Jedi and Sith: What's the Difference?

[Valiens Nantaris]

He is a clown.

 

[Flint Pherson]

• The Unifying Force Theory:
  As this theorizes that there is not a Light or Dark Side of the Force? The differences are just a cosmetic matter of perspective, attitude, and tradition.

[*]The Polarizing Force Theory:

• As this theorizes that there is a Light and a Dark Side of the Force? The differences are as massive as Black and White, Good and Evil, Right and Wrong, and so forth.

And one should note that the whole genre itself changes based on Author. Thus, there is no consistency. Please send all your complaints to Disney Corp. Thanks.

 

[Daxton Bane]

Strictly speaking there is only the Force. Neither good nor evil. The labels and by their extension is based on the interpretation of how the force was used in the first place.

For example: For most people Darth Sidious was an 'evil' Sith, Ruler of a Galactic Empire that sought to subjugate millions. Yet people tend to forget that he was elected Supreme Chancellor by the people themselves. He did not start a military coup, he did not seize power, no it was freely given to him.

I know there will be those who say he controlled the senate. Bah Jedi Mind Tricks. First off, no force user has the capability to control that many minds for that long a period of time. He brought order to the Universe, something which is not in line with the traditional accepted practice of 'evil' or the 'Sith'

Yoda, one of the few surviving masters, fled into exile. Hardly what you would call heroic or even good. So in essence Sith and Jedi are just differing labels to brand the same Force.

 

[Flint Pherson]

^

He is using "The Unifying Force Theory" here. As you can see Sandis. It varies by author.

 

[Sandis Veeran]

Strictly speaking there is only the Force. Neither good nor evil. The labels and by their extension is based on the interpretation of how the force was used in the first place.

For example: For most people Darth Sidious was an 'evil' Sith, Ruler of a Galactic Empire that sought to subjugate millions. Yet people tend to forget that he was elected Supreme Chancellor by the people themselves. He did not start a military coup, he did not seize power, no it was freely given to him.

I know there will be those who say he controlled the senate. Bah Jedi Mind Tricks. First off, no force user has the capability to control that many minds for that long a period of time. He brought order to the Universe, something which is not in line with the traditional accepted practice of 'evil' or the 'Sith'

Yoda, one of the few surviving masters, fled into exile. Hardly what you would call heroic or even good. So in essence Sith and Jedi are just differing labels to brand the same Force.

This. This wins the internet for best answer yet.

 

[Sandis Veeran]

Another thing to back up this theory, though, is that all the Sith, when trying to convert a Jedi to their side, say, "Search your feelings."
Dem feels, man, dem feels.

 

[Flint Pherson]

Sounds like you've figured it out for yourself. Good job. Now your ready to jump in and start swimming. Have fun!

 

[Sandis Veeran]

Ha, thanks Flint. Even with the emoticon I can't unsee Commander Lasky when I think of you.

 

[Flint Pherson]

You even got the Rank right from the picture. Sexy. Because he wasn't a Captain yet in that image. Good show.

 

[Sandis Veeran]

Are you kidding me? I love Forward Unto Dawn, I love HALO. I actually just watched it again on Netflix.

 

[Sandis Veeran]

P.S. points for calling me sexy

 

[Daxton Bane]

I have never said Search your Feelings in my life Fillings on the other hand is a totally different story altogether.

 

[Sandis Veeran]

 

[Disciple]

Probably because your hands are all screwed up.

 

[Darron Wraith]

Sith focus only on themselves, doing whatever they can to accomplish what they want. Jedi simply focus outwards, and do what's best for everyone. They sacrifice and take the hard road, whereas the Sith take shortcuts for greater power.

 

[Disciple]

I'll shortcut my foot up you- stopping now.

 

[Teynara Jeralyr]

Sith focus only on themselves, doing whatever they can to accomplish what they want. Jedi simply focus outwards, and do what's best for everyone. They sacrifice and take the hard road, whereas the Sith take shortcuts for greater power.

I'm going to be honest and say I disagree there - what I rarely hear anyone ask is why the Sith do that. Is it just because they're all power-hungry egomaniacs with a touch of Force ability? I've always felt that the Sith ultimately had a greater goal (one that Palpatine came close to realising, for all his sadistic lunacy), in that the Sith believe themselves gifted and superior by virtue, not only of their Force abilities, but through the insight that the Force gives them. There's that sense of Natural Selection thrown in, with the Sith being an extension: the weak perish, the strong survive and thrive. The Sith seem to believe that their duty is to rule, impose order upon the Galaxy and create a system where strength is cherished and nurtured, to make all stronger. My inclination is to say that the Sith might even seek to serve the Galaxy as a whole, altruistically, but get caught up and corrupted by the means they use to achieve this i.e. allow themselves to be driven by passion, exist via ruthless action and ultimately have to kill, maim and fight to survive and reach the pinnacles of power.

When the Jedi say "the Dark Side is corrupting", I'm not convinced they mean that the Force corrupts - rather, it is the philosophies and methodologies viewed as being 'of the Dark Side' that are. Use of emotion to fuel one's connection to the Force ultimately leads to one eventually either losing control of those emotions or simply enjoying them (and, imagine, if you use anger/rage etc in battle and are forced to kill, doesn't the positive feeling derived from your own survival feed into a continuation of that?), and the ruthless means by which the Sith seek power (i.e. only the strong are truly deserving of power) ultimately end up forcing them into a self-perpetuating cycle which ensures that they will never remain a dominant force for long - because, even once they've achieved their goals, they either focus on toppling one-another from power OR get taken by an external force (e.g. the Rebellion) who dislike their methods of imposing order and stability.

From my perspective, the Force is just that singular energy spoken of by the Unified Force. Where the duality is witnessed is both in how it's used (i.e. by the Jedi and Sith - creating Light and Dark), but also insofar as it carries an impression of the people that constitute it. All life is part of the Force, so some residue of them must be imprinted upon it - as calm, serenity and peaceful intention can create that impression (since the Force is obviously more than just a neutral form of energy), so too can darker/deeper/stronger emotions, such as anger, rage, love, joy, jealousy etc. These can be felt and even manipulated - almost like a form of Mass Hysteria. Find a group that are obviously suspicious or generally paranoid, sensing that emotion, and it's easy to give it a nudge and push it along to make it something stronger. Just as a Jedi can raise morale or encourage peace and positive thinking, so too could a Sith play upon darker emotions, promoting hostility. That's not the Force, but rather the choice of sentient beings playing with the impressions left upon the Force by one's actions.

 

[Lord Ghoul]

So... the Sith are really just Darwinist Utilitarians? That's certainly an interesting notion.

 

[Teynara Jeralyr]

Well, I daresay there are quite a few who ultimately join the Sith simply seeking power for themselves, but do remember that the original Sith Lords were Jedi, ones who simply disagreed with their methodology and believed that the powers available to them via the Force ultimately made them fit to rule. Now, bear in mind that these are well-trained, intelligent individuals with special insight into the Galaxy via their senses in the Force - does anybody honestly think that they wanted power purely for themselves, and couldn't see how dangerous and foolish that would be?

My honest belief is that there's something else behind it: since Sith exist in chaos but seem to crave order and discipline (something they ironically lost when breaking from the Jedi Order), it seems reasonable to assume that their intent to govern is based more upon proving themselves and giving something to the Galaxy that they feel the Jedi should have done all along. After all (and I'm thinking of people like Dooku, as an example), how many Jedi have had to tolerate the inept failings and corruption of non-FS Politicians, all the while sitting there holding onto power, principles and insight that 'lesser' mortals do not have? The Sith simply believe the Jedi weak, not because they oppose the Sith, but because they refuse to take the power that very clearly ought to be theirs, and for the purpose of running the Galaxy in a way that best serves it, rather than one that best serves the politicians.

But, as I said, power corrupts, and so does Sith methodology. That would certainly explain why so many of them lose sight of the greater goal and just go nuts.

 

[Daxton Bane]

We're not nuts......I happen to be a peach.

You might call it nuts, we consider it as enlightenment