Department of Belated Realmslore Replies Again: Josh Kellemen @JoshKellemen asked: Has there ever been a prominent philosopher in the realms that has argued an platonic/Aristotelian/thomist position that given the existence of "good" as an externally real thing/idea/concept, it..

2) ..follows that there is a non-contingent being that created good? Ed saith: Many sages and even guilds and local councillors debate ethics, and always have, but in the Realms, such arguments and debates are almost always made most loudly and consistently by.. #realmslore

3) ..clergy promoting the notion that “their” deity created good, or embodies good, or is “the” promoter of goodness in the Realms. From priestesses of Chauntea claiming that the Earthmother is the font of goodness to battlepriests of Tempus asserting that “good” is.. #realmslore

4) ..but an empty word without armed and ready vigilance forging it and safeguarding it, “good” is claimed by this faith and that; even those who venerate Entropy claim “all good comes from the Dark Holy Sphere.” #realmslore

Ed, I really am appreciative of your availability to direct questions these days and your willing to answer questions from some grognards who is on spring break with his kids this week. If I ever push too much on something please ignore or tell me. To refine the above question

Is the realms currently great tree or great wheel? My question comes more from a great wheel cosmology ( you wrote many early dragon articles on outer planes). There, "good" appears (at least to me) to be a platonic ideal that exists prior to the gods. I understand most gods

And their clergy would have views that their particular philosophical commitments might be the highest or most important goods. I am fishing if there is some famous plato/Aristotle like figure that argues, especially with planes of good, that there is a higher creator of good