End of night thoughts about the Philza and Tommy lore, which boils down to this: the characters of the dsmp are all morally gray, Tommy and Philza both come from extremely different backgrounds and the main conflict was how they contrast each other.
Tommy's beginnings had all to do about land, items, and what they represented, the weight of their symbolism was given by its inhabitants and they were willing to go to war and fight for those ideals. The disc's matter to Tommy not because it's an object, but because of the history and purpose that's behind them. Freedom, companionship, and home is one amongst many reasons why the disc's are so important to Tommy, they also remind him of the golden age of l'manburg and before everything collapsed around him.
That's why for a time Tommy was willing to out the disc's above anyone and everything else because he was clinging to a long dead memory, a phantom of the past and of the family that was either long changed or dead. The one thing that Tommy didn't, or couldn't, confront at the time was that the past is dead and gone and that his family, his home- is still there, changed and fractured, but undeniably still alive where Wilbur wasn't anymore.
There's undeniably flaws in Tommy's thinking and that's okay! Just as there's flaws in Philza's philosophy.
Philza's philosophy is one of putting people above everything else, above land, above objects, and all of the messages and purpose that might be carried- are ultimately underneath the possibility of protecting and fighting for those he loves. Philza cannot fathom a world where he would even comprehend holding objects or land above love because he's lived long enough to see all of that crumble to dust. It's something that he's done several times and he's willing to do again,
Wilbur is, and was, a man who placed himself so much in a country and message that once it started to corrupt and become a bastardized version of it, he began destroying himself with paranoid and the knowledge that everything he fought and loved was a shadow of itself. That the people he trusted were willing to betray and bring l'manburg to its knees, that his family were slowly becoming untrustworthy in his eyes as everyone else became fearful of him.
Philza has sacrificed and lost, he's placed objects and items below the ones he loves, by the simple fact he was so willing to destroy the wings that's carried him for centuries.
How heartbreaking of a choice had it have to be: to sacrifice your own wings, your own symbols of freedom and salvation, just to protect your own for a few more seconds. Philza made the ultimate choice to sacrifice an item of himself because he loves that hard, that the philosophy of placing lives above anything else is one he truly believes in.
Which is why I lead back that yes, Philza's advice for Tommy wasn't the best for situation and he's missing out on some key info. His memories and importance of land and items is so heavily skewed that it reflects in so many of his conversations with Tommy and other people on the server. Philza doesn't know of the importance of the disc's and what they represent to Tommy, yes his advice was ultimately flawed and not the best, but what the advice did have? It had care, it had purpose, it was Philza telling him that he had to strike a balance between people and ideals and to have courage with his own self.
To begin the process of trusting his own self and finding the strength that his trauma took away, that despite everything Tommy is more than the disc's.
Philza's message is one that's flawed, of course, especially when Tommy and Philza come from such different backgrounds and philosophies- but it's one that has such an interesting dynamic between them and really highlights the differences between them in both positive and negative ways!
Basically: Philza had good intentions, no matter how flawed, Tommy must reach some sort of balance while still receiving protection and and comfort, and the dsmp is one of morally gray characters
