Talk:Elements of Harmony/@comment-75.73.121.64-20130218163109

See, here's my problem with the Elements of Harmony ... the show doesn't really define what they mean. I'm specifically referring to how they differentiate Kindness and Generosity. There are many instances where the two words can be used interchangeably, or someone with that character trait would act the same as one with the other ... like giving somebody a second chance, even if they don't deserve it. This could be taken as Kindness, but it could just as easily be taken as Genrosity.

Here's my interpretation, and I'd like to hear you folks' thoughts on the matter:

The Element of Kindness represents the ideas of patience, empathy, caring, understanding, and forgiveness. Kindness is the one who'll take time out of their day to listen to another person's problems, the sympathetic ear. Kindness tries to look at things from other points of view, doesn't hold grudges, and believes (or perhaps hopes) that everyone has a capacity for goodness.

The Element of Generosity represents the ideas of equality, charity, giving, and sharing, especially but not exclusively referring to material goods. Perhaps moreso than Kindness, Generosity deals with people outside your circle of friends and extends to acquaintences, strangers, and even people who never see your face, who you might never even meet. This doesn't mean Kindness cannot also deal with a complete stranger, but say ... a donation to a Policeman's Widows & Orphans fund? Or Feed the Starving Children? That sort of thing, to me at least, speaks more to the lement of Generosity than Kindness.

For that matter, let's look at the other Elements, even if they're a little straightforward.

The Element of Loyalty is just that, loyalty. It embodies protectiveness, perseverence, and self-sacrifice, especially in terms of blood, sweat, and toil (rather than money or material goods, which again speaks more to Generosity). Loyalty is putting others before yourself (though, as demonstrated by our dear Rainbow Dash, that doesn't necessarily equate to humility).

The Element of Honesty, again, is pretty self-explanatory. Honesty deals with telling the truth even when it hurts, being up-front, and maintaining integrity when dealing with others. But honesty is about more than adhering to a strict interpretation of what is being said. It's about honoring the spirit of the thing as much if not more than the word. In this sense, Applejack was very dishonest in "The Last Roundup" when she ran away rather than telling the others the truth at breakfast like she promised. This is made all the worse because she had to have been planning that from the very beginning, so she was dealing with Pinkie under false pretenses. Sure, by not showing up at the breakfast table she could avoid telling the others what was going on without technically being untruthful, but it was still very dishonest.

The Element of Laughter ... it's not difficult to understand what Faust and the other creators mean by that: happiness, optimism, finding enjoyment in the company of friends. I'm just not sure that "Laughter" is the right word to define this idea as a sort of metaphysical concept. After all, "Laughter" can be cruel, sadistic, and vindictive (see "schaudenfreude"). It can be hollow and mirthless, but still be "Laughter". But then what should be used as a replacement? I have no clue.

Now, the Element of Magic ...

Beyond the obvious "Friendship is Magic", Twilight represents the Element of Magic, thus Twilight represents the concept of Friendship as a whole, I wonder if as far as the story is concerned, the Element of Magic is meant simply as the same sort of thing as unicorns' special abilities (e.g. levitation, teleportation, transmogrification) or if it is meant to be understood as something less concrete. Something ephermal and indescribable, like Faith, that can't adequately be understood or defined, but eexists and is present just the same.

This actually didn't start out as an essay about the nature of the Elements so much as it was meant to ask a simple question about others' understanding about the difference between Kindness and Generosity. So, I'll ask again. What do you think the difference is between the two concepts, whether in terms of what is technically a children's TV show or something more philosophical?