Are There "Real" Alignments?

The names of the alignments themselves seem to indicate that the alignments are viewed from the lawful good point of view. Being called "lawful" seems to be better than being called "chaotic" while "good" is vastly better than the pejorative term "evil." But do chaotics really see themselves as unpredictable, impulsive and perhaps a little bit dangerous? Or do they see themselves as independent, free-thinking, and unfettered by the unnecessary restrictions of society? Likewise, evil characters are more likely to see themselves as determined, self-reliant, and steadfast in their beliefs rather than seeing themselves as ruthless, cruel, or selfish. In essence, no character ever believes that their particular world-view and values system is inferior or wrong, otherwise why would they adhere to it?

So, how can such a "positive" alignment system be contructed? How can we have a "positive" chaotic evil character? The very concept seems to defy logic and boggles the mind.

To lay the foundation for this construct, we turn to concepts developed by Shalom Schwartz concerning universals in value systems. Schwartz theorizes that there are ten motivations that act as guides for action in life. These motivations are universal, meaning that they've been empirically determined to exist across all of the world's cultures. These ten motivations are: self-direction, stimulation, hedonism, achievement, power, security, conformity, tradition, benevolence, and universalism. Each of the ten basic values can be characterized by describing its central motivational goal and its associated single values.

The various alignments have as their primary motivations the following values:

Lawful Good - Conformity/Tradition and Benevolence

Neutral Good - Benevolence and Universalism

Chaotic Good - Universalism and Self-Direction

Chaotic Neutral - Self-Direction and Stimulation

Chaotic Evil - Hedonism

Neutral Evil - Achievement and Power

Lawful Evil - Power and Security

Lawful Neutral - Security and Conformity/Tradition