, Water, Earth, Metal, Wood. However, technically, everything is just a variation of one form, the Vale. This is a form of holism, where there is only one form.

Ontology
Ontology is the second question posed in metaphysics, how do we categorize things. In Twin Dragon metaphysics, everthying has form, as stated earlier, but these forms are assembled into something called matter, which has nothing to do with matter in science. So a pile of bricks can be assembled into the matter of a house, or the matter of anything else.

Epistemiology
Epistemiology is the question of how we know. This is divided into learning through truth, like you know 2+2 is 4 because that is how reason works and it is true no matter what, or knowing 2+2 is 4 because of experience in school.

Knowing in Twin Dragon Religion
In the Twin Dragon belief, everything is from the Vale, so all knowledge exists whether we know it or not. The only way to have knowledge is to remember it from the Vale. Experience does not create knowledge, all knowledge already exists.

Ethics and Homeostasis
Ethics is pretty self-explanatory, but people get it wrong a lot so I will explain it here. It isn't some arbritary moral code, it is the question of what actions someone should take in any given situation. the Twin Dragon religion believes in harmony, so the best action for any given situation in the middle between the two extremes. Here are a few examples.

Between Humility and Vanity is Well-Deserved Pride

Between being Craven and Reckless, there is Courage and Bravery

Between Greed and Improvidence there is Generosity

This belief is called Homeostasis, as it is the universal push and pull between light and dark to keep the universe in balance, or stasis.