Philosophical Musings Part III

The third in a series of philosophical studies of Star Wars, using the Films and EU, and of course a little bit of my own personal reflections...

Today's topic:

Living in Unity
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[NOTE: This article was written before the publication of The Unifying Force.]

"But Master Yoda said I should be mindful of the future..."
"But not at the expense of the moment. Be mindful of the living Force, my young Padawan."
--Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn, The Phantom Menace

The Force is the single most impressive feature that George Lucas introduced when he brought us into his galaxy far, far away more than twenty years ago. Sir Alec Guinness introduced us to the wonders of a mystical energy field that "binds all living things" together; Frank Oz's Yoda explained that the energy of the Force "surrounds us, makes us grow" and that we are luminous beings. Return of the Jedi showed us that the Light Side of the Force is stronger than the Dark Side; that the love of a son for a father, and that reciprocal love, can tear down the hatred and tyranny of an obsessed madman.

The Expanded Universe has further delved into the nature of the Force, tackling issues such as pacifism leading to darkness, the use of the Force as a tool rather than an ally, and the debate as to whether or not sides of the Force truly exist, and if the only real darkness is that inherent in each person. And yet, one of the most difficult concepts to grasp for students of the Force, Jedi and readers of the Star Wars universe alike is the nature of the living Force versus the unifying Force.

The idea of these two concepts was introduced in the first episode of the Prequel Trilogy by a student of the living Force, Qui-Gon Jinn. In order to understand the living Force, let us first understand one of its' disciples. Qui-Gon Jinn was regarded as one of the greatest Jedi of his age, and yet his stance on matter of philosophy went counter to the adopted understanding of the Jedi Council at large, especially Master Yoda, the oldest member of the Order. Qui-Gon Jinn was believed to be an overzealous patriot, often disagreeing with the will of the Council because he felt that his own understanding of the will of the Force overrode the opinions of his peers. Qui-Gon did not spend hours in contemplation of the will of the Force, but rather let his own will be directed at all times by his feelings. He believed that the Force guided all of his actions, and that as such his attention should be centered on the moment, without waiting to worry about or debate the consequences of his actions.

Qui-Gon Jinn understood that to follow the living Force was to open oneself to the very nature of life itself--unpredictability. Qui-Gon saw in the living Force a conduit to the life of the galaxy, a galaxy that was notoriously unpredictable. As such, Qui-Gon suffered from a lack of forethought and often jumped into situations in which he could not always see the outcome. Qui-Gon's assumptions paid off many times by following this unorthodox standard, and ultimately saved Queen Amidala's life on Naboo during the Trade Federation's blockade of the planet. However, other instances show that the living Force does not always provide the most appeasing end results, and hindsight is always twenty-twenty. Take, for instance, Anakin Skywalker: a boy born to darkness, trained in the light, that fell to darkness. Qui-Gon Jinn saw only the potential within Skywalker; saw what he could be at the moment. What Master Jinn could not foresee was the terrible price that his lack of foresight would bring. Balance was restored, yes, but at a terrible cost to the people of the galaxy.

And then there is the matter of his own death. As a student of the living Force, Qui-Gon followed his instincts and let his heart and his feeling guide him. While battling with Darth Maul in the Royal Palace Hanger in Theed, Qui-Gon was aware of everything around him. His pupil, Obi-Wan Kenobi, was not as experienced a fighter as Qui-Gon (who was regarded by several in the Jedi Order, including Jedi swordmaster Anoon Bondara and his own Master, Dooku, to be one of the finest lightsaber wielders of the Jedi) and was caught by the ferocity of his opponent's attack. Qui-Gon, one would assume, could feel the fierce hatred that burned within his Sith opponent when they fought, for Darth Maul himself expressed in Shadow Hunter and in Episode I that his sole purpose was to end the Jedi for good. And yet, had Qui-Gon been able to see beyond the moment, to look beyond the here-and-now, he should have been able to anticipate that killing blow.

Within all life there are strengths and weaknesses, and such is the same with the aspects of the living and the unifying Force. The living Force, from the example provided by the life of Qui-Gon Jinn, is characterized, at best, as focusing on the moment. To advocates of the living Force, the moment is what matters; do what you must when you must, and rely on your impulses and instincts with the added bonus of drawing upon your training. However, the living Force is not a vehicle for insight; the living Force draws on the moment, and thus is not a vessel by which one can learn the weaknesses of an opponent, cannot draw upon the strength of the environment around oneself, and does not allow its' wielder to see the potential repercussions of ones' actions. In essence, to see through the "eyes" of the living Force would be the equivalent of looking at a television: two-dimensional images, no context as to why you're given these images, and only the knowledge you have and the knowledge it gives you to determine the will of the Force.

In which case the unifying Force would be a holographic projection: better depth perception, you can move and shape things, take things into account that you couldn't see with a two-dimensional image. The unifying Force is the "bigger picture" as some would put it. My favorite analogy between the two was that of driving on a highway; a person attuned to the living Force would only see what is in front of him, would be very focused on where he is going, but would not be aware of the events going on around him unless he became a part of them (a car accident, for instance); meanwhile a person who followed the unifying Force would be aware of everything around him, see all angles and know where the traffic is merging, check for blind spots, and have a good sense of direction. Yet even the best of drivers are sometimes helpless to avoid collisions.

The unifying Force is also the idea of foresight. Visions of the future, a rare gift that some Jedi are imbued with (as well as Dark Side users, as Palpatine and the Prophets of the Dark Side often relied on the knowledge of visions as well), are a result of attunement to the unifying Force. The unifying Force connects life with time, and thus allows the user to understand how the two intersect, thus the user experiences what is commonly referred to as a vision of the future. Visions of the past are also connected to the unifying Force, as life and time intersect on many planes, including those than intersect between what our limited minds comprehend as the past, the present and the future. Both of these concepts flow along our idea of how time is comprehended, and as such what the Jedi believe are visions of the past, present or future are really just the ever-present Force showing how it works: it just moves, without concept of time or space. As such, one connected to the unifying Force goes beyond the moment and knows that the moment doesn't exist; only the Force exists.

The unifying Force does have its' weaknesses as well. Because our choices affect our actions and the subsequent consequences, there are always instances in which one connected to the unifying Force would be given a vision of the future that would later be deemed incorrect. From this we have Yoda's statement that the future is always in motion; in reality, it is the Force that is in constant motion, changing direction and taking new courses based on the actions, decisions, reactions and inactions taken by the lives that make up the Force, whether that life is a single Jedi on a single world or a billion inhabitants on the other side of the galaxy that have nothing to do with that Jedi or the events surrounding his life. It is the constant motion of life that changes the 'future,' as the Jedi understands it. Thus, a person connected to the unifying Force is as likely to be hit in a head-on collision as one attuned to the living Force.

Proponents of either philosophy of the Force would claim that their side is stronger while in reality they are exactly opposite but with equal power. The living Force and the unifying Force are like the charges of a battery: both contain the same amount of power, but are set at opposite frequencies and thus attract rather than repulse. The two are interconnected, they cannot be separated and one side would not exist without the presence of the other. As such, one could speculate that, as the unifying Force cannot exist without the living Force, so too could life itself not exist without the unity of the Force, that which binds all life together. So it could also be said that the Light Side of the Force could not exist without the Dark Side to counterbalance that polar opposite.

The universe has an ironic sense of humor in that it creates opposites so that balance could be made. The Force, and those attuned to and connected to it, is held to those same standards. So, the prophecy of the one to bring balance to the Force is ironic in that the Jedi had no idea that such darkness within their order would bring forth a return to the order of the universe. Darkness from light to bring darkness, and then finally to restore the light: quite a paradox, indeed. And all the plan of the Force; brought to life, through the midichlorians, by the living Force, his destiny come to pass, by the unifying Force.

The galaxy's full of surprises.

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This Philosophical Musing is brought to you courtesy of the original Force - Philosophy thread in the Books, Comics & Television forum. I hope that it has stood the test of time. Questions, comments, criticisms and so on are welcomed.

My next philosophical blog will delve into the dual nature of a Jedi--peacekeeper and warrior.

Until then, Live Long and May the Force Be With You!

~James T. Skywalker