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CHAPTER ONE: Introduction Behind all animated characters is a creator: an individual who designs, produces, and manipulates the existence of all roles, circumstances, and even psychological journeys within the emotions and thoughts of those characters. Narrative storytellers before the twentieth century were generally recognized through literature, and perhaps the writers of past stories did place themselves within the narrative as one who could engage in relationships with fictional characters, but a reader would be unaware of such a motive unless it was explicitly stated. It wasn't until the advent of compositing animation with live-action film that the notion of a direct relationship between the artist and a fictional character that appeared to have an individual will could be effectively realized. This relationship, found within the animation process, is a representation of the philosophy of theological compatibilism - a philosophy where two beings, specifically a determinative creator and his creation, are allowed to have separate wills that join to produce a single action while the specific intentions of each mind can be different or even opposed. The Animator-Animation Relationship The relationship of the animator and his creations has been a topic of interest since the process of animation was first explored in the nineteenth century. The ability to produce moving drawings was (and still is) amazing, but when artists began introducing work that appeared to interact with them on a personal level (when the cartoon seemed to react and participate in conversation or happenings with the animator) they brought forth a revolutionary method of storytelling that was previously unachievable. Animation is unarguably the most effective way to discuss certain philosophical issues because it allows the artist to have control over the worlds in which the issues are raised.[1] Many philosophical viewpoints have been represented through animation, but I would argue that all cartoons are inherently compatibilist.[2] And, any cartoon character that appears to interact with its creator via an apparent "freewill" that is bound to that of the animator's effectively parallels the basics of theological compatibilism. However, the philosophical relationship between the artist and their chosen medium is not limited to animation. All works of art may be seen from either the perspective of the artist or the creation. The primary difference between a still image, or items such as ceramic pots, and an animation is that the animation more clearly illustrates an object that appears to have a will of its own. It is difficult to imagine a pot as having a will because it does not move or change by volition; rather it is acted upon by its environment or other outside circumstances from our point-of-view. The Animated Creature The nature of the human will and the circumstances that move it to action have been a subject of great debate for centuries within both the secular and religious realms. The philosophical doctrine of determinism says that every state of affairs, including every human event, act, and decision is the inevitable consequence of antecedent states of affairs.[3] Compatibilism, also known as "soft determinism" and most famously championed by the philosopher David Hume, is a theory which holds that free will and determinism are compatible. According to Hume, free will should not be understood as an absolute ability to have chosen differently under exactly the same inner and outer circumstances. Rather, it is a hypothetical ability to have chosen differently if one had been psychologically disposed by another system of beliefs or desires.[4] Hume also maintained that free acts are not uncaused, but caused by our choices as determined by our beliefs, desires, and by our characters. While a decision-making process exists within Hume's determinism, this process is governed by a causal chain of events. For example, a person may make the decision to read this paper, but that decision is determined by the conditions that existed prior to the decision being made.[5] Theological compatibilism, a framework that holds parallels to the basic tenants put forth by Hume, is a philosophy that has existed since the Old Testament of the Bible was written as can be demonstrated by various examples throughout it.[6] The obvious difference between theological and secular compatibilism is that theological compatibilism places the determinative role within God and not the physical world. Theologians such as St. Augustine of Hippo addressed the topic of man's bondage to sin with the ability to make choices that reflected the sinful nature.[7] In The Bondage of the Will, Martin Luther writes with the same concept in mind and this theology is what spurred him to begin the Protestant Reformation during the 16th century.[8] John Calvin would later expound upon the relationship of God's eternal decree (also known as sovereignty through providence) and the idea of man's freewill in his book The Institutes of Christian Religion, published in 1536.[9] On the topic of freewill specifically, these men agreed that people make choices, but any decision that is made flows from the disposition of the individual making the choice. They agreed that it was God who ultimately decides the nature of a man and controls all actions by him, and this concept refers back directly to the Scriptures where their theology originated. It's also here that the compatibilist relationship between the animator and his characters may be explored.
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