Before
I start, you may, while reading this think I’m talking about a non-fictional
person. In the front pages of many novels before the story starts, the author
or editor says something like, any resemblance to someone real is purely
coincidental. Just to have fun I’ll say deliberately coincidental
Is
your character a pragmatist or idealist? Pay attention to the core values of
your hero/heroine and other characters because it goes to what motivates them. Infusing
philosophy helps tell a valued story. How strongly does your character hold
these beliefs or lack thereof?
Pragmatism
is a philosophical tradition popularized in the United States around 1870. For
those philo geeks, there is also the closely related Utilitarianism. Nobody claims
to be a Utilitarian because it’s too hard to spell or pronounce.
Put
simply: what is useful is good and what is pragmatic is good. They seem interchangeable
but there is a subtle difference. Pragmatism is a more active philosophy. They
choose to do something that will reap benefits for them. A utilitarian chooses
something to take up or take because it is useful to them. Somebody else
may have already done the work. Stealing said work is often done by the Prag/Uti
character, if they think they can get away with it. If they think… Both philosophies
are egocentric.
These
philosophies may seem glorious statements of what made our Country great but
they are at odds with the Constitution. All men are created equal if it is useful
or works to the character. Many religions condemn these philosophies, calling
them false gods. The struggle for the character’s soul is a human condition
that transcends national boundaries.
Every
day the character makes useful or pragmatic decisions. Is it better for health
to eat more because it tastes good or should there be more strictness about cholesterol
or sugar? Does a character go to a wedding 2500 miles away, spend the money, or
focus on work and make money needed to survive or live more comfortably? Innocuous
actions creep up on them when it comes time to make a really important decision
that may involve moral values. The problem moral steadfastness starts with
habituation. It’s hard to change and so they choose to make a moral mistake
hardly noticing that they have become the Great American Pragmatist.
Some
characters observe the world and see that those who grab the gusto or perhaps
bend the rules to suit them (pragmatism at its core) get ahead in life. They
make money. Some take it a step further and get pleasure out of besting another
human being. Substitute screwing for besting here, if you like.
American
politics and business are the most obvious places to go for examples of
American pragmatism. Many of our leaders cherish and fully understand the
constitution because they live their lives by core values in which they treat each
human being fairly. All men are brothers, right?
Write
it.
Your
character can demonstrate his/her core beliefs through habitual action,
willfully wrought or not. They also can grow or change. One often needs an arc
for this, LOL. The heroine sets out to tame her man, as an example.
In
pragmatic politics and business or life in general not constantly confronting,
reflecting on the moral value of habits, can land the character(s) in jail or
worse.
Fifty Shades of Grey, Promo for movie
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