Trusting blindly in the Force is not the Jedi Way

“Trusting blindly in the Force is not the Jedi Way. Good Judgement and Wisdom must temper that trust.” - Jaric Kaedan One is not given to quoting characters from the fiction of Star Wars, and especially not the more fringe and unknown sources, but this is a statement that struck me when I played through the Jedi Consular Storyline of The Old Republic. Even in the fiction, where the Force is a present and demonstrable Divine Power (Or Quasi-Magic Scientific fact), its most devout adherents, The Jedi, did not give themselves wholly over to unthinking piety. Rather, and we see this elsewhere in the fiction, they treated unusual trends, visions, and unlikely circumstances as things to be reflected upon and viewed through the lenses of introspection, wisdom, and most importantly: the Jedi Code. As the Jedi Path came into being in the real world over two decades ago it was birthed into a space of alternative religion and magical thinking. It had its genesis in spaces where people were discussing ideas contrarian, different, and, on times, decidedly antagonistic to traditional religion and mainstream thought. It was a fringe movement, grounded in what has become termed hyper-real religion: an imitation of religion created out of appropriated popular culture assets which provide inspiration and a source of beliefs. For Jedi, this appropriated popular culture asset was our namesake: The Jedi of the Star Wars Universe. Carried forth from this popular culture, and an artefact of the New Age influences of times past, has been a belief in following the Force or the Will of the Force. Indeed, the term Force Realism implies the idea that the Force is real, and that the philosophies that engage in Force Realism do so by treating the Force as a concrete idea relevant to living. This, however, is not entirely true and one would direct readers to the Jedi Compass, and writings on the “Ineffable” that precedes and prefaces what follows. That is not a matter within the scope of this essay. What is sufficient to say is that among the Jedi there are those who consider the Force a term for the objective reality we all exist as part of, a connection to others we are an immutable and indivisible part of, and there are Jedi who believe in the Force as an actual, binding, energy field common to all life. Neither of these beliefs are mutually exclusive but neither are they always intrinsically accepted by all Jedi. For the purposes of this essay, we are dealing with the idea of the Force as a presence that exists and can be interacted with. For today I wish to discuss what I call the Inductive Model of Jedi Rationalisation. This name derives from the fundaments of inductive reasoning which are the foundation of this model. There are two broad definitions of Inductive reasoning: 1. A method of reasoning, also called bottom-up logic, grounded in generalising, or extrapolating from specific cases or evidence to general rules to reach a conclusion. (Jan, 2019) 2. Where an individual interprets experiences and observations, their own and others, to produce a conclusion from inferred premises. (Rainbolt and Dwyer, 2014) Ultimately, inductive reasoning always leads to epistemic uncertainty in conclusions reached: deficiencies caused by a lack of knowledge or information. As inductive reasoning does not follow exclusively from premises/evidence, but rather utilises reasoning grounded in probabilities, it allows faults in interpretation to be carried forward and false and uncongent conclusions to be drawn from them. The fault in this is hopefully self-evident, and what is clearer is that we all engage in inductive reasoning regularly during our day to day lives. As human beings we live through reasoning based on premises grounded in our personal, empirical, experiences each day. We draw many conclusions from our own interpretations, and often with great ignorance of many complexities, or acknowledgement of fault in our reasoning. Quite often because we get through life, day to day, without our inductive reasoning failing us profoundly or to a troubling, and disastrous degree. However, as Jedi, we are called to the task of objectivity. Similarly, if we are to help others most fully, we must most fully understand their circumstance. Recognise our inductive reasoning is but our own understanding of life, and through communication and reflection, come to a mutual understanding of the situation. Hence, it is important to be mindful of the evidence presented to us. To act in a manner whereby we eliminate, and confirm, what is presented to us in a critical manner. Although, inductive reasoning can aid us, and indeed inductive reasoning can lead to enumerative induction, it is fundamentally biased and capable of arriving at certainty only in rare instances. A margin for error is always present, but when dealing in the lives of others, we have a responsibility to reduce it as far as we can. Our intuition is a tool like every other tool. It is here I now wish to arrive at the flaws in the Inductive Model of Jedi Rationalisation. What I mean by the Inductive Model of Jedi Rationalisation is a broad stance towards decision making is a model based largely on two truth claims: 1. That our actions are intrinsically guided by The Force: We are extensions of the Connected Universe. That the Force is a power that trumps and supersedes mere human authority. 2. We can rely on intuition and can appeal to experience as a revelatory authority by which to make decisions: including information gained by visions or dreams. There are several intrinsic flaws in this model of thinking, and arguably, ideas that go against the teachings of the Jedi Code. The first premise is flawed in that it allows appeals to a silent witness. It appeals to an authority that does not speak for itself, but rather through whoever places themselves as spokesperson. Furthermore, it creates a circumstance where the word of the Spoke’s Person can be argued to be more important than guiding documents and agreed rules and ethics. It allows the person taking this stance to exonerate themselves of the authority of ethics, and to abdicate their personal responsibility to matters to The Force and its Will. The second premise is similarly flawed, and for the primary reasons that inductive reasoning is flawed: biases distort the application of inductive argument, thereby preventing the forming of the most logical conclusions. Similarly, to paraphrase Hume, inductive reasoning draws conclusions that appear correct, but which are far from certain due to being based on limited experiences. Compared to deductive reasoning where the truth value of the conclusion is based on the truth of the premises used to justify it. Both forms of reasoning have faults, and it can be argued there is an inevitability to our use of inductive reasoning in day-to-day life. However, there is a difference between accepting the inevitably of reasoning faults and considering them incidental and doing nought about them. Overall, an inductive model of rationalisation given over to the Force, and a personal relationship with this concept of the Force present several issues in actualising ethics and morality. They present barriers to collective action, and to accountability. This is why the Way of the Jedi is concerned with Deontology and Orthopraxy: ethical guidance we can all study and recognise as a collective. The Codes, Creeds, and the Compass give all Jedi guidance. It gives us a set of definitions regarding Jedi Like, and Non-Jedi Like behaviour. We can all look to these ideas, these premises, and we can adjudge whether our actions have emerged from following said premises. We can have objective discussions about behaviour, outcomes, and intents through a dialogue grounded in well-understood language. Such a means of evaluation appeals to an authority we can all challenge, we can all speak from, and make meaningful conclusions. It also makes us responsible to an idea: it transforms the word Jedi into a Mantle. It gives us our personal, and collective, mandate. Neither model is perfect or ideal. We all rely on inductive reasoning, and discussion about codes is also subject to bias. We must beware the issue of human error, even in a robust system. However, appealing to an unknowable authority and sources of information known only to the decision maker, is not a means of working with others: it is an act of egoism. It makes one unaccountable to others, and it is reasoning that allows one to self-justify through self-appointed authority. Only through an authority we can all know can we all engage in being Jedi together. Thus, the importance of the Jedi code, but more importantly: responsibility and accountability to something other than yourself. Responsibility to your connection to the Universe: Your connection to others and your fellow Jedi.