Jedi and Sith Approaches to Conflict
Jedi and Sith maintain and practice very different approaches to conflict. Begging the questions: how are they different, which is better, and can understanding these approaches help us to achieve better outcomes in our own conflicts?
A chapter in Star Wars and Conflict Resolution: There are Alternatives to Fighting, has got this covered. In his chapter on Midichlorians and Neurochemistry? Jedi and Sith Approaches to Conflict, Kennesaw State University Professor Sherrill Hayes takes a deep dive into the world (and neuroscience) of our Jedi protagonists and their Sith adversaries. Questions are posed that have the potential to shake up our very understanding of what it truly means to be “good” or “bad,” and whether that is something that one has the power to control. For example, if the Jedi and Sith really are so similar, at what point do they dramatically diverge from one another in both behavior and action? And is it really the whole “good versus evil” narrative we all ate up so willingly from George Lucas?
With the galaxy’s greatest rivalry taking center stage, Hayes analyzes and interprets the way these two groups electively suppress and sideline a range of untapped emotions in their lives. How can these purported all-powerful beings be purposely oblivious to the emotions, ideas, and worlds left unexplored by their philosophies and teachings? And how do the emotionally driven decisions, or inactions, of each group ultimately build up or spell doom for its respective force-wielders?
Additionally, the chapter explores the innate tendencies of each group, Jedi and Sith, to respond in a particular emotional or physical way over another, illuminating what it means to think and behave as a Jedi or Sith in conflict situations. This allows us,, as students of Star Wars or science (or both!) to better understand the neurochemistry driving the responses we see and take note of the neurochemical fluctuations that we, as humans, experience on a daily basis here in our own galaxy.
— Written by Sam Haimowitz, SW&CR Padawan and recently graduated JD from the University of Oregon School of Law
