Maerok
2007-06-17, 09:56 PM
I was thinking about the principles of Law and Chaos while trying to brainstorm about the chaotic nature of a campaign I was working on when Nietzsche popped into my head. I had been reading a lot on the concepts of the Apollonian and the Dionysian, and I thought that these two aspects of Greek culture as identified by Nietzsche could be applied to help serve as standards for the Law/Chaos alignment axis. (For further reading, see The Birth of Tragedy)
I'll start, alphabetically, with the Apollonian. Here you have structure and form, which can represent the force of Law. Now, in context of Nietzsche and Art, I'll draw a comparison between the Apollonian and an artist - namely da Vinci. He employed his mathematics and sciences, especially the use of perspective, to create artwork that maintained a structure while still being breath-taking.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/54/Study_of_horse.jpg
And then comes the Dionysian, as embodied within Chaos. This is the primal, animalistic core of existence. There are no rules or conventions or consistency. It is feeling, the soul of music and emotion. As an artistic example, take the crayon drawings of little children.
http://core.ecu.edu/art/newmanj/6070/casey/childart/scribble1.jpg
As with the Apollonian versus the Dionysian and Law versus Chaos, having only one side of the scales will make you very unbalanced. The Apollonian needs the primal nature of the Dionysian to be complete, while the Dionysian requires the structure of the Apollonian to take form. When you have this balance, you have Neutral. I actually had Picasso as a representation of the Dionysian, but when I look at his paintings, there always seemed to be something about it that gave it a kind of structure; I think, in regards to many of his works, that he incorporates both the Apollonian and the Dionysian in fulfillment of these Nietzschian (wording?) ideals.
http://www.educ.fc.ul.pt/docentes/opombo/album/images/picasso_meninas_ler.jpg
So what does everyone think? It's not world-shattering, but I think it's an interesting way to look at it.
I'll start, alphabetically, with the Apollonian. Here you have structure and form, which can represent the force of Law. Now, in context of Nietzsche and Art, I'll draw a comparison between the Apollonian and an artist - namely da Vinci. He employed his mathematics and sciences, especially the use of perspective, to create artwork that maintained a structure while still being breath-taking.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/54/Study_of_horse.jpg
And then comes the Dionysian, as embodied within Chaos. This is the primal, animalistic core of existence. There are no rules or conventions or consistency. It is feeling, the soul of music and emotion. As an artistic example, take the crayon drawings of little children.
http://core.ecu.edu/art/newmanj/6070/casey/childart/scribble1.jpg
As with the Apollonian versus the Dionysian and Law versus Chaos, having only one side of the scales will make you very unbalanced. The Apollonian needs the primal nature of the Dionysian to be complete, while the Dionysian requires the structure of the Apollonian to take form. When you have this balance, you have Neutral. I actually had Picasso as a representation of the Dionysian, but when I look at his paintings, there always seemed to be something about it that gave it a kind of structure; I think, in regards to many of his works, that he incorporates both the Apollonian and the Dionysian in fulfillment of these Nietzschian (wording?) ideals.
http://www.educ.fc.ul.pt/docentes/opombo/album/images/picasso_meninas_ler.jpg
So what does everyone think? It's not world-shattering, but I think it's an interesting way to look at it.