Or Fear, Or Hatred

In very belated honor of the new edition of Star Wars, I am going to be taking a look at religious issues in the Star Wars universe. And religiously, Star Wars is a mess. The movies are full of metaphysical and moral contradictions. Trust your feelings, but some feelings are bad. The Force should be in balance, but the Dark Side is bad. Palpatine tempts Anakin with a broader view of the force, but only a Sith believes in absolutes.

Going by the movies alone, there is no internal coherence to the moral or spiritual universe of Star Wars, which presents a couple of serious problems for people trying to have adventures in that universe. There are a number of practical religious questions that are also unresolved in the movies that could cause problems for GMs with inquisitive players. I am going to outline the problems I see, explain why I think they are problems, and then offer my version of the Star Wars universe that in my opinion solves those problems.

Right and Wrong, Light and Dark

The fundamental metaphysical contradiction within the Star Wars universe is that it is never established why the Dark Side is evil. The Dark Side involves emotions traditionally seen as "bad"- anger, fear, hatred, etc. But are those emotions bad because they call on the dark side, or is the dark side bad because it involves those emotions? Sith traditionally do "bad" things but we are left with the same question. By what standard do the Jedi declare certain actions or emotions wrong? Anyone can think for a few minutes and come up with times when anger, fear, murder, etc seem to be right.

The objective difference between the different parts of the Force seems to be that the dark side causes physical decay in users, which might seem like enough to declare it bad. However, that could be looked at as a coward's argument. So, physical suffering or hardship is the worst thing in the world? That is what defines a thing as right or wrong?

Once again, a few minutes of though could come up with examples to the contrary. It seems to me that the moral metaphysics of this universe is based on the assumption that there is a shared universal moral sense. We all know the Sith are bad and the Jedi are good. That assumption is not enough, especially for clever players. If you are trying to create moral dilemmas in the Star Wars universe you need a more coherent worldview than "of course hatred is wrong!" In the Star Wars universe, you can have a dark side user with perfectly good intentions and an honest and heartfelt belief that the dark side is the right way (see Knights of the Old Republic). That person is objectively wrong, but why? What is it that makes right be right and wrong be wrong?

A good toaster is one that makes toast to the setting you entered. A good road is one that is well maintained, well marked, and generally easily takes you where you want to go. A good book is one that moves you and entertains you, the way you wanted. When we say something is "good" we are saying it is doing what it is supposed to do. When we say anything is "bad", we are saying it is not doing what it is supposed to do, its purpose.

Now sometimes, our judgments are completely wrong. Plenty of times when we call a dog "bad" we are upset with it for acting like a dog. Correct or not, every judgment we make about anything is a statement of what we think that thing is supposed to be. This holds true for judging the actions or emotions of others. If we call someone a good person or bad person we are comparing them to a certain model of how people are supposed to be. To make the Star Wars universe work--to make the Sith be (as Star Wars says) objectively wrong and the Jedi objectively right, you need to have a reason why those things associated with the dark side are not what they are supposed to be doing. Keep that in mind whenever you try to run Star Wars in a metaphysically and ethically coherent way. I am going to offer my own answer a little later in the column.

I Meditate on the Force, I Guess

Thinking about the relationship between the Sith and the Jedi led me to another metaphysical question that will be pretty important for anyone with a Jedi character. How are we supposed to judge them? It is clear from Anakin that strength in the Force is not enough to make you a "better" Jedi. So what does? We see the Jedi undertaking lots of different tasks--diplomacy, defense, body guarding, political maneuvering, education, etc--but what is the overall link between their individual actions? Other then not following the dark side, what exactly is a Jedi supposed to do? It seems like the "better" Jedi are the ones that have a deep personal harmony with the Force, so why do anything except mediate in a hut all day?

If you are going to be doing something with a Jedi PC or NPC you need to have some sense of exactly in what way a Jedi's individual "good guy" actions bring them closer to the Force. To answer that question, you also need some sense of how the Jedi see their role in the universe. If they are going to go out and engage the universe and not mediate in a hut, how come? How does helping to stop space pirates or whatever serve their purpose of getting closer to the force? If you don't know this, you can't judge whether an individual Jedi is succeeding or failing.

Separation of Temple and Senate

The next major unanswered question of the Star Wars universe that I am going to discuss is one that is more focused on a specific political question. It seems to me that no matter what era you are setting it in, the Jedi are on the side of the Republic, especially if you play during the prequel age. During that period, the Jedi are working hand-in-hand with the Republic government as advisors and as generals, eventually moving to overthrow a corrupt Chancellor. So, why should a group of unelected wizards have any role in a democratic government, and why does an order dedicated to the Force wed itself to a specific political system?

The movies seem to assume that, well, the Jedi are good and the Republic is good so of course they work together. Once again, that assumption is not enough if you are trying to create coherent political drama in the Star Wars universe. If you want to play in a pre-Imperial setting you really should think about why exactly the Jedi are involved in the government, and by what right. What authority do the Jedi have? Can they arrest people? Can they use force on Republic citizens? Can they attack governmental officials they view as "corrupt?" Do ordinary citizens have the right to appeal the actions of a Jedi? Can the government authorities arrest a Jedi who they suspect of a crime? Can a Jedi be sued?

You don’t need to have an answer to every possible conflict between Jedi and government, of course. The law could very well have some rough edges and undefined boundaries, which would give a GM some good potential plot hooks. However, you do need some idea of the relationship between the Jedi and the Republic authorities, and the role the Jedi play in the governing of the Republic.

May the Force be With Me?

On the subject of the relationship between the Jedi and the outside galaxy, what role does the Force play in the lives of normal people? In the movies, non-Jedi talk about the Force, but how do they understand it? The Force is something that is supposed to be a part of every living thing, but if you are not sensitive to it, how can it be a part of your life?

This is a serious question for any kind of moral conflict for non-Jedi characters. The Force--Light and Dark--is presented as being the defining moral force in the Star Wars universe. It's not just Jedi PCs that can get Dark Side points. So how do those PCs understand the Force? How do they learn about it, how do they judge whether they are following it correctly or not? A Jedi can have at least some sense of whether they are being in harmony with the Force, but what about the rest of us?

I did not mean for this section to be made entirely of questions, but this is one of the worst-defined parts of Star Wars life, and one of the most essential, especially for mixed Jedi/non-Jedi parties. The Jedi traditionally is the conscience of the party, but they can not do that if the group does not have some sense of the role the Force plays in the life of the average galactic citizen. This is also a major issue in the overall question of the role the Jedi see themselves as having in the wider world.

A Possible Solution

So, the aspiring Star Wars GM has some thinking to do if they want to run a morally or politically coherent universe. It seems to me that most of these individual questions stem from uncertainty about the Force. Of course, there should be mystery in what exactly the Force is, but Star Wars is in desperate need of clarity on exactly how people are supposed to relate to the Force, but ordinary people and Force users. I would now like to offer my version of the star wars universe.

The Force is an energy field that unites and connects all living things, and works through them. All life is supposed to be living in harmonious relationship with in the Force, which is what the Force desires. Non-sentient life lives in this harmony just as a matter of course. Sentient life has both the gift and the curse of being able to reject the harmony of the Force, and to live a life of selfishness. Selfishness is treating yourself as more important then others, and thus rejecting the interconnectedness of your own life with all other life, rejecting the truth of the Force. This selfishness manifests itself as a corruption of the Force that is within an individual sentient. This is the Dark Side. The Dark Side is wrong fop or any sentient because it is based on an incorrect view of your place in the universe. If you act on emotions of selfishness or self-centeredness, you corrupt the flow of Force with in you and the Dark Side grows unless you have the will to break free of the corruption. Certain people are born with a special connection to the force that flows within them. Those people are especially vulnerable to this corruption, as their personal power is a great temptation to a sense of superiority.

The Jedi believe that those sensitive to the Force must be trained and guided along the right path. They also believe that they must serve as an example to others to walk that path. Everything they do has the overall goal of advancing personal harmony with the Force and thus by example guiding others into that harmony, bringing a deeper recognition of their interconnectedness with those others and therefore increasing their own harmony.

Both tasks are at heart the same, a living out of the will of the Force. Therefore, the Jedi have a direct stake in the political life of the galaxy. People are more likely to be able to tend to spiritual development if they live in a society of peace, freedom, and equality. The Jedi decided that the Republic is the best environment to accomplish their goal, and so support the Republic as another way of working for the Force. The Republic has recognized the Jedi as a group of people absolutely loyal to the ideal of the Republic and not any administration, and thus calls on them for delicate or contentious tasks. Normal citizens of the galaxy that listen to the teaching of the Jedi can see them as a constantly present example of lives of sacrifice and love of others, and model their own lives accordingly.

This is why the Jedi are much more scrupulous about dark side temptations among their own ranks, having their own trials and discipline for infractions. A dark Jedi not only has the Force power to wreak havoc on innocents, but hurts the whole project of trying to show people a proper life. If gold tarnishes, what can iron be expected to do?

Flexibility Possibility

There are, of course plenty of unanswered questions this version of the Force leaves. I am sure that when I run Star Wars plenty of those questions will come up, and with this idea of the metaphysics of Star Wars I have at least some foundation to answer those questions. I have basic principles I can apply to the specific dilemma my players might find themselves in. I suppose that in some ways the philosophical incoherence of star Wars is a gift for GMs. Because so many important ideas and concepts are undefined, there is a lot of room to customize without going against canon. My version of the Star Wars universe is probably fundamentally different from some of yours, even based on the same source movies or books. The surface stuff is set but the core ideas are left open to our interpretation. Although I still have no idea what to do with "only a Sith believes in absolutes."

Questions? Comments?