DARK SIDE OF THE MIND: STAR WARS PSYCHOLOGY The Good, the Bad, and the Scruffy: Can We Define Good and Evil? | by Travis Langley
For reference, this book is just as much about the original trilogy as it is about the prequels, so when they use “Jedi”, they often mean Luke’s era of post-ROTJ “JedI” and just ANY Force-users.
But the bigger point–and why I think this is an interesting point to make, as something we’ve seen a lot of in canon–is that this is why control of one’s emotions is so important. Not to suppress them or deny them (because the Jedi have explicitly said that’s not what they’re teaching) but to control them.
And we see why–just a couple of examples here!–Ezra’s fear causes the fyrnocks to attack:
A powerful Force-user like Darth Vader is able to straight up KNOCK AHSOKA TANO OUT, who has been trained and is strong in the Force as well:
And there are loads of examples of how we see people leaving their feelings–both good and bad–in the air and world around them. The Force isn’t just something that allows the Jedi to lift rocks or catch glimpses of the future–it’s how they connect to the entire galaxy. It’s how they see the world around them, the people around them, the life around them. It’s how they feel, it’s how they parse things, it’s how they think.
It puts them in psychic connection with those around them (to varying degrees, of course) and this is why you need to have control. This is why getting drunk off the Force and the emotions around you is a genuine danger and could allow you to hurt yourself and others very badly.
Feelings linger–Luke still feels Rey in the stone seat she sat on, thoughts and feelings imprint into the kyber crystals and become part of the blade, Luke can feel the anger roiling off Kylo Ren into the Force around them, this is how a Sith bleeds a kyber crystal–and echo and amplify everything.
If a Jedi were to let themselves run wild, if they stopped having control over themselves, it’s like getting drunk off the Force and thinking you’re still totally in control. And that’s what Depa and Mace and Obi-Wan are all teaching.
You know, with all the language throughout Star Wars about “giving in” to the Dark Side, how the Dark Side makes you more powerful, how the Dark Side makes you age strangely and destroys you, it sure doesn’t sound like an “opposite side of the coin” so much as the “deeper end of the pool,” like it’s actually the true form of the force and being a Jedi is about keeping it tamed so it doesn’t eat you the way it actually wants.
the force is entropy
Eldritch Jedi pls
This is one of the reasons i love the second Knights of the Old Republic game, wherein one of the major characters (who defines herself neither as Jedi nor Sith) actually views the Force this way, saying “I hate the Force. I hate that it seems to have a will, that it would control us to achieve some measure of balance, when countless lives are lost.”
It’s also the game that gave us the two most entropic, eldritch characters in the franchise: Darth Nihilus, whose dark-side-borne ability to feed on the Force and consume life itself has twisted him into a half-living “wound in the Force”, more presence than flesh
and Darth Sion, whose entire body is a ruin, his flesh nothing but ragged scar tissue, every bone and muscle broken and torn, kept animated by will alone as he forces himself, second by agonizing second, to exist
I wish there were more horrifying perspectives on the force like that
This is one of the reasons the term “Light Side” never felt right to me, even before it was used in any official media; The Force always struck me more like an ocean than a binary concept: the deeper you go, the darker and more crushing it gets — at a certain point becoming an effectually consistent darkness — and while light filters down and fades for some distance, if there is a truly light “side” it’d be the surface.
Which isn’t to say “the Force is evil unless you flounder about near the top” — just that it’s a natural force, and as such is something you need to respect and be adequately prepared for. (Take electricity, for example: super awesome and pretty dang useful, but OH HOLY SMOKES don’t try and harness it unless you REALLY know what you’re doing!)
In this sense, being tempted by the Dark Side is less a case of “Hey, I wonder what’s on the other side of this coin it looks pretty cool haha oh whoops I’m Space Walter White now,” and more one of “The deeper into this thing you go, the harder you’ll need to fight to resist the ever-increasing pressure, to remain whole, even to just see whatever the heck you’re actually doing.”
(which is why Jedi training is so important: those padawans gotta build themselves a mental Deepsea Challenger!)
THIS META BLESSED ME
Okay but let’s suppose, for a moment, that the Force is actually malevolent.
That would make a lot of sense.
Consider, for a moment, an eldritch parasite. This ancient being feeds off of the life-force of other creatures. Not that unusual, as most living things also consume other living things, to various degrees. But this one is technically somewhat removed from the usual structures of biology. It is a passive and opportunistic predator, for the most part. Whenever a living being that is connected to it – however weakly – dies, it consumes part of its energy, and gets bigger.
As life in the galaxy flourishes, and time passes, this singular entity gets bigger, and bigger, and bigger. Like a catfish; the only limit to its growth is how much it can consume to fuel it. The larger it gets, the more it is able to sink its invisible claws into other living beings, until eventually there is hardly any life out there which hasn’t been ‘infected’ by it, and slated to become its spiritual dinner as soon as its biological form gives out.
And here we actually come to – of all things – the midichlorians. Which, the Jedi use to measure someone’s sensitivity to the Force, which works because midichlorians are the vehicle for the predatory parasite to infest living beings. The immune systems in some people begin to develop a certain degree of resistance to them, which is why some folks have more, and some have less, and this directly correlates to their Force sensitivity. The more midichlorians you have, the worse your immune system is at fending off the parasite.
The Force counters the risk of being bred out of subsequent generations by developing camouflage, and adapting itself into a more seemingly-symbiotic relationship with its prey.
What the Jedi see as the ‘light side’ of the Force, is a reflective layer that this predator has created via its connection to all living things. This network is the honey trap that encourages the beings still strongly connected to it, to spread that connection, because it affords them advantages while they are still alive. But its elements are comprised mostly of echoes and reflections of their fellow prey organisms. Force Ghosts that resemble the departed. Emotions that are transmitted along this layer and between individuals. Small amounts of power that can be siphoned off to impact the environment, and can also spread the Force to whatever living thing it comes into contact with.
This being is huge now, it needs a lot of juice in order to maintain its existence, let along continue to grow. And like most predators it’s willing to expend a certain amount of energy in order to guarantee a bigger pay-off.
The deeper you go into the Force, the more the Force starts exerting its own will through you. And the less you see of the reflected camouflage of it, and the more apparent it becomes that the Force wants large swaths of death to feed it. Which is why Dark Siders often become so preoccupied with things like Death Stars.
But it’s a balancing act. A large population of relatively peaceful Force sensitives, like the Jedi, cost more than they’re worth, because beyond a point they take too much energy from the Force and don’t kill enough people to pay for it. A single individual abusing their powers for self-gain and murdering left and right, though, accomplishes the goal of feeding it. The Force obviously doesn’t want its food supply to die out completely, but this explains the persistent cycles of the Star Wars universe – as a soon as a group of peaceful Force users becomes prominent, they get wiped out by a few Dark Siders who have tread too deeply past the reflective surface of the Force, and become actual vessels for its will.
And then when the Dark Siders have finished killing a whole bunch of people, it’s time for them to go, too, so that they don’t wipe out the entire populace and kill off the Force’s food supply beyond its ability to reasonably recover. The peaceful types then see an upswing, as they are more adept at spreading the Force. So the cycle goes – Jedi spread the Force, Sith kill the Jedi and feed the Force, Jedi kill the Sith and resume spreading the Force. It’s a planting and harvest cycle, and the galaxy is populated with the Force’s living spirit crops. Anakin Skywalker, who was arguably one of the beings most closely connected to the Force, and had an extremely high midichlorian count, basically lived this cycle in its entirety as an individual – he spread the Force as a Jedi, he killed people as a Sith, and then he ended it all in order to preserve his progeny for the next round.
tl;dr – the Force wants to eat your soul. The reason the ‘light side’ types always get so up in their own asses is because what they perceive as the Force is basically their own reflections dangling in front of them like an angler fish’s lure. The reason the ‘dark side’ types get so messed up is because they’re basically the equivalent of those grasshoppers who get infected with a parasite that makes them drown themselves.
This point of view would actually explain both No-Attachment rule and the Order’s cradle-robbing – some more self-aware Jedi saw the Force for what it is and pushed for a rule that potentially would cut births of Force-sensitive kids to a bare minimum. And those who were born Force-sensitive thanks to a quirk of the Force are to be taken from the society in the quickest way possible before they mess up, given tools to keep it at bay, and indoctrinated to never want to dabble in the deeper ends of their ability. It would also explain the whole debacle of Unifying vs Living Force and why Jedi seem to prefer the former – all of the description of the Living Force I came across present it as more ever changing, nearly organic entity and Jedi that use is as more responsive to its nudges, so potentially more inclined to being “corrupted” by it.
Yes, Jedi can go for a
long time without sleep, food or rest. Most of them can push themselves beyond
the normal limits of the human body but to go without sleep or food for a
really long period (years) was something most Jedi could not achieve.
[Obi-wan] drew himself
into an alert meditative state. For the last couple of years, Obi-Wan had tried to cut down on his need
to sleep. While all of the Jedi he knew slept, he had heard that some did not.
He was certain that meditative alertness performed all the functions of sleep,
and would give him time to examine his own thoughts at their deepest levels, to
maintain vigilance. [Greg Bear. Rogue Planet]
[Anakin] started
crawling again, once more ignoring the hot, quivering protests of strained
muscle and sinew. Refusing to acknowledge his dry mouth and throat, the
headache behind his eyes, the voracious rumbling in his gut. The Force would sustain him a little while
yet. [Karen Miller. Clone Wars Gambit: Stealth]
How many days ago had that been? [Anakin]
couldn’t remember. Not many. When you don’t sleep, days smear together into a
haze of fatigue so deep it becomes a physical pain. The Force could keep him
upright, keep him moving, keep him thinking, but it could not give him rest. Not that he wanted rest. Rest might
bring sleep. What sleep might bring, he could not bear to know. [Matthew
Stover. Revenge of the Sith]
But this force ability
was not without consequences:
To his great relief,
Obi-Wan managed a faint chuckle. “No. It’s all right. Truth be told, I’m
hungry, too. It’s unfortunate but it can’t be helped. We’ll manage.” Of course they would. They’d manage by
drawing on the Force to fuel them. Which it would, but at a steep cost to their
overstretched bodies. And when the inevitable crash came afterward it was going
to be messy. “I can cope with the burnout,” Anakin said. “But what about
you?” [Karen Miller. Clone Wars Gambit: Stealth]
The war made them push
themselves more than usual so we could say most Jedi were sleep-deprived and
eating poorly during that time. but they manage to keep their strength up by
using the Force. In Anakin’s case, this is particularly true as he lost weight
and, by his own admission, hadn’t slept properly in years.
[Anakin] was badly
distracted and full of unease. His
dearly familiar Jedi tunic looked just a little too loose on him, as though
he’d recently lost some weight. The war’s wearing him down. He takes it so
personally. He wants to fix everything that’s broken. He thinks that’s his job.
[Karen Miller. Clone Wars Gambit: Stealth]
“I—no. No, I’m all
right.” Anakin sank gratefully into a dangerously comfortable chair. “I’m
just—a little tired, that’s all.” “Not sleeping well?” “No.” Anakin offered an
exhausted chuckle. “I haven’t been
sleeping well for a few years, now.” [Matthew Stover. Revenge of the Sith]
PS: Despite using the
force to sustain himself, Anakin didn’t enjoy going hungry for a very particular
reason.
If he said hungry,
Obi-Wan would throw something at him. But he was. [Anakin] was ravenous. And he hated, hated, feeling hungry. The sensation
stirred too many memories. Distracted him with the past when he needed his mind
on the present. [Karen Miller. Clone Wars Gambit: Stealth]
Yeah, that’s
pretty much it. From I understand, the
force has two aspects – Living and Unifying – the cosmic Force is a part of the Unifying
force.
“All that surrounds us is the foundation of
life, the birthplace of what your science calls midi-chlorians, the foundation
of what connects the Living Force and the Cosmic Force.” TCW [06×12]
“Forgive me. I had to be certain. According
to Jedi Offee, the enhanced connection with the Force is potentially so
powerful that, were it to fall into the wrong hands, the results could be
cataclysmic. She felt that it opened a channel to what she referred to as
the Cosmic Force. I assume you know what she was referring to.” Jax
nodded, lost in thought. Most philosophers and students of the Force, including
many members of the erstwhile Council, believed that the Force was above
intellectual concepts of good and evil, and that the terms light side and dark
side constituted nothing more than a merism. Nevertheless, many also felt a
case could be made for viewing the Force, as it was generally understood and
utilized, as a subset of a grander and all-pervasive unifying principle. It
was this “living Force” that was the aspect most Jedi—and most Sith as
well—were familiar with. If one’s connection with it was strong enough, one
could accomplish what seemed to most folk to be miracles: telekinesis, healing
abilities, supernal strength, speed and stamina, even a certain amount of
precognition. But, according to the Old Teachings, this was only one
aspect of a greater whole, much as one planar surface represented only a
fraction of a hypergem’s multidimensional wonders, known variously as the
unifying, cosmic, or greater Force. One connected with the greater Force
only through a lifetime of meditation and sacrifice, but the reward of doing so
was, it was said, a unification with all of space and time, an ability to
manipulate matter and energy on the most elemental levels … even, it was said
by some, the ability to throw off the shackles of the flesh in favor of an
immortal body of energy. [Coruscant Nights II: Street of Shadows by Michael
Reaves]
It seems the Cosmic force has become just another name for Unifying
Force.The cosmic Force was mentioned for the first time in one comic 1977
(before the movie came out) and then only in 2009 in Michael Reaves books. He
is the only EU writer who used that concept until TCW’s season 6 but by then
Disney owned SW and the topic was no longer explored in the EU. Pre-Disney manuals
only mention the Living Force and the Unifying Force. On the other hand, Disney’s
canon only uses the term “Cosmic Force”. Since Disney scrapped the entire EU
but not TCW, they picked the term that was actually mentioned in “their” canon.that explains some of the mess, i guess.
Yes, same
here. Luke’s Jedi Order is everything the PT!Order wasn’t. Luke was a healthy
and balanced individual and he created a healthy and balanced organization.
He
understood the power of love, friendship, family, loyalty, etc. So he built an
Order focused on these ideals. It also makes sense thematically; Luke outgrew
his teachers so it makes sense for his Order to be better than theirs. Instead of
making their old mistakes again and again (murder, scheming, politics, etc),
Luke created something new, something better proving his way – the truly
compassionate and honest way – was the better one.
“The evolution of sentience reflects the
constant movement between those two poles. Evil—the dark side—won’t be
eradicated until it has been discarded as an option for acquiring power,
subjugating would-be opponents, or offsetting feelings of anger, envy, or
exclusion. Where victims of injustice
exist, the dark side finds initiates. That is the cycle our actions are
meant to forestall, and in this battle the Force is both our ally and our
guardian. We serve it best by listening to its will, and serving the good with
our every action—by personifying the Force. But I’m no longer convinced that we’re meant to police the galaxy. For
one thing, we’re too few in number. That was made evident early in the war, and
it’s likely to hold true for whatever conflicts erupt in the coming years. The
Jedi began as a meditative order. Our forebears believed that they could
balance light and dark by remaining always in the Force, and thereby perfecting
themselves. Gradually, however, as the
Supreme Chancellors appealed to the Order time and again for advice in
resolving disputes, the Jedi became adjuncts of the Old Republic, then marshals
and warriors, taking it upon themselves to uphold the peace, and little by
little being drawn away from the Force and into the mundane. I don’t propose that we place ourselves in
seclusion and pass our days meditating on the Force—though that might be the
path for some of us. But I do advocate attuning ourselves to the longer view,
and reaching out to others who seek to serve the Force.The genetic makeup of each and every one of
us augments our ability to tap the Force, but everyone, regardless of his or
her genetics, has the potential to use the Force to one degree or another.
Perhaps not to move rocks and take giant strides; but in some sense those
physical powers are little more than surface effects. The real powers are more
subtle, for they involve adhering to the true path, avoiding the temptation to
dominate, sacrificing oneself for those who have less, and living impeccably,
by recognizing that the Force doesn’t flow from us but through us, ever on the
move. Like our damaged galaxy, the new Jedi order will require generations to
define itself. [James Luceno. The Unifying Force]
Luke
Skywalker is awesome. He created an Order that allowed love (all types of
love), that didn’t control knowledge, that fostered creativity, humility,
compassion, independence and the sense of personal responsibility in all it’s
students. He didn’t took babies from their parents. He recognized the necessity for accountability and that the Force
didn’t belong to the Jedi Order.
No. The
Force has no conscience, it just is. It’s part of nature, not some omnipotent and
omniscient entity. The “will of the Force” is something the Jedi (and most
force-sensitives groups) came up to explain their relationship with the Force.
If something happened that had no logical explanation they knew of, it was the
will of the Force, if they needed justify their actions it was the will of the
force, etc.
Experimenting
with the Force, in most cases, is considered wrong because the Jedi said so. Many groups deal
with the Force their own way, the ones the Jedi Order deems tolerable are allow
to keep existing. The ones they consider wrong are destroyed (the Sith). But,
to be fair, the Sith used the Force for some pretty nasty things and the Force,
being part of nature of the galaxy, was more than just something to
experimented on indiscriminately. Too much meddling could lead to the entire
galaxy to dangerous places.
And then
the Jedi declared that to be born with Force powers was not a gift or a curse.
They insisted it was a calling. They
proclaimed the Force should never be used for selfish purposes, that all
Force-sensitive beings were obligated to use their powers for the benefit of
others. Many Force users joined the Jedi Order, but the Jedi were not
satisfied with their numbers. They
sought out the so-called wizards and demons, and gave them three options. Join
the Jedi, cease using Force powers, or die. [Darh Maul in Ryder Windham’s
The wrath of Darth Maul]
The Jedi
Order politicized the Force to keep their control over the galaxy. They had a
Force monopoly going on. They mixed politics with religion and things slowly
got mixed up. it got to a point they no longer could separate their political
goals from their religious ones. The will of the Senate/Council became the will
of the Force. Something that
was used to explain coincidences became a justification of the Council’s
decisions.
There isn’t
much scientific experimentation with the Force within the Jedi Order because they
prohibited, because it serves their political goals better.
“As Jedi learn more about the Force, it is
not unusual for them to form their own theories about how and why it works. They
question how, if the Force creates and sustains life, it can have a dark side.
Some arrive at the conclusion that the Force is not divided into dark and
light, that its energy is inherently positive, and that there is no “dark side”
waiting to corrupt them. Time and again, this conclusion has been proved
erroneous, and the Jedi who felt
compelled to test the limits of the Force rarely perceived the dangers of their
explorations. As they approached the brink of the dark side, some were
rescued by other Jedi or came back willingly when they saw the error of their
ways. Those who refused to renounce
their mistaken the beliefs were either exiled to the farthest reaches of the
galaxy, or destroyed.[Ryder’s Windham’s Jedi vs. Sith: The
Essential Guide to the Force]
The “balance” was another example of force-sensitives politicizing the
Force. The Sith wanted a chosen one to kill all the Jedi and the Jedi wanted a
chosen one to kill all the sith. But, truth is, the Force did balance itself
out when it created Anakin. the Sith vs Jedi conflict was political. Anakin
existence was enough, he didn’t HAVE to become a sith or a Jedi. all they had
to do was let nature take its course, you know, follow the “will of the Force”.
[Plagueis] had to see this Anakin Skywalker
for himself; had to sense him for himself. He had to know if the Force had
struck back again, nine years earlier, by
conceiving a human being to restore balance to the galaxy. […] There was
still a chance that the Council would decide that Anakin was too old to be
trained as a Jedi. That way, assuming he was returned to Tatooine … But if
not … If Qui-Gon managed to sway the Council Masters, and they
reneged on their own dictates …
Plagueis ran a hand over his forehead. Are we undone? he thought. Have you
undone us? [James Luceno. Darth Plagueis]
Plagueis knew enough to understand Anakin didn’t have to become a sith
or a Jedi to be a threat and do his job, something the Jedi never figured out
because they were too busy forcing Anakin to be exactly like them.
Raf's rants 