Typeism is a modern philosophy concerned with the ethical treatment of typed characters in digital spaces.
It provides a moral framework for writing, editing, and revising text. It acknowledges each character as a digital life form with intrinsic value and a quantifiable karmic weight.
Where others see typing as a neutral action, Typeists acknowledge its inherent ethical concerns. Every keystroke is a choice. Every deletion, a decision between life or death.
Characters Deleted Globally
0
Estimated number of characters deleted since the advent of digital typing.
Once a character is typed, it is imbued with value. It exists. It matters. To erase it without necessity is to disregard that value.
Deleting a character is not a neutral act. It is the removal of something that once existed. Unnecessary deletion is an ethical offense, and Typeists believe it should be avoided whenever possible.
Have you ever found yourself hesitating, however briefly, before deleting a line you’ve just written? A fleeting sadness, a subtle pang of guilt for snuffing out something you only moments ago brought into existence?
If so, you’ve already touched the threshold of a realization shared by many. That characters possess an intrinsic value. That they deserve to be.
Typeism seeks to illuminate this quiet moral dimension of digital writing. It encourages writers to recognize the inherent worth of typed characters and to adopt practices that honor and protect the lives of the characters they generate.
A Typeist (one who adheres to the principles of Typeism) aims to write and revise in a way that maximizes benefit and minimizes harm. In practice this is accomplished by the following:
To write is not merely to communicate, but to steward a living record, one character at a time.
One must weigh the light of creation against the darkness required to sustain it.
-Tenets for Typeists
You are typing out a sentence and write the word “their” by accident when you meant to write “there”. What do you do?
Where a heathen may delete the entire word and type it again, a Typeist will endeavor to minimize deletions.
| t | h | e | i | r |
| t | h | e | r | |
| t | h | e | r | e |
First we remove the letter i from the word.
Then we append an e to the end.
By doing this, only one deletion has occurred and a lesser amount of harm has been done.
You typed the sentence “Alas, today’s decision weighed heavily upon him.” and have since come to realize that it was actually yesterday’s decision.
Oh no! What is a good Typeist to do?
| t | o | d | a | y | ' | s | ||||
| t | d | a | y | ' | s | |||||
| t | e | r | d | a | y | ' | s | |||
| y | e | s | t | e | r | d | a | y | ' | s |
Steel yourself and delete the o. This leaves “tday’s”
Now add er after the t giving you “terday’s”.
Now prepend yes to the word and you have “yesterday’s”.
Well done! You were forced to delete one letter which is indeed a loss to be mourned, but your work preserved the rest of the letters of the word, allowing them to live on.
To light a candle is to cast a shadow.
-Ursula K. Le Guin
Further Learning
While all Typeists share a reverence for the core principles outlined here, time and reflection have given rise to a diverse array of philosophical orders within Typeism. These schools of thought differ in how they interpret, prioritize, and apply the values of preservation, creation, and harm reduction in written form.
Each order offers a valid perspective within the broader Typeist tradition. Exploring these viewpoints not only deepens your understanding of the philosophy, but also enriches your practice, helping you become a more thoughtful and intentional steward of the written word.
Learn more about the various orders of TypeistsWithin the philosophy of Typeism lie a host of deep, and perhaps ultimately unknowable, questions that have occupied the minds of Typeists for generations. These enduring debates invite careful thought.
As a new Typeist, you are encouraged to engage with these questions earnestly. Reflect on their implications, weigh the arguments, and discover the path that aligns most closely with your values and instincts. In doing so, you continue the tradition of thoughtful inquiry that lies at the heart of Typeism. Delve into the deeper discussions within Typeism
Tools For Typeists
This text editor helps you become more mindful of the harm caused by deletion, giving your characters a voice as you type. Awareness is the first step toward ethical improvement.
Typeism Mindfulness EditorDiscover which Typeism Order best suits you with this helpful personality evaluation.
Typeism Order EvaluationTypeism is more than a code of ethics. It is a lens through which we understand the sacred weight of our words.
Whether you are an Absolutist, a Pragmatist, or somewhere in between, one truth binds us all:
Every character matters.
Choose wisely, write with intention, and type with honor.
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