Robert Greene and the dark side: is the crucible to be voided
Star Wars famously presents the dark side as a danger to the world. It is something to stay away from. Remain pure away from the seduction of the dark side. Yet the dark side may be some thing to be harnessed. Jung’s shadow portrays an embrace of the dark magic for holistic completion.
Jung believed it necessary to fully embrace the true self. Man conceals his genuine identity, those aspects that embarrass him. He hides under blankets of shame. A teenager hiding a bottle of vodka in her closet hoping her parents won’t find it. The shadow is abrasive but it is avoided for mental health. For sanity and security. Man lives off soma. Optimistic in his attitude dispelling any myth of imperfection or weaknesses. He cannot cry in front of others or tell anyone he likes cartoons. He must show he is resilient as the standard suggests. He is pressured into this positivity of pure strength. Playing off a character in a play. The way we act and the way we speak follow an ironclad consistency relayed to perfection. Cultivating a persona wholly constructed by the self. Afraid what others would think of the truth. A way of fitting into the social enterprise. Whether that be a goodie two-shoes or a bad boy. The mask is artificial for external recognition. Acting for approval. Yet the true personality is repressed.
The shadow is the repressed personality. Identity is enshrined with the persona. The routine has incorporated the persona as the real deal. The game has gone on for so long the true self has been regulated to the shadows. The conscious mind protects from the deep-seated horror pushing forth. The hysterics remain in the recesses unwilling to lend them an inch. The soul is not aware of these conflicts. The delusion seems empirically genuine but it is a fabrication of approval. It is a legitimate aspect but parcels the holistic picture. The delusion is not obvious to the soul. The soul thus perceives the present traits as the culmination of the self. Yet there is more that is latent. Moments trigger and emotionally rile up. At times, there is seemingly no explanation nor rational basis but through proper introspection the truth can be unearthed. Speaking internally, is an honest acceptance of the limitations and accompanied shame. The shadow is the lurking branded do not enter signs. Stay safe and ignorant or pierce the discomfort. Confront the issues and overcome them.
The shadow is the dark side. The side locked in the closet that cannot come out to play. Ashamed of its existence. Removing any association with it. Subconsciously locking it and throwing the key away. It is the Jedi perception of the dark side. The Jedi describe the dark side as an abhorrent evil. The Emperor is an evil man, Darth Vader is a famed villain but it is only with the prequels that philosophy of the force and theology of the Jedi becomes more broadened. The Force is a powerful tool in the originals. It is a part of the Jedi’s abilities. Obi Wan tricks the stormtroopers, Darth Vader can choke people, Luke directs the torpedoes into the exhaust port and Palpatine shoots lightning. Besides for the mideclorian confusion, the emphasis of force capability and its aptitude was extended as more investment in the cinematic universe. The force seemed more strategic in the originals. The force was a mysticism of connection not of tactical warfare. Mastery over the force to control is a prequel addition not the generated universe of energy to connect to of the originals. Though in both cases the Force is linked with emotion as the dark side of the force is the shadow realm.
While the prequels used the force in conjunction with the acrobats and duelling, the agonising decline of Anakin does follow the emotional turmoil of Luke. The danger of Luke or Anakin giving in to their emotions is moving toward the dark side. Emotion is not absent from their films it is that emotions ought not to guide actions. To be stoic and harmonious. The extreme isolation of emotions is thus the kryptonite for the Jedi. To not engage emotionally is to then turn to overdrive in the simplest mishap. Anakin is trained in the art of the monk. Belittling his desires. When his emotions consume him, telling him to repress them fails to do justice. Trying to resolve cold turkey is not an answer. An alcoholic needs understanding not shame. The lacking emotion turned him evil because the good guys were pandering to their ancient arts. A better example would be a homosexual in a religious community. Telling him to suppress himself is not easy and doing so absent empathy will only turn him into an apostate. Though a different case, Spinoza’s exile was of dogmatic disagreement. The Jedi have cultivated a non-desired life through rigorous training and isolation but that doesn’t necessarily work for everyone. Their dogma sidelined any sympathy and shoved their most cherished pupil to the enemy.
Anakin was his own man and believed with his way the world could be changed but he wasn’t prepared and was manipulated. He had never seen the dark side. He assumed the assistance was gracious. He was blind to evils and then was too deep to escape. Luke nearly falls to the dark side afraid of the potential tragedy that may occur. If he acts like them he will become them. He had never tempted in the dark arts with the emotional sway thus placing him in the clutches of the enemy’s goal. The failure of the Jedi mindset is the extremist persona. If it doesn’t work then it could be a massive disaster. While Palpatine is in charge he is weaker than Vader. The ploy is for Luke to kill Vader or to merely fall to the dark side and be a team of three to rule the galaxy. To overpower the emotional hard drive that remained dormant. Ironically, it is not the stoic who wins but the emotional appeal to Vader. Refusing to fight his father and calling for him as he screams in agony is not the traditional Jedi way. Cold rationality would deduce that dad is bad so he must be had. In the Jedi world, evil must be vanquished no matter the consequences. Anakin’s visions were to come true and deal with Padme’s death to fend off the Sith. Passions are second to the facts of reality. Attachments just cause more chaos.
Entertaining emotion is the final move of Luke. Vader is dumbfounded and Palpatine angrily shoots lightening. Palatine hoped for the angry emotion not the gentile one. It is Vader’s empathy at his son’s agony that he races to save him and kill the emperor. The last moments are touching between Vader and Luke and then Luke and Leia. The Sith wish for emotion but specific emotion. Dooku’s turn was sympathetic and calculated. His rage was absent. Yet he potentially fell victim to the Sith’s ideals. Qui-Gon also seems to fit an emotional side. Obi-Wan tries but buries it in hopes of keeping with tradition. He is a stoic to the core, reminiscent of Cato the Younger. To be emotional is to be human but to follow passions is to be a part of the dark side. Reason is the guiding light. A nice touch to the enlightenment thinkers who found quickly that cold rationality doesn’t always bring about the utopian aspiration. Romanticism was the emotional spring away from Cartesian rationalism. Romanticism was a time of renewed thinking through a divergent medium. The romantics were the emotional idealists over the intellectual idealists before them. The passions would hold everything together but this was soon ended with the realists. The end of the exotic spontaneity and the critical circuit. Realism was the synthesis of the rational and the emotional temporarily. It was the realistic display of life on a canvas. Both themes on stage.
Concerning the reversal of dialectics: an age of reason to an age of passion. The Jedi and Sith are the archetypes of their respective fields. One seeks liberation the other control. Beyond the good and evil manifestations, the Sith in the original trilogy have no care for destruction but sole control. They are bringing order to the galaxy. While this may be authoritarian it is peaceful. It follows the tyranny of the Roman Empire. Objectively problematic but economically sufficient. The prequels and subsequent media only provide more evidence. The Jedi are the wise sages to be consulted and protect the peace of the republic. Even in the grand scheme of the corruption, peace is the necessary measure. Failing to make changes or better the system. In the originals, they are loyal to bringing the republic back. The Jedi and ancient stoics ignored corruption which led to the Empire. The stoic mindset failed historically and fictionally. It is still an important anchor but its monkish dogma is dangerous. Away from the world the spiritual fellow uninvolved in politics or involved but to an unhelpful degree. Even after their failures in the originals, they hold to stoic form. Absent the chronology, Ben and Yoda hide away. Luke is the solution but they desire his victory under their ideals. He is the youth stronger in his stoicism. Yet such reckoning fails to acknowledge the original failure.
Modern stoicism in its own right acts as a foil for passion. Epicurus was correct about passions but the hedonistic will took on a life of its own. Epicurus was decried for the hellenistic monism that prevailed. A philosophy he did not preach. Asceticism attempted to heal the wounds of the desire. Without desire peace is simple. Yet without desire so is passion and life force. Nietzsche overwhelmed by this blatant rejection. Virtue is the highest cause. Nietzsche's thought was blatantly off putting. The empire as portrayed in the original and even the prequels isn’t as evil as the Jedi would hope. Nietzsche wished to affirm life that the stoics denied. Yet it seems Nietzsche has been outplayed by modern consumerism. Hedonistic materialism needs an extreme wing of conservative stoics to balance the medium. Nietzsche’s epicureanism was not what it was morphed into. To him, affirming accorded with freedom and agency. Freedom is a pleasure, an essential part of human reality. Humans have emotions and trying to undermine them is demoting dignity. It is curbing justice and integrity for purity. The Epicurean is not an excess desire but a modest exposure. Yet pleasure is fire. If left untamed it could spread wide. Passions are novel but are considerably powerful and must be consulted.
The dark side is the acceptance of passions. The Sith is overwhelming passions. The belief that passions can guide order and stability. Exerting power is necessary to ensure harmony instead of allowing the earth to move on its own. To permit chaos to reign as long as the person themselves is in charge of their lives. In Wilbur’s quadrant it is Q1 versus Q3. The Jedi believe in human perfection. If people train they can perfect themselves to do good in the world. If desire is subdued then peace will come. The Sith are critical of the optimism. Humanity is imperfect and selfish. Doomed to failure, only an external force can ensure order. Desire cannot be subdued. Allow people to utilise their passions. The Sith will control the chaos with salient emotion. To some degree historically the Sith are correct. Democracies of and old and new have faltered. Transformed into empires or backslid to tyranny. The benevolent leaders were followed by devilish leaders. Corruption holding fast generationally. The ideals of the Jedi did not pan out. While not every moral enterprise was stoic, the same ethical ideals were boasted. Each framework failed. The stoics, hellenists, christians, democrats. Each promising a moral framework and failing miserably. Feeding the desires and falling into the abyss.
Luke represents entering into the shadow. Accepting the passions. Aware of the falterings of his projected ideology. Needing to compromise. Nietzsche sought this middle ground but his work was misinterpreted for the devil. The pure-pleasure dialectic is on moral, economic, and political levels. The conservative strand promises to uphold traditional pure values. Away from the dangers of passion. The liberal mind pushes the passions narrative. Engaging in the benefits of the world. There is no compromise. Each side vying for control. Jung’s explanation opens the possibility for a synthesis. Engage the shadow but do not let the shadow control you. Do not be overtaken by Mr. Hyde. Do not fall to the Sith. Such a fall enrages the passions to the negative. Engulfed in emotional volatile behaviour. Unable to logically differentiate between the good and the bad. Just bandwagoning to support with little common sense. On the other side is the logicians who just consider the logistical matters without accounting for the harm to people. The law needs allegory. Legal narrative is the presentation of emotional appeal to the rational rule. Working together humanity is able to embrace themselves and the world on equal footing. Aware of the drama and disdain but able to consolidate and analyse effectively.
Jung’s shadow is not just a personal matter but a societal one. The grey area that emerges from the synthesis is not just a character shift personally but also socially. The Nietzschean hope is to embrace the passions but with common sense. To think of others and add in the possible consequences. Treating people with respect out of reason and emotion. The Jedi’s failure is failing to engage the shadow. It is dangerous and it is scary but it must be confronted. It must be battled like Jacob and the angel. One must become a warrior in a garden rather than a gardener at war. To be is to utilise strength but able to hold back. To feel empathy but not lost in revenge. A balanced middle is treaded carefully. Desire is not be voided but to be meditated upon. At peace with the self and with the world.
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