Re: Elven Self Control (and anything related)
A'ight. Here goes.
Hypothesis Number One: Vices
I'm prone to metaphors, hence saying that elves and rakshasa and so forth are embodiments of "chaos." To me, this is only a concept and I haven't quite bought into Plato's Theory of the Forms, and so saying the above only really works as an analogy. However, the analogy works along some psychological lines. One of these is a hypothesis I have (given observations) in regards to "racial vices." In many fantasy depictions, elves are rendered snooty and demeaning of others as if they are simply better than everything else. I think of this as the human viewpoint, for I think humans are a bit obsessed with hierarchical socialization (it annoys the tar out of me, so I might be projecting, but like I said this is what I'm gathering). Envy and Pride go very well together and, as I believe Augustine says, the former (and really every vice) can be reduced to a manifestation of Pride. Looking at that and comparing it to my life, I had to disagree. I'm a wrathful person and most of the time my outbursts have had little to do with a feeling of Pride (either personal or from the one/those who made me angry), but were simply anger. I also have seen, especially in fantasy fiction post-Star Trek but in fiction and folklore predating that, that elves are more emotional overall than humans and thus more prone to anger. Basically, a matter of differences in psychology.
Hypothesis Number Two: Something Metaphysical
Every race has (or at least should) questioned why it exists. I don't know why elves exist; mayhaps it's a brute fact (it just happened), mayhaps they are extensions of some cosmic force (like many mythical races could be), mayhaps they have a specific task. I'm prone to thinking it's a brute fact, but it needn't have to be. There are many stories of spirits who punish the wicked (the erinyes, for example) or lead souls into the afterlife (the keres/valkyries, Hermes, and other psychopomps); some of these stories depict the spirits as grisly things ("demons" in the modern sense). Perhaps elves (or similar) were among these spirits and perhaps the grisly quality is true, in which case elves are such a type of demon - they have a metaphysical quality to them that makes them prone to anger/violence. Not a great possibility, I admit, hence why I don't subscribe to it. Please note that I use the term "metaphysical" in the philosophical understanding (something of fundamental reality) rather than the occultic (something magical).
Hypothesis Number Three: Mundane Frustrations
Elvish anger could have absolutely nothing to do with the race itself, but be a result of frustration, stress, and other factors that bring about anger. If this is the case, then elves either shouldn't be more prone to anger than humans (or really any race) or else they are subject to more stress/frustration/etc. than others. I can only attest for myself; I know others on otherkin boards have reported a wrathful nature, but this has not only crossed species lines but isn't exactly something that has been analyzed and examined on the scale required to evaluate it properly (at least, to my knowledge). As such, the idea that elves are different from humans in this regard could be dismissed fairly easily, albeit not with enough evidence.
Those are my three main hypotheses. I have a few others, but they aren't really anything more than inklings - not at all formulated, even into words. I do think that a poll needs to be done (at the very least) concerning how prone to anger/emotion people frequenting otherkin boards are (and evaluating that against otherkin type).
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