Dissertation on the Natural

[Underwood]

Dissertation on the Natural

Preface

The author would like it to be known that he has no opinion on whether Nature is good or bad. He solely wishes to remove the confusion regarding the definition of Nature, and elucidate the consequences of said definition.

Part I - The Creation of Nature

I will start with a fact - intelligent life was created within the material plane.

This seems quite obvious to us. Were we not created in the plane of our existence, where did we exist before? And why do we not continue to exist there? However, with a deeper look into the consequences of such a simple statement, we find that many seem to ignore this crucial fact.

The creation of the material plane is what I will call the creation of Nature. All would agree that Nature is defined as that which has come about within our plane. This phrase moves our minds immediately to pictures of the forest ecosystem, the fragile equilibrium between predator and prey - both Natural beings. Such a picture leaves out the intelligent life, however, which is an integral part of the material plane. If intelligent life came about in the material plane then surely it too is Natural, and all of its actions can be considered Natural.

Thus, to consider intelligent life to be unnatural is to deny our very creation in the material plane.

Part II - The Consequences of Nature

As Natural beings, the intelligent life forms should then be afforded the ability to be involved in the grand Eco-system.

Were a jungle cat capable, it would over-hunt its prey until populations dwindled. Of course this would mean less food for the jungle cats, and so their populations would dwindle, and that of the prey would grow. Through unrestricted action, the jungle cat and its prey have reached a Natural equilibrium.

The same should be afforded to the humanoid races. There are those who attempt to prevent us from hunting, from building cities, from chopping down trees. These, the Natural actions of the humanoid races, are being attacked in the perverted name of Nature! Were we allowed to act in our Natural manner, we would eventually reach such an equilibrium with our surroundings. As we will soon discover, those who deny this do not act in the best interests of Nature at all, instead favoring the Supernatural.

Part III - Deities and Nature

As we have previously defined, Nature is the material plane and all that was created with it. This does not mean, however, that all that occurs within the material plane is Natural.

Extra-planar events, or events that do not originate within the material plane, can not be considered Natural by our definition of the concept. Then surely that which acts from another plane to alter this one cannot be considered Natural. One's first thought must be that the Deities are not Natural. When one prays for a miracle, they are not the cause the of the action, but rather they ask their Deity to modify our plane in an unnatural way.

Those who advocate a perverted view of Nature generally subscribe to an unnatural faith. They rely on Deities such as Silvanus or Mielikki to provide definition for what is Natural. Can they not see how foolish it is to look to an extra-planar being to define the Natural state of our plane?

Part IV - The Magic of Nature

Such a view of nature would appear to bring about problems for arcane magic as well as divine magic. However, this is a problem with the common conception and definition of arcane magic.

The Weave is the source of all magic, we are taught, and this is true. The Weave is also extra-planar, and moreover tended to by a Deity, so one would surely make a claim that arcane magic must be unnatural. This, however, is a fallacy.

The Weave is omnipresent. Even in places where magic is not being used, the Weave exists. Magic, then, cannot be defined as an 'act' of the Weave, but rather as a reshaping of the Weave. With this in mind, one must look at the ability to reshape the Weave to determine whether or not Magic is Natural. Surely the ability to reshape the Weave arose among those intelligent life forms, which we have already determined to be Natural. Therefore, the use of magic must be Natural.

I will again assert that this differs from divine magic in that the instigator of the action was Natural, as opposed to a Supernatural Deity.

Summation

Intelligent life must be Natural.

The Natural course of the humanoid races is to expand.

Extra-planar beings should be considered Supernatural (as opposed to Natural)

Arcane magic use is to be considered Natural.


I hope that this text will serve to elucidate what it is to be Natural, and what the implications of Nature are.

          -Andrew Underwood