Linearism

Linearism is a strain of religious thought within the world of the Manifold Sky that exists as a contrast to Epicyclism. In short, Linearists believe that there is a direction to history; the Linearist worldview is further subdivided into deterministic (the arc of history is pre-ordained) and non-deterministic (many events led to the present moment and many possible events may lie in the future) strains of thought.

Ethics

Because Linearists believe that actions in the present have an important role in shaping the future, many Linearists take a proactive role in life and enage in philosophical debate, thought experiments, and study to determine what the 'best' course of action will be. For Linearist religions, moral judgement and consideration of consequences are keys to living a virtuous life. In radical Linearist ethics, inaction is considered a vice; to accept the arc of fate without at least examining it first is to surrender the moral agency which differentiates sentient creatures from non-sentient creatures.
This worldview puts Linearism at odds with Biocosmism and Rostran Esotericism; the Unnamed Ovinex Religion seems more ambivalent on the matter. For Unexpectors, Forgists, and the latter's Knappist counterparts, however, Linearism provides an impetus for moral rectitude, self-improvement, and rectitude in the face of adversity. These religions reason that, because there is no set cycle to which the universe adheres, the travails of the present will eventually pass - and pass all the faster with the exertion of sentient agency.

Type

Religious, Other

Demonym

Linearist