The Dragon Prince and Philosophy

1) Immanuel Kant and the Moon Arcanum

From the Standord Encyclopedia of Philosophy: In the Critique of Pure Reason Kant argues that space and time are merely formal features of how we perceive objects, not things in themselves that exist independently of us, or properties or relations among them. Objects in space and time are said to be “appearances”, and he argues that we know nothing of substance about the things in themselves of which they are appearances.

Sounds familiar? Here’s what Lujanne has to say about the Moon Arcanum:

“The arcanum of the moon is about understanding the relationship between appearances and reality. Most people believe that reality is truth and appearances are deceiving. But those of us who know the moon arcanum understand we can only truly know the appearance itself. You can never touch the so-called reality that lies beyond the reach of your own perception.”

2) John Rawls and King Harrow’s theory of justice and fairness

From the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy:

Rawls’s negative thesis starts with the idea that citizens do not deserve to be born into a rich or a poor family, to be born naturally more or less gifted than others, to be born female or male, to be born a member of a particular racial group, and so on. Since these features of persons are morally arbitrary in this sense, citizens are not entitled to more of the benefits of social cooperation simply because of them. For example the fact that a citizen was born rich, white, and male provides no reason in itself for this citizen to be favored by social institutions.

And here’s what Harrow says to Sarai about what Lady Justice tells him in his dream:

“She said to me that justice was more than fair decisions and fair consequences. True justice was a fair system. Then she laid before me her scales, her sword, and her blindfold… and told me to choose. … She said the blindfold gives us a way to test the system. That I should use it to imagine I had not been born yet, and that I did not know if I would be born rich or poor, what color my skin would be, what culture or practices my family would have. That a fair system should be fair no matter the accident of my birth. That the rights, and laws, and opportunities within the system should stand to protect and empower everyone.”

3) Villads and Heraclitus on life being a river

Source

Heraclitus said that life is like a river. The peaks and troughs, pits and swirls, are all are part of the ride.

Villads: “Life is like a river. You can’t see too far ahead. You don’t know where the river of life will bend and turn. You don’t know where it will go at all. Don’t try to control where the river goes. There’s one thing you can know and control, yourself. Once you know that, then wherever the river takes you, you’ll be right where you were always meant to be.”

4) Sarai and Mahatma Gandhi’s theory of Head, Hand, and Heart

Source (warning: PDF)

Gandhi believed in the total development of the human personality through education. He advocated that education should start with hand. His emphasis was more on 3H’s (head, heart and hand) than on 3R’s (reading, writing and arithmetic). His concept of education means “an all-round drawing out of the best in the child and man-body, mind and spirit”.

In Callum’s fever dream, Sarai tells him:

“Sometimes things can get so complicated that our minds can’t quite sort them out alone. But when you slow down and let yourself breathe, your spirit and your body can catch up with your mind, and help out. To know something truly and deeply, you must know it with your head, hand, and heart. Mind, body, and spirit.”

It looks to me that The Dragon Prince is deliberately taking inspiration directly from real-life philosophers for moments of characters divulging wisdom or learning something important. I’ll be keeping an eye out for more in book 3!