Biological Determinism Is Trash, and So Is the Alignment System It Poisoned
I just did a small update to Aristotle’s Alignment, and added the following afterword:
Let’s cut the crap. Gary Gygax’s nine-point alignment system is a mess. Sure, it’s iconic. Sure, it’s been around forever. But it’s also a relic of a worldview that has no business existing in our games or our culture today. I’m talking about biological determinism, the toxic, oversimplified belief that morality and behavior are hardwired into who or what you are. This isn’t just lazy writing. It’s harmful, reductive, and downright insulting to anyone with a functioning brain.
Here’s the problem. Gygax’s alignment system doesn’t treat morality as something you do or a set of choices you make. It treats it as something you are. Orcs are always evil. Paladins are always good. Chaotic Neutral characters are apparently born to flip tables and ruin campaigns. Morality in Gygax’s world isn’t about actions or growth or circumstances, it’s about sticking a label on something and calling it a day. It’s essentialism at its worst.
And no, this isn’t “just a game.” Stories matter. Games matter. The media we consume influences how we think, what we believe, and how we treat each other. When a game says orcs are evil because they’re orcs, it’s reinforcing the same garbage logic that gets applied to real people in the real world. Biological determinism is the foundation of racism, sexism, xenophobia, and every other form of dehumanizing nonsense that people use to justify oppression.
Do you really want to tell me that making orcs inherently evil doesn’t have real-world consequences? Because it does. That idea bleeds into how people see others. It normalizes the idea that whole groups can be reduced to a single moral stereotype. It teaches players, especially young, impressionable players, that morality is simple, fixed, and predetermined. That’s not morality. That’s propaganda for lazy thinking.
Let’s talk about the nine-point alignment system itself. It’s bad. It’s reductive. It shoves complex, interesting characters into tiny little boxes and robs them of any nuance. Good vs. Evil? Law vs. Chaos? These are not binaries. They are spectrums. Morality is not a checkbox. It is a series of choices, compromises, and struggles. It is messy, complicated, and deeply personal. Gygax’s alignment system ignores all of that and replaces it with a moral flowchart that belongs in the trash.
What makes this even more infuriating is that there’s a better way. Aristotle had this figured out centuries ago. He didn’t believe in fixed moral categories. He believed that virtue was a habit, something you developed through practice and reason. Aristotle understood that morality isn’t about what you are, it’s about what you do.
Now imagine an alignment system built on that idea. Imagine a game where your alignment isn’t some static label you pick at character creation but something that evolves with your choices. A system where morality is about growth, reflection, and struggle. A system where orcs aren’t evil by default but shaped by culture, experience, and personal decisions.
We could have that. We could create stories where alignment is a tool for exploring ethical dilemmas, not a crutch for bad writing. But instead, we’re stuck with a system that reduces morality to birthright and binary nonsense.
Let’s stop pretending the nine-point alignment system is some sacred cow we can’t criticize. Let’s stop apologizing for the garbage ideas that underpin it. Biological determinism is trash, and so is any system that clings to it. Burn it down. Build something better. And for the love of all that is good, stop telling me orcs are evil because they’re orcs.
The world deserves better. The players deserve better. And if we care at all about the stories we tell, we owe it to ourselves to make alignment a tool for depth and meaning, not a prison for shallow thinking.
B.K.
16 January 2025
