Untitled Episode

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Chapters

• 0:00 What is Metaphysics?
• 12:25 Get More From Me
• 13:37 The Divine Focus
• 27:16 Core Values and Beliefs

Transcript

What if morality wasn't just a social construct, but a real observable force?

What if the gods of your world could prove they existed? Welcome to world building with metaphysics. Today we're going to discuss how your universe works at its core. Does your world have a universal truth? Or is it a fragmented landscape of subjective metaphysical realities? This choice fundamentally shapes the morality, cultures, and religions of your world. We'll break down today's discussion into three sections. Metaphysics and morality in your world, the divine focus of your religion, and core beliefs and values. Let's set out on a journey which I'm sure will not be controversial at all and let's tackle the big questions that every society, real or fictional, wrestles with. Is there such a thing as good and evil? Where does morality come from? And how do your answers to these questions shape your story? Welcome! to Worldbuilding Blueprints with your host Marie Mullaney from Just In Time Worldbuilding. Let's start with what is metaphysics. At its core, it's a study of what is real, what exists and why. For worldbuilders, it's about setting the fundamental rules of your universe, especially when it comes to morality and religion. And here's the key to understanding why it's a big deal. Metaphysical beliefs influence the world even if those beliefs aren't true or can't be proven to be true in an objective sense. If such a thing as objective truth even exists. Let me explain what I mean by that.

And here's where the controversy comes in because we're going to talk about our world and societies. Now I'm going to talk about my specific example here, so stay with me even if you don't believe in the same way, okay? I'll get to differing beliefs down below. Okay, here we go. I'm an atheist in a very fundamental way. I don't even believe that souls exist. This also means I don't believe in a metaphysical source of good and evil, so no cosmic scale balancing morality for me. I believe morality is a social construct, something humans developed as social animals to survive and thrive in groups. Compassion, cooperation and empathy helped our ancestors live long enough to pass on their genes so those traits became selected for. Just on a slight aside, don't misunderstand me, I think we must enforce our morality in order for the group to survive. I just don't think that our morality comes from any source other than ourselves. Okay, aside done. Now here's the thing, that's my metaphysical belief. I can't prove it. Metaphysics by its nature is unfalsifiable. You can't prove it false so you can't prove it true. Whether you believe morality comes from evolution, a divine source or a prime mover like Aristotle described, it's ultimately a matter of belief. You buy into the arguments for one set of metaphysics or another or you don't because this stuff isn't observable in our world. We all have some evidence for this or that metaphysical view, but it's not direct evidence that can be tested like a theory of science can. I mean, I could tell you that our world is a simulation because quantum physics is the game devs creating a probabilistic environment in order to cut down on rendering time. Does that make it true? I don't know. You can't prove that it's not true, as I say it's not falsifiable, and there is some observable evidence that quantum physics works differently from the rest of our world, but it's a why is this like this and as such it's not falsifiable. Okay,

But here is where things get really interesting for fantasy world builders. Because your world isn't bound by the same uncertainties as ours. In the example of the game dev, you are that dev and in your story, the metaphysical can be real and morality can be objective and there is plot potential in doing it that way. So in your world, you get to decide the metaphysical rules. Do gods exist? Is there a cosmic source of good and evil? Is morality universal or cultural? These decisions will fundamentally shape your religions and societies. Let's consider two examples. Let us say we had a world with a universal metaphysical truth. If good and evil are objectively real forces in that world, every culture will interact with that truth even if they interpret it differently. For example, if your world has a literal plane of good and evil, the existence of these forces will shape every religion. Maybe one culture worships the beings of the good plane while another rebels against them. A culture that truly draws on a source of good will match other cultures that draw on the same source of good in morality. Their gods will also have similarities and a society that draws on evil will have differing moralities matching that evil that it draws on and it will show this very clearly. The objective metaphysical truth is a shared foundation of every culture in that world. On the other hand, consider a world with no universal metaphysical truth. If the gods in your world are just powerful beings or if gods don't exist at all, then morality becomes subjective, shaped by each culture's needs and beliefs. And cultural interpretation of morality can vary wildly. If you look at our world, the ancient Greeks saw women as subhuman. That's not a morality we hold to any longer. Or consider the Aztecs who believed that human sacrifice was moral because it sustained their gods. Even in early Christianity, beliefs about gender were tied to metaphysical ideas. For instance, Saint Ambrose argued that women who believed in Christ became perfect men. and men who didn't believe in Christ should be treated as women, since Jerome claimed that women serving Christ transcended their gender entirely and became men. These ideas rooted in metaphysical beliefs shaped societies in ways that seem odd to us today, and that is why for me this proves that morality isn't grounded in a universal truth in our world. but is a cultural interpretation. Again this is just a belief of mine, I can't prove it, I can only argue it using examples and I am not saying you need to believe it in this way. Okay so how do religions reflect metaphysics?

Let's take a look at some real world metaphysical systems. Buddhism is rooted in the concept of samsara, the cycle of rebirth, and nirvana, ultimate liberation from that cycle. These metaphysical ideas shape Buddhist morality, emphasizing detachment and compassion. Christianity centers the existence of an omnipotent god and the promise of an afterlife for those who live as the god wishes. This belief in divine compassion and salvation defines the Christian moral frameworks. Aristotle's metaphysics focused on the prime mover and human flourishing, also called eudaimonia, linking morality to rationality and virtue. Plato argued for the good a amorphous metaphysical concept beyond the god that all cultures attach to and know is righteous. In your world, the metaphysical setup determines what your characters believe about what is right and wrong. Even if those beliefs differ from reality, they'll shape your societies just as they do in our world. In my own world, in Sangwheel Chronicles, I've opted for a universal metaphysical truth. My gods are real and their power is observable. This has huge implications for how religion works in my world. There are only two major religious perspectives in my world. Worship of the three gods, where they are worshipped in different ways across cultures, but it's always three gods. Some cultures see gods as siblings, some see them as a married trio, some see them as friends, but no one denies their existence. Then there is the Viero perspective who reject the gods entirely, not their existence but their worthiness of worship. So they don't say the gods don't exist, they say the gods are not worthy to be worshipped. Because the gods' power is real and undeniable, there is no room for competing divine claims. But notice even in this universal metaphysical truth there is still room for cultural diversity on how the gods are worshipped as I show with the religious sects in my world and their differing interpretations of the gods. So when building your world ask yourself: Does your world have a universal metaphysical truth or is it more subjective? If there is a universal truth, how does it shape morality, culture and religion? If there is no universal truth, what drives the creation of gods, rituals and moral systems? Your answers to these questions will give your world's religions and cultures depth. and consistency. Whether your gods are real or imagined, their existence or lack thereof should ripple through every aspect of your world. Metaphysics matters, it is the foundation of your world's morality, culture and religion and if you get that piece of world building done and down no matter what you build on it, as long as it's consistent with that layer, it will feel to your reader like this is of a piece. It all works together to shape a believable and immersive reality. Before we continue, let's take a moment to talk about how you can get even more out of this podcast. If you're enjoying World Building Blueprints and want to dive deeper, Members of the Just In Time Worldbuilding YouTube channel get exclusive access to worksheets we discuss in every episode of this podcast. From the build it in straw tier to the build it in stone tier, you'll get access to these worksheets which helps you define identities, religions, cultures, economics and more in your world. It's a great way to turn these ideas into actionable steps that will help you create great stories. I would also like to thank each and every one of my channel members who really help me keep the lights on every month. You guys are the best. If you don't want to commit to monthly memberships, you can also purchase the worksheets for these podcasts on my Ko -fi page. Links to all that down below. All of that being said, I appreciate every listener and viewer of this podcast. I would not have a channel at all if it wasn't for you, my audience, so thank you very much to all of you for listening. And now let's get back to creating religions. We've covered how metaphysics influences morality and religion, but what about the divine itself? Are your gods real, imagined, or something in between? Let's move on to the divine focus of your religion. and how your cultures interpret the gods.

What do I mean by divine focus? Divine focus is the central point of worship or veneration in a religion. It's the figure, concept, or force that believers adhere to and form their rituals, moral systems, and faith around. and it fundamentally shapes how that religion integrates into your world. In my mind there are seven primary types of divine focus. We'll cover each briefly and explore how they change the flavor of a religion and discuss how they affect society, plot and magic in your world. Please bear in mind that this is very brief in terms of coverage. On my YouTube channel just in time worldbuilding you can find a playlist of religious videos that cover these topics in more detail. Alright, onward with those seven types of divine focus. First up is polytheism, the worship of multiple gods, each overseeing different aspects of life, war, love, harvest, death and so on. Polytheistic societies tend to have diverse worship practices and intricate temple hierarchies. For example, The god of the harvest might be the most important deity in an agricultural town, while a coastal city might prioritize the sea god. Religion here is deeply tied to daily life, with blessings or curses from the gods often seen as directly influencing events like storms or bountiful harvests. Polytheism gives you a wealth of storytelling opportunities. You can have divine rivalries that spill into the mortal world. You can have quests to appease specific gods or mortal factions could take sides in a celestial conflict. From a magical perspective, different gods might grant different kinds of magic, lightning from a sky god, earthquakes from an earth god and so on. You can also explore blessings and curses or divine interventions from various deities. Example time! In the real world ancient Greece and Rome are classic examples with gods like Zeus, sky god and Athena, the goddess of wisdom, being primary movers in their pantheons. In fantasy the forgotten realms has a sprawling pantheon that influences politics, magic and society and of course Mistra's endless chats with Alminster are basically a forgotten realms trope. I swear she's down on the realms more than she is up in the celestial realm. Anyway, so that's polytheism. Our next one on the list of things that have official gods is monotheism. Monotheism is the worship of a single often omnipotent deity who may be distant and mysterious or actively involved in the world. Monotheism tends to promote unity through shared beliefs and practices but can also lead to rigid orthodoxy with less room for disagreement. It also often gives rise to theocracies or divine right monarchies blending religion and secular power. I do have to state here that so can polytheism, I mean the Roman priesthood was very involved with the Roman government, the Egyptians were pretty much a theocracy and they had a polytheistic religion, so it's not just monotheism but monotheism does lend itself easily towards theocracies. However, Even monotheism can have sectarian disputes with conflicts arising over how to interpret the will of that one god as we have seen in various of our world's religions and splitting up into various sects around their monotheistic deity. Monotheistic religions are great for stories about struggles with faith when the god's will seems unclear or contradictory. You can explore themes of rebellion against oppressive theocracies or heretical movements clashing with orthodox believers. Miracles, divine acts and divine neglect all create rich narrative possibilities. Our real world examples for this is really easy. It's the three big Abrahamic religions, Christianity, Judaism and Islam. They're all monotheistic. In fantasy, the example that always comes to mind for me is Warhammer 40k. with its worship of the emperor as a monotheistic deity. Okay so those are our two official god type religions as I like to call them, but let's move away from the gods to more spirit -based worship in what are still religions but don't necessarily have deities. Although the question of what is a god is an interesting philosophical question for another day. Anyway, animism. Animism is the belief that spirits inhabit natural objects, forces and phenomena. Animistic cultures often revere nature incorporating environmental ethics into daily life. Worship is decentralized, tied to specific locations or objects like sacred groves or rivers. Rituals normally aim to appease spirits for harmony, protection or fertility. Animism lends itself to stories about negotiating with spirits for guidance or power, restoring harmony after spiritual imbalances or conflicts between industrial expansion and animistic traditions. Magic in this animistic society might come from nature -based foci like sacred mountains or rivers and shaman or spirit talkers could wield spirit gifted abilities. Examples of this include Shinto in Japan, which is a real -world animistic tradition, and in fantasy we have Avatar the Last Airbender, which explores animistic concepts through its depiction of spirits tied to specific places like the spirit of the moon. Tolkien's genius loci like Caradhras in Lord of the Rings is also a form of animism, as is the island Demon Reach in the Dresden Files. And moving on from one type of spirit to another type of spiritual worship, let's talk about totemism which involves a spiritual kinship between humans and specific animals, plants or elements. Totemism is often highly personal or group -based. A totem might embody specific traits like a wolf for hunters or an ox for farmers. Rituals and practices honor the qualities of the totem and these affiliations might dictate societal roles. You can craft stories about quests to connect with or defend sacred totems, rivalry between groups with opposing totems or blessings and curses tied to totemic spirits. Totemism often involves shape -shifting, summoning totemic spirits or channeling their trays. totem carvings or artifacts could serve as magical conduits or other elements of fantasy. Real world examples of totemic traditions include that of the indigenous cultures in India and Malaysia and in fantasy Adrian Tchaikovsky's Shadows of the Apt plays with totemic elements with his insect kinden embodying the traits of an idealized insect totem. I will say they don't worship the totems but you don't need to worship to explore totemism. Heck, I don't think you strictly speaking need worship to qualify as a religion. I think a way of life can qualify as a religion, like being a jedi or whatnot. Anyway, let's get back on track before I dive down the wrong rabbit hole. Now let's move away from any form of a thinking entity being the focus of your religion and let's talk about concepts as the divine focus of your religion. And our first example is spiritualism, which focuses on individual growth and some form of enlightenment rather than gods or divine hierarchies. Spiritualist cultures emphasize moral living, inner peace and community harmony over rituals. These societies often value personal responsibility and enlightenment. This lends itself to stories about philosophical conflicts, journeys of inner transformation or societal reforms driven by spiritual teachings. Magic could stem from personal discipline and meditation. such as energy manipulation or accessing higher planes of existence. Buddhism is a real world example as is Platonism with its concept of the higher plane of the good and in fantasy Star Wars explores spiritualism through the competing Jedi and Sith philosophies where the Jedi say you reach this state of being one with the force through discipline and through controlling your emotions and the siths say that by living your emotions to the full you will gain oneness with a force, two competing philosophies with a single spiritualist concept. Okay then we come to one which is slightly controversial because it's not strictly speaking a religion but this is a good place to talk about atheism where you have no divine focus.

Atheism is the rejection of deities, focusing instead on science, rationalism and the observable world. Atheistic societies develop alternative moral systems rooted in reason or mutual benefit. They may lack the rituals of religious societies though cultural rituals can and probably will still persist. Atheism can spark conflicts with religious societies or existential stories about finding meaning in a godless world. If the universe cares nothing for us and there is no meaning to the universe, what does that mean for us? And the exploration of that concept can form the great basis for an existential story. Magic in an atheistic world could be treated as a natural force or a science stripped of divine connotations. practitioners might approach magic like engineers or alchemists. In terms of examples secular humanism in Europe is a growing real world trend and in fantasy the dragon riders of Pern features a rational atheistic society with no religion whatsoever and no real magic, it's all science -based explanations for the effects of the world. Okay. And our last type of religion is the religion that's often confused for atheism and that is misotheism. Misotheism is the hatred or rejection of specific gods while still acknowledging their existence. Misotheistic societies might form countercultures that reject or undermine the worship of a particular deity. This often leads to ideological clashes and societal divisions. Stories could involve rebelling against divine authority, divine retribution against the rebels or characters struggling with the morality of defying a god. Magic might be weaponized against the hated deity or drawn from rival gods or forbidden sources to oppose the deity with. In terms of real world examples we actually do have one in Gnosticism. Gnosticism is the rejection of the demiurge which in the Gnostic tradition is considered to be the creator of the world. In fantasy we have the Dresden Files which has the Venatori, a secret society working against the old ones that are like the Cthulhu old ones. And this society actively deny the old ones any form of worship to prevent them waking up. Or if we go back to the forgotten realms, think of Drizzt do'Urden rejecting Lolth as a form of misotheism. Okay, so those are our seven types. So when building your world's religion, consider these questions. What is your divine focus? How does it shape your society, your culture and your magic? And how does it connect to your plot? Once you've nailed down your divine focus, which one of these seven you're picking, you're ready to define the core beliefs and values of your religion. So let's move to that part next. Okay, this is where the rubber hits the road. A religion's core beliefs and values define its worldview and the role it imparts to its followers. Now we've talked about the divine focus, so it's time to flesh out the forces or entities the religion believes in, their relationships and the moral framework they create. It's important that you think of this as a summary of morals, not an exhaustive list. You're outlining commandments, moral guidelines and taboos of the religion. Elements that obviously tie back to the cultural framework we discussed earlier in this podcast. But don't kill yourself trying to put in place all the rules of your religion. We're looking at a high level. The reason why I emphasize understanding the metaphysics and understanding the divine focus and your plot purpose of this religion is so that you don't have to define in detail these rules because any rules that you need will naturally flow from the metaphysical reality of your world flowing into the divine focus of the religion and flowing into the culture that holds this religion sacred.

Alright, so let's break this process down into manageable steps. One, define your primary meta-forces. Start with the key figures or concept the religion venerates. This could be deity, spirits, forces or abstract ideas like the good. Name and describe these metaphors. Do they have specific domains or attributes? For example, a god of war or a spirit of the harvest. What is their relationship to one another? Are they rivals, siblings or part of a hierarchy? What is the fantastical impact of these entities? Do they grant magic? Do they shape the natural world? In my epic fantasy series Sangwheel Chronicles, I created the three gods, a trio with unique attributes and disputed relationships. Some sects describe them as a married trio, two husbands and a wife. others believe they are siblings while other sects call them the sleeping friends who created the world and then departed. These differing interpretations influence how the gods are worshipped, yet their fantastical impact remains constant. For some priests the gods empower them, for others they don't, but for all they are the source of hobby and indisputably tied to the construct of reincarnation called the wheel. Okay, your second thing to define is myths, legends and prophecies. Religions thrive on stories that explain the world and its moral lessons. Let's cover the key types of myths you should consider. First, creation myths. What does the religion teach about the origins of the world, humans, or their special connection to the divine. Creation myths often highlight the religion's core values. For example, if compassion is a central value, the myth might feature the god sacrificing themselves to create humanity. Your second type of myth is cultural myths. These explain milestones like the creation of the sun and moon, the birth of civilization or the discovery of fire. They can also explore the life of heroes, or central figures of the religion. They're a way to encode moral teachings into memorable stories. And your third type of myth that you should consider is end time myths or prophecies. Many religions include a vision of the future, whether it's a hopeful resolution or a catastrophic apocalypse. These prophecies can serve as moral lessons inspiring followers to act ethically or avoid punishment. For example, Norse's mythologies Ragnarok or the Christian book of revelations both provide frameworks for understanding chaos and suffering while giving followers hope for eventual resolution of this world. Okay, why do these myths matter? They create a shared belief, they bind adherents together and reinforce the religion's moral framework. They also serve as rich narrative material, giving you opportunities for character motivations, societal tensions, and even plot twists. But it's hard to create myths when you don't have a moral code. So before you plunge in and create your myths, let's talk about creating your moral code for your religion. At the heart of every religion is a moral framework. what its followers are expected to do and what they're forbidden from doing. Think of these as religion's commandments just to set them apart from the cultural mores that we discussed in previous episodes. Commandments can take two different forms. Aspirational values: What does the religion encourage? For example, be compassionate or protect the weak. And then there are prescriptive behaviors. What does the religion forbid? For example, do not summon the spirits of the dead. To keep things organized, when you're creating these commandments, group them into categories like marriage, food, family, commerce, safety, magic, sacred animals, and so on. For example, a commandment might be, hold the phoenix sacred for it is a blessed animal. Or, let not another man intrude upon your marriage or let the wives gather and share their blessings in paired eating with each other. Both of which are marriage commandments, albeit different in intent and flavor. Religious commandments often align with cultural mores but not always. Some commandments may directly clash with societal norms creating natural points of tension. For example, a culture that values freedom might chafe under a religion with strict communal obligations. Or a society built on warfare might struggle with a pacifist religious framework. So identify where your religion's moral code supports or challenges the cultural mores of the culture that it exists within. This creates opportunities for conflict and deepens your world's complexity in meaningful ways. Once you've defined the core beliefs and values, circle back to the myths and legends. Use these stories to reinforce the moral code of the religion. For example, if a commandment forbids stealing, include a myth where a trickster god's theft brought disaster to humanity. These narratives help followers internalize the religion's teachings and gives your world a rich layer of mythology. Okay, and that's core beliefs and values, and with that out of the way, you've built a strong foundation for your religion. In the next podcast, we'll dive into the practices and places of worship, such as sacred spaces and their significance, the role of priests, shamans and other religious leaders, and daily rituals, prayers and festivals. These elements bring your religion to life for your characters and your audience. So if you want to learn how to give your fictional faith even more depth, make sure you subscribe for when that episode comes out. Before we go, I'd like to give a huge thanks to my members for sponsoring this podcast and a special shout out Your support makes this podcast possible and I'm so grateful for it. And on that note, I will see you soon for another episode. Remember, build what you need! when you need it, and happy worldbuilding!