The Philosophy of the Sith | An Examination of the Dark Side (Star Wars)

I believe that a fusion of both light and dark is needed. One isnt a slave just because you care for others, and one is not merely evil just because they are focusing on themselves. Black and white thinking is foolishness. It must flow together.

Obi-wan: “Only a Sith deals in absolutes” That statement in itself is an absolute

Ironically Anakin pursued power and became a sith at least in part because he was seeking greater freedom—he felt restricted and inhibited by the Jedi, and he was haunted by his childhood experiences in slavery—and to free himself from fear of loss, another remnant from his troubled childhood. But by becoming a sith he found only slavery to the dark side and even greater loss.

The Philosophy of the Sith is like the embodiment of ''You are the captain of your own ship.'' or "Your mind is a battlefield. Be its commander, not its soldier" or ''Putting yourself above others.'' which have positive advantages because it encourages individuals to stand up for yourselves, build self-reliance and freedom of choice.

Jedi and Sith Philosophy is one of the reasons why I think Star Wars is such a well written story

The sith would honestly be unstoppable if they learn how to control their emotions and their lust for power that would lead them to their downfall. That’s why in my opinion, count dooku was such a powerful character; he is able to use busted force abilities like more aggressive lightsaber forms and force lighting while having the discipline and control to not let himself get too corrupted by the dark side. Unlike most sith, he was able to make rational decisions and not get himself into the inevitable death of all sith from their uncontrolled lust for power.

Darth Vectivus is one of my favorite characters because even though he’s a sith he’s balanced and uses the dark side without letting it consume him. He also still felt and showed compassion and care for his loved ones. Proof that not all dark side users are evil.

"Good is a point of view, Anakin..." this single line from Palpatine summarises the reasons behind the whole Jedi-Sith conflict. We view the Jedi as good because the movies are told from a 'jedi-friendly' point of view. Would be amazing to have a movie with a Sith point of view.

In order to understand how good you are, you need to realize how evil you could be.

Kreia is the embodiment of Nietzsche's philosophy in SW. She's a brilliantly written character that deconstructs the tenets if Star Wars itself.

I always found it funny that Plagueis and Sidious were so hung up on the idea that the Dark Side can be Concentrated , as if it was venom, by limiting the # of Dark Side practitioners. Vitiate was at least as powerful as Tenebrous or Plagueis, yet the Sith Emperor lived and reigned at a time when powerful Dark Siders existed in the thousands ! Plagueis just comes out and states this rationale for the Rule of Two, but not even Bane offered anything resembling a factual basis for such a belief. His reasons for instituting the Rule of Two was simply a common-sense recognition that Dark Siders would always and invariably consider other Dark Siders rivals who threatened their own power. Bane was just trying to prevent a repeat of the clusterfuck that was the Brotherhood of Darkness. (Ie: When the Sith become the enemy of good order throughout the galaxy in a highly visible manner , the Jedi are invariably given a mandate to direct the Reoublic’s resources against the Sith.) The TLDR version? Bane’s Rule of Two was intended to ensure there wouldn’t be a horde of militant, highly competent/experienced Jedi Lords/Ladies to resist Sith aggression. All this “The Dark Side is more powerful when less people use it” is nothing but blind cultish mysticism.

Jedi = Freedom of the Mind, freedom from concern Sith = Freedom of Choice, freedom to live & be true to oneself

In my 20s, I behaved like a Sith, or at least like Dionysus: Work the hardest, get the most toys, Play harder, Win at all costs, and Feel everything! In my 40s, I behaved like a Jedi: Stay Calm, Find Peace, Renounce possessions, Winning isn't real, Accomplish Logic. Now, I'm almost 50 and just try to synthesize the two into Wisdom.✌🎋

I love this concept, David Goggins has something similar which he calls "Going into the Dark Room" to find yourself and I agree, the Darkness is exactly what I need and it's helped me make some of my biggest strides. Love your channel, bro!

“There is more to the force than restraining its power within the bounds of a moral framework.” This is such a good breakdown & gave me so much more to dig into. Awesome job!

Ahsoka was right to leave the Jedi order. This decision, in my opinion, demonstrated that there is a flaw in what the Jedi taught and believed. Ahsoka had the disadvantage (advantage?) of being Anakin's student. He was constantly emphasizing his desire to protect those he was close to. Ahsoka, in fact, was taught in the final finale episode of TCW, recently released, to defend against a massive clone attack. Anakin was making sure she had what she needed, because he already knew subconsciously, or through the force, what was going to happen, and he wanted to protect her. Ahsoka, like Anakin, cared about her friends and had attachments, which was probably an error in training she inherited from Anakin. This was not allowed in the Jedi order. The Jedi were stoic, and attachment was not allowed. However, Ahsoka had compassion for all life, AND she had deep attachment to her friends. That was the conflict with the Jedi teachings that drove her away. Anakin had attachment to his friends ABOVE the lives of others. He fell and became Vader because he was willing to sacrifice any other life to keep those he wanted to protect alive. This is an anachronism, and directly related to his desire to control (partly due to the lack of control he had as a slave). Ahsoka, however, realized that all life was important, and to be valued. She did not have the traumatic upbringing that Anakin had. But she also cared about her friends and had attacents. In some ways, her views were more pure than those of the Jedi order. She had attachments, and love, but was able to see all life as valuable and not let her attachments take priority. Love, that's an important part of life. If you can't love, how can you truly value life.

I know that it isn't displayed much in the movies, but the videos games such as KOTOR I and KOTOR II really hone in on the philosophical concepts behind the dark and light.

The flame in the void is a concept in the Wheel of Time novels. There's a flame burning in a calm void in your mind. You feed your passions into this flame but contain it in the calm place. You fuel your focus with passions but through containment don't allow them to overcome you. Sith and Jedi philosophies are the Yin and Yang, the active and passive which compliment each other. Without their compliments, both paths lead to an end, whether ruin or stagnation.

I feel like Qui Gon is the only one who got it right. The light side is the balance we should all pursue in our lives, but we should also love and care for others we hold dearly, without falling to complete infatuation/obsession. We must be compassionate, but whole on our own.

What an exquisite analysis, two of the things that I love the most, Star Wars and Philosophy, bonded in one incredible video.