The Philosophy of the Sith | An Examination of the Dark Side (Star Wars)
The Sith are the main villains of one of the most influential movie franchises: Star Wars. The most iconic member of the Sith Lords is Darth Vader, a tragic character who used to go by the name of Anakin Skywalker. Anakin was a promising Jedi apprentice trained by Obi-Wan Kenobi, who fell for the dark side of the Force due to unresolved emotional issues, trauma, and the manipulations of Chancellor Palpatine, who secretly turned out to be among the most powerful Sith ever existed: Darth Sidious.
In many ways, the Sith ideologically oppose the Jedi. The Jedi represent selflessness, tranquility, equality, and seek balance in the Force and peace in the galaxy. The Sith are selfish, passionate, and seek to dominate by achieving strength and power. Star Wars generally portrays the Jedi as the good ones and the Sith as the evil ones. But we find shades of grey in between both extremes. The altruism of the Jedi has its downsides. And there’s something to be said for the self-centered, emotional approach of the Sith.
The ideas of the 19th-century German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche seem strikingly similar to Sith philosophy. And they are critical of the kind of existence pursued by the Jedi—the latter Nietzsche would have considered an unnatural, self-denying slave morality. What’s the difference between the Sith and the Jedi? What resemblances do we find between Sith philosophy and established philosophical ideas? And can we use Sith philosophy in our daily lives? This video explores the philosophy of the Sith.
Please note: this essay is an exploration of ideas based on the author’s understanding and interpretation. It’s not “advice.” Also, this video contains Star Wars footage and imagery which belong to Lucasfilm and Disney. The Force is a mysterious energy field created by all life and binds everything in the universe together. We’re all connected by the Force, which flows through every living being. The Force is central to the Sith and Jedi’s existence, as both factions rely on its power and possibilities through manipulation.
An all-surrounding energy field connecting all life resembles the Stoic concept of pneuma, also called the “breath of life,” which binds the cosmos together and provides stability and cohesion. An explanation of the Force and how the Sith use it is necessary for understanding their philosophy. After all, the Force is vital to the Sith’s existence. As with the Taoist concept of Yin and Yang, many Force users distinguish the light and the dark side of the Force.
The light side of the Force is generally used for defensive purposes and healing. The Jedi order devoted itself to the light side of the Force, using it for selfless reasons such as protecting other people, justice, and restoring and maintaining peace in the galaxy. The Jedi sought to maintain balance in the Force, which means harmony between all life forms. They consider themselves guardians of what’s good. Among the Jedi are Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Master Yoda.
The Sith, however, devote themselves to the dark side of the Force, which relies on anger, fear, lust, greed, and aggression, aimed to destroy one’s enemies and cause pain and suffering. One uses the dark side to develop strength and power. But the Sith’s hunger for more is insatiable; it’s never enough. Hence, there was always competition and bloodshed among the Sith, and they’ll never stop expanding their power.
An essential difference between Jedi and Sith regarding the Force is the Rule of Two. The Jedi see the Force as spreading fire: the more Jedi, the stronger their collective Force. “As we pass the flame – our light spreads,” wrote Luke Skywalker. The dark side of the Force works differently: like venom. The more Force users the dark side has, the weaker the Force per individual becomes. As written in the Book of Sith by Darth Sidious: “No, the Force is venom. If it is poured into many cups, it loses its potency until it becomes so diluted it is merely an irritant. Yet, pour those cups back into a single vessel, and you will have the power to stop a Kray dragon’s heart.” End quote.
Thus, to maximize the power of the Force, it should be concentrated among just a few—ideally, one Sith. However, if there’s only one Sith, there’s nobody to continue the Sith lineage if that one perishes. So, Sith Lord Darth Bane created the Rule of Two, ordering that there could only be two Sith at a given time: a master and an apprentice.
“We take what we desire because we can. We can because we have power. We have power because we are Sith.” Like the Jedi, the Sith live by a mantra that summarizes their core philosophical idea, known as the Sith Code. The Sith Code is a negation of the Jedi Code, rejecting ‘peace’ as an ultimate concern while identifying passion as the only force worth embracing. According to the Sith, freedom is not achieved through calmness and clarity but by using emotions as a source of strength to achieve victory and dominance.
Before we can understand the Sith code, it’s essential to explore the Jedi code first, as these ‘mantras,’ so to speak, are related. The Jedi code goes as follows: “There is no emotion, there is peace. There is no ignorance, there is knowledge. There is no passion, there is serenity. There is no chaos, there is harmony. There is no death, there is the Force.”
We can interpret the Jedi code in different ways. Firstly, the “there is no” parts of the first four lines of the code might point to what the Jedi oppose and should be absent. In a Jedi’s life, there’s no emotion; there is peace. There is no ignorance; there is knowledge. But we could also read these lines as a reality of nature: when there’s no passion, there’s serenity. When there’s no chaos, there’s harmony. And thus, it reads as a series of hypotheses followed by conclusions, which show that the absence of phenomena like emotions and passions leads to preferable states.
These interpretations find support in Yoda’s famous line, and I quote: “But beware of the dark side. Anger, fear, aggression. The dark side of the Force are they, easily they flow.” End quote. Furthermore, Yoda’s words imply that a Jedi should actively avoid emotions and passions, as they lead to the dark side of the Force, and that one quickly falls into the trap of being carried away by them.
The last line of the Jedi Code reads as a metaphysical truth; there’s no such thing as death, as in, a permanent ending of life. When we die, we simply transform into another manifestation of the Force. Some Jedi even learned techniques to keep lingering in the physical world after they died as ‘Force Ghosts.’ So, there’s no need to fear death; it’s just a return to the Force.
The Sith Code seems to be a variant of the Jedi Code, rejecting peace, making the very things the Jedi avoid their goal. The Sith Code goes as follows: “Peace is a lie, there is only passion. Through passion, I gain strength. Through strength, I gain power. Through power, I gain victory. Through victory, my chains are broken. The Force shall free me.”
Unlike the Jedi, the Sith embrace passion, using it as a vessel to develop strength, power, victory, and ultimately experience freedom. They use the Force to empower themselves and achieve their goals. What characterizes the Sith Code is the belief that triumph leads to freedom. There are different definitions of freedom. In the Jedi sense, freedom is inherent to their code; it’s the absence of disturbing emotions, chaos, and the fear of death.
Through peace, knowledge, serenity, and harmony, the Jedi experience freedom. Such freedom may not equal freedom within the material world, but it’s rather emotional freedom—freedom of the mind—an ideal we find in several philosophical schools and religious traditions. The Sith don’t buy this. They aren’t interested in ‘freedom of mind.’ Hence, “peace is a lie,” they say. Peace gets you nowhere in life.
From birth to death, there’s conflict. Even the Jedi, despite their teachings, experience a fair share of conflict, although they engage in it for the sake of maintaining balance and peace, as a protective measure. The Sith propose that passions allow us to deal with conflict in ways that strengthen us. We can use anger to destroy our enemies, and desire as fuel for achievement and growing stronger. An example is Darth Vader, who channels his fear and grief into anger, making him more powerful.
According to the Sith, freedom lies in the material world but can only be achieved through strife. We must conquer ourselves, our enemies, and destroy everything that stands in our way; we must fight ourselves out of bondage, become our own masters, let no one rule over us, and crush the ones who try. Then, we can do as we please, which is true freedom according to the Sith.
“Remember why the Sith are more powerful than the Jedi, Sidious; because we are not afraid to feel.” Where the Jedi pursue peace, harmony, reason, and selflessness, the Sith flourish in chaos, wildness, impulse, and self-indulgence. Interestingly enough, the conflict between the Jedi and Sith resembles the duality between Apollo and Dionysus in Greek mythology.
In his first book, The Birth of Tragedy, Nietzsche wrote about the birth and death of Greek tragedy. He believed that Greek tragedy was the unprecedented fusion between the Dionysian and Apollonian forces, which led to the fullness of the human experience in art. In his later works, however, Nietzsche embraced the life-affirming impulses of Dionysus, as he stated in his autobiography Ecce Homo: “I am a disciple of the philosopher Dionysus, I would rather be a satyr than a saint.” End quote.
But what do the Apollonian and Dionysian stand for? And how do these forces relate to the Jedi and Sith? In Greek mythology, Apollo and Dionysus are both sons of Zeus but seem to oppose each other by nature. Apollo is the rational one that pursued order and purity, but also beauty, moderation, and reason. He’s the God of oracles, healing, arts, sunlight, knowledge, shepherds, and a protector from evil: duties and characteristics resembling the Jedi Order.
In terms of ancient Greek philosophy, we could say that the Stoic school of thought is based on the Apollonian. Stoicism revolves around living a life based on reason and perfecting reason. Its goal is to reach a state of flourishing named eudaimonia, which requires cool-headedness, the absence of passions, and living in harmony with nature. So, Stoicism and the Jedi share many similarities. As with the Stoics, ‘peace,’ ‘serenity,’ and ‘harmony’ are among Jedi values, even though the meaning of these values slightly differs.
Nevertheless, like the Stoics, the Jedi follow Apollonian principles; they’re rational, logical, and based on the mind. In the Phantom Menace, Qui-Gon Jinn tells his padawan Obi-Wan: “Don’t center on your anxieties, Obi-Wan. Keep your concentration here and now, where it belongs.” End quote. This line fits the Stoic aim to be present and not be swayed by emotions.
A life without passions seems antithetical to Sith philosophy, which embraces the passions through which they find strength, power, and freedom. The Sith would reject the Apollonian principles and welcome the Greek god Dionysus among their ranks. Opposed to the averter of evil, the most beautiful god of all and ideal to many, stands Dionysus: the God of wine, vegetation, fertility, festivity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, and theatre.
Where Apollo is rational, moderate, and serene, Dionysus is insane, indulgent, chaotic, and passionate. The Sith are not interested in peace and view the negation of the passions as life-denying, contradicting the very thing that empowers them. In the Star Wars prequels, we see how Darth Sidious schemes his way into the powerful position of chancellor to reform the democratic Galactic Republic into the Galactic Empire and declare himself emperor.
While the Jedi see such lust for power as an existential threat to the peace in the galaxy, the Sith view it as a road to freedom: only the powerful are free, as the will of others doesn’t chain them. Author of the book Rule of Two Drew Karpyshyn wrote: “Evil is a word used by the ignorant and the weak. The Dark Side is about survival. It’s about unleashing your inner power. It glorifies the strength of the individual.” End quote.
The Dionysian is the affirmation of life. It’s embracing everything life offers, including the primal emotions and wildness of being. Curbing one’s emotions for peace is a denial of life. Instead, the Sith pursue conflict as it forces them to better themselves. According to Sith Master Uthar Wynn, conflict forces “change, growth, adaptation, evolution, or death.”
Philologist Walter Otto stated that “the fullness of life and the violence of death are equally terrible in Dionysus.” The Sith seek as much power as possible but acquire it at the cost of death (including their own). They always put their lives on the line in their quest for dominance. It’s all or nothing. It’s either the absolute top or annihilation. Such extreme lust for power is madness from the Apollonian perspective but the raison d’être of the Sith.
It’s a life of maximizing experiences and possibilities, passion, self-development, self-realization, and the strengthening of the individual. It’s not about acceptance of the world but changing it to your liking and reforming or destroying what’s in your way. It’s not about summoning help from the Force but taking control of it. “True power can come only to those who embrace the transformation,” said Darth Revan.
The Sith walk a dangerous path, rejecting safety and inner peace, exchanging it for growth and passion. They say “yes” to the full spectrum of life; they’re willing to exchange suffering for life-affirming experiences. Hence, Count Dooku tried persuading Yoda to join the Dark Side by saying: “Tell me what you want, and I will show you how the dark side can help you achieve it. Do you want friends? The dark side can compel them for you. Lovers? The dark side understands passion in a way you never have. Do you want riches – endless life – deep wisdom...?” End quote.
Contrary to the Jedi, but resembling the ideas of Nietzsche, the Sith follow Dionysian principles. They’re passionate, chaotic, and based on the body, or more specifically, on the primordial urge, which Nietzsche called the will-to-power. It's feeling over mind. They thrive on passions like hate, anger, and fear. Still, the Sith have Apollonian features as well: they possess and create order and structure (we just have to look at the Empire).
They protect people, as we see when Darth Sidious saves Anakin on Mustafar. However, the protection of others always stems from selfish reasons. Equality is a myth to protect the weak. Some of us are strong in the Force; others are not. Only a fool believes otherwise. A central theme of Nietzsche’s philosophy was Herren- und Sklavenmoral – in English: master-slave morality.
According to Nietzsche, the master morality was the default attitude in ancient Greece and the Roman Empire and was based on pride, nobility, and assertiveness. The slave morality was a response to master morality and became the norm when Christianity became a dominant force. “The masters have been done away with; the morality of the common man has triumphed,” said Nietzsche, referring to the triumph of the Judeo-Christian herd over the nobility.
Looking at the relationship between the Sith and Jedi, we encounter profound similarities between Nietzsche’s master-slave morality and the philosophies of the force-using Star Wars factions. The Sith value the virtues of the masters, while the Jedi value the virtues of the slaves. Those with master-morality focus on gaining power, creating hierarchy, attaining wealth, following ambitions, and being determined and courageous.
The structure of the Galactic Empire is a testament to the hierarchical and authoritarian principles that characterize master morality. The strong must rule while the weak don’t deserve anything but being dictated; fear is the primary tool for keeping the subjects in line. The strong rule; the weak are meant to serve. This is the way it must be.” End quote.
On the other hand, the Jedi value traits resembling slave morality, like kindness, patience, generosity, altruism, obedience, and humility. For example, in the Obi-Wan Kenobi series, we see how Obi-Wan struggles not to sacrifice himself to help others; self-sacrifice is one of the Jedi’s essential virtues. As opposed to the selfish Sith, the Jedi are selfless; they live for the benefit of others. The Jedi disapprove of what drives the Sith, like their lust for power and limitless passion.
According to Nietzsche, those with slave morality devalue the master’s virtues and create their own virtues that turn what the masters see as weaknesses into strengths. Pride becomes humility, boldness becomes meekness, and vengeance becomes forgiveness. Those with a slave morality tend to view themselves as morally superior, which is also the case with the Jedi: they consider themselves the bearers of light and protectors of the good, opposing the dark and “evil” Sith.
The twist here is that those carrying a slave morality – the herd – believe they have voluntarily adopted values like ‘humility,’ ‘forgiveness,’ and ‘selflessness.’ But according to Nietzsche, this isn’t the case: the masters have forced these upon them. Impotence gave birth to slave morality. And instead of overcoming their impotence, the herd disguises it as a virtue and demands others to do the same.
Nietzsche argued that those with a slave morality seek to assimilate masters into the flock, not transcending their position. But in reality, such an attitude leads to the degeneration of things strong and noble. Unsurprisingly, the Sith deem the Jedi qualities (such as put forward in the Jedi Code) worthless and pathetic. And from a Sith point of view, it makes sense that Darth Sidious called the Jedi view “dogmatic” and “narrow” in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith.
There’s more to the Force than restraining its power within the bounds of a moral framework—or in Nietzsche’s terms: keeping the slave morality alive while suppressing master morality. The Force grants access to strength, power, and victory: goals which the Sith essentially aspire to. The Sith code offers a way out of slavery, not the mere acceptance of it.
Through strength, power, and victory, a slave’s “chains are broken.” According to Sith philosophy, he turns into Nietzsche’s master: a position of strength from which freedom ensues. But those with slave morality will not attempt to break their chains; they endure them proudly and even tighten them in the name of goodness. Darkness is a friend, an ally. Darkness allows us to understand others, to see what they value when they believe no one else is looking. It allows us to be honest with ourselves, to express those values that we would disavow in the light.
Is Sith philosophy valuable for daily life? It depends on what you want to accomplish. If you’re an Apollonian type of person who values peace and tranquility, then Sith philosophy probably isn’t for you. The light path might also be better suited if you seek spiritual enlightenment rather than worldly success. Although Sith philosophy as a whole seems suitable for psychopaths and narcissists, it contains elements that could be useful for our daily lives.
The path of the dark side could lead to self-preservation, worldly success, and protection against those who try to exploit us. It also allows us to question the values intrinsic to Nietzsche’s slave morality. An interesting example is how a character named Kreia, a Sith Lord, criticized the virtue of charity. She argued that seeking to aid everyone suffering in the galaxy only weakens yourself and those you aid.
I quote: “If you care for others, then dispense with pity and sacrifice and recognize the value in letting them fight their own battles. And when they triumph, they will be even stronger for the victory.” End quote. In this perspective, Sith philosophy brings about nuance regarding what’s right and wrong by carefully looking at the consequences of our actions. For example, when we give money to a beggar, are we truly helping or keeping him weak? Or, when we protect our children, do we do them an actual favor, or do we hijack their self-reliance?
And do peace and serenity generate happiness or weakness? Another potential benefit of Sith philosophy is that it can lead us to our darker, unwanted characteristics, which we could use and thus create a more whole, rounded personality by developing our dark side instead of repressing it. “The brighter the light, the darker the shadow,” psychiatrist Carl Jung once stated. The more one tries to be good, the more he suppresses his darker qualities. But as a consequence, we fail to, as Dark Revan put it: “express those values that we would disavow in the light.”
Jung believed that we need to explore the dark side of our psyche, as it contains personality traits and qualities that can enrich us if we integrate them. Disparaged features like ‘pride,’ ‘selfishness,’ ‘self-admiration,’ or ‘boldness’ could be used to improve one’s position, exude strength, and, simply, feel good. It could help us discover our inner Dionysian and break free from slave morality.
Eventually, developing our dark side or, in other words, “integrating” dark side characteristics, may strengthen our position in the material world and lead to worldly success. Sith philosophy has pitfalls as well, without a doubt. The Sith show little concern for other people’s well-being. They oppose equality and charity and don’t believe in goodness. The strong must survive, and the weak must perish. So, the Sith compete against everyone and everything.
Some exceptions aside, they either dominate or try to achieve the dominant position. There’s no trust among Sith; any weakness will be exploited. It’s a very intense, dangerous path. If one follows the way of the Sith, making lots of enemies is certain and trusting relationships are impossible. Even the ‘bond’ between a Sith master and apprentice involves endless competition and mistrust.
When put in positions of power, the Sith tend to be very destructive towards their environments. Without mercy, they’ll destroy their enemies and dispose of people that don’t serve them. Also, these positions are incredibly fragile. History shows that tyrants rarely last. When everyone despises you, it’s just a matter of time before someone takes you down, which could be anyone considering you have no one you can trust.
The constant threat of the Sith apprentice getting more powerful than his master and then destroying him to replace him shows the fickleness of a Sith’s position. Their freedom comes with profound bondage, as they must maintain their power at all costs; if they fail, destruction follows. From a Stoic point of view, we can conclude that no matter how much power the Sith have in the external world, they are not free. They’ll always be subject to Fate, which ultimately lies beyond their control.
So, Sith philosophy could benefit those who desire a life of vigor and intensity, the go-getters who value achievement rather than contentment. It’s a way to strengthen the individual and increase self-reliance. Paradoxically, the path of the Sith is as empowering as destructive. This duality places them among the ranks of the ancient Greek God Dionysus, “whose fullness of life and violence of death are equally terrible.”
Thank you for watching.