A Sith Lord Deals in Pragmatism
I read this article last night. I thought it was a pretty good philosophical take on Star Wars Episode III. I pretty much agree with him. I think Yoda was morally confused, and I've already said what I think about the whole "absolutes" argument. I say check 2 Nephi 10:16 or Matt 12:30 to see who really "deals in absolutes."
What do you think?
Check it out: http://www.freecolorado.com/2005/05/sith.html
posted by Ryan @ 6/06/2005 08:53:00 AM
4 comments
4 Comments:
Interesting article, but I don't agree with all of it. While the whole argument about the "Only a Sith deals in absolutes" might have some merit to it, the rest of the article is misguided.
First of all, the author's argument regarding Yoda's advice to Anakin is misguided. The author says:
"Yet the advice he [Yoda] gives to Anakin is terrible, reprehensible...it is apparent that Yoda's bad advice helps to push Anakin to the Dark Side."
I don't see where Yoda gave Anakin "bad" advice. Yoda gave Anakin the advice that any Jedi would've given to him. You have to remember that Jedi aren't supposed to love, because "there is no passion; there is calm". So, that's just part of being a Jedi.
Secondly, Anakin doesn't tell Yoda that he fears his wife will die during childbirth. Anakin never mentions a wife or childbirth. Yoda's advice to "feel glad when a loved one dies" is not that far off from what Church leaders have counciled us regarding death and funerals. So I don't see a problem there.
Then the author goes on to state that Yoda should've told Anakin that love should be cherished and that to help his wife, Anakin should act morally. Well, again, Jedi aren't supposed to be in love or have a wife, so that isn't advice a dedicated Jedi Master like Yoda would dish out. I'm not saying that love shouldn't be cherished. Of course it should. You just have to remember that in the movie and the Jedi universe, they have a different set of morals and guidelines than what we have in real life. No one says you have to like it or agree with it, but realizing that fact helps to understand the movie. Especially Yoda's advice.
Thirdly, Yoda tells Anakin to embrace subjectivism...nope, not buying that one either. Yes, Yoda tells Anakin to listen to his feelings; to trust his conscience. That's what the Gospel tells us to do also. But just as the Gospel contains scripture and Prophets by which we can gauge our feelings, so does the Jedi Order (in its own way). There's the Jedi Code and Jedi Masters who could've all helped guide Anakin. But in the end, we all have to make the final decision ourselves. That's what Anakin did. But he based his decision solely on his feelings, while disregarding everything else could have helped him come to the right decision.
The rest of the article is pretty good. The author makes a few good points. However, the above sections that I've already commented on are more or less the bulk of the article, so there's not a lot left that really impresesd me.
The fact that this “Jedi universe” has a different set of morals than exist in real life is exactly the point that I’d like to make. That’s exactly why I agree with the author of the article and why I disagree with Yoda, and the line from Obi-Wan. I don’t believe that the movie (or any movie at all) should make up its own morals. Now they can make up their own universe, their own aliens, their own worlds, their own cultures, and some movies can even get away with making their own laws of physics and other sciences (it’s really cool when they do it right). I’m fine with all of that. What I find particularly distasteful, however, is when movies make up their own morals. That’s what disgusts me, and is the reason why there are lots of movies that faithful members should not watch. Now, Star Wars is in no way an extreme case of this. I thought it was a really cool movie, and so I watched it two times in the same week. I just think, like the author of the article, that there are a few contradictory philosophies and silly lines mixed in.
So, when I judge what is said by the Jedi or Master Yoda, I am doing it from the viewpoint of real life morals, and not some made-up “Jedi universe” morals, which I don’t think should be any different. The Star Wars movies have typically in the past had some really cool parallelisms to the fight between Good and Evil, which we believe is very real. They show true heroism and virtue contrasted with betrayal and darkness. The story was so captivating, in my opinion, because it gave a beautifully imagined adventure backed up with solid morals and ethics. I think we’re agreed that the line from Obi-Wan was pretty contradictory with everything, and was sort of a silly little potshot at the President. I’ve read some other people’s comments about it, and some of them come up with a big explanation that goes deep into the Star Wars story, which is fine if you have the imagination for it. However, I agree mostly with the author of the article when he says that Yoda gave unhelpful advice to Anakin.
It is true that Anakin never told Yoda about Padme, so he couldn’t have given him advice about her. The advice he did give went something like this: “Train yourself to let go of everything you fear to lose.” I disagree with that. I don’t think he said, “feel glad when a loved one dies.” But even if he did, it is definitely not what Church leaders tell us to do; that would be something more like, “be comforted in your mourning, because you will once again be reunited with your loved one(s).” I don’t believe that letting go of everything we fear to lose will solve anything. I rather believe that “perfect love casteth out all fear.” I think the two ideas are different. Now I realize that Yoda is not a Mormon, and that little differences of opinion will happen in any movie that is based around a different kind of religion with different ideals, but I think that the core morals across all religions should be basically the same. All I’m saying is that for the most part I agreed with all of the philosophical things that the Jedi’s said, and this new introduction of Jedi philosophy strays from what I believe. I believe that better advice could have been given to Anakin.
I do agree with Jason about the “look to your feelings” being pretty close to the doctrine of a conscience or the Holy Ghost.
One other thing that bugs me about the original trilogy is the fact that after murdering millions upon millions of men, women, and children, and destroying a planet, yet Darth Vader saves his son at the last minute and secures a nice spot in Jedi-Heaven right next to Yoda and Obi-Wan. “Hey, sorry about Alderaan guys.” Gotta love those “Jedi universe” morals.
Despite what others have said, I don't think that the Jedi have "made up" morals. There are plenty of real life groups and organizations which hold quite similar views to the Jedi when it comes to emotions (monks, buddhist priests, etc). They all believe in self-sacrificing love to an extreme in order to serve society (in some form). So, I don't agree that the Jedi have "made up" morals. The morals are real and held by some groups today still. Now, I don't hold to all Jedi morals, but like Ryan said, most of them are good and wise. The whole not loving thing is definetly not one of them.
Did Yoda give Anakin unhelpful advice? Sure, from Anakin's point of view (and ours). Was it the only advice that Yoda would've given at that point in his life? Yes, it was. That was part of what Yoda understood as being a Jedi.
By the way, I never said that the Church leaders council us to "let go of everything [we] fear to lose” or “feel glad when a loved one dies.” Of course we should all mourn when one we care about dies. That's natural. They do tell us, however, to "be of good cheer" because we'll be reunited in the future. I believe Ryan said that, so I'm agreeing...with both of us.
James brings up a good point about both the Sith and Jedi being at the extreme and therefor wrong. Good reminder to us all to stay moderate in all things (especially ice cream from the creamery) so that we don't get swept away into a faction of some sorts. That's when we loose the big picture.
And to end my comment, I'd like to announce that I just finished reading "Star Wars: Vision of the Future" and that Luke Skywalker is getting married. It only took him 15 years...
Vision of the Future is indeed a Timothy Zahn novel. It's part of a duology, the first being Specter of the Past. Good books, if you're into Star Wars.
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