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StarWarsEpisodeIAmericanPoliticalPhilosophy.pptxA long time ago in a galaxy far,
far away…
and American Political Philosophy
The Star Wars Prequel Films: EPISODE I: THE PHANTOM MENACE
A civil war rages in the Galactic Republic – a constitutional republic much like our own. While the Galactic Senate endlessly bickers about its resolution, Supreme Chancellor Palpatine secretly dispatches two Jedi Knights – the defenders of peace and justice in the galaxy – to aid in bringing about its conclusion… Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Chancellor Palpatine
Qui Gon Jinn
Obi-Wan Kenobi
Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi, after having escaped a trap, come to the sand covered planet of Tatooine and meet a young child, Anakin Skywalker. Anakin, the Jedi discover, is stronger in the ‘Force’ than any Jedi in existence. The number of ‘midichlorians’ in his blood (like white or red blood cells that enable a person to use the Force) far outstrips that of normal Jedi and Qui-Gon concludes that Anakin must be ‘the Chosen One’ – the one prophesied to destroy the evil Lords of the Sith (the enemies of the Jedi) and bring balance to the Force. Qui-Gon brings Anakin before the Jedi Council in hopes that they will allow him to be trained as a Jedi so that the prophecy may come true.
Anakin Skywalker as a Child
While many of the Jedi on the Council agree with Qui-Gon, Jedi Master Yoda – the oldest, wisest, and most powerful Jedi alive – disagrees. He believes that Anakin’s upbringing as a slave has taught him to act out of fear in moments of vulnerability, and he argues that this tendency may well lead Anakin down the path of the Dark Side – the path embraced by the Lords of the Sith. He believes that training Anakin will make Anakin’s path to the Dark Side inevitable and irreversible.
Master Yoda
Most of the Jedi side with Qui-Gon, and Anakin begins his training. At the end of the film, Qui-Gon is killed, and Obi-Wan assumes the role of Anakin’s mentor, and Anakin becomes Obi-Wan’s padawan – or student.
EPISODE II: ATTACK OF THE CLONES
During his instruction, Anakin – as a young man – falls in love with the female Senator from the planet Naboo, Padme Amidala. Getting married is against the Jedi Code; becoming a Jedi means that both male and female members must remain celibate, single and uncommitted. Anakin ignores this rule, and at the end of the film, marries Padme in secret.
The Young Man, Anakin Skywalker
Padme Amidala
Also in this film, Anakin has dream-visions of his mother being tortured and killed. His strength in the Force propels him to return to Tatooine in hopes of saving her. Sadly, the visions prove true, and Anakin arrives in time enough for his mother to die in his arms.
Shmi Skywalker, Anakin’s Mother
Throughout the film, Anakin befriends Chancellor Palpatine. At times, Palpatine acts as a father to Anakin and is aware of Anakin’s hopes and dreams – perhaps even more so than his Jedi mentors….
EPISODE III: THE REVENGE OF THE SITH
This film begins with Anakin discovering that Padme is pregnant. Certain that he will be expelled from the Jedi Order if the Council finds out, Anakin keeps his future child a secret. He begins having dream-visions of Padme dying in childbirth. Afraid that this vision will come true like the one about his mother did, Anakin seeks the advice of Jedi Master Yoda. The old Jedi Master tells Anakin to ‘train himself to let go of anything that he fears to lose.’ In other words, avoid dangerous attachments…which Anakin has already embraced.
Finding Yoda’s advice to be a poor solution to his problem, Anakin seeks the advice of Palpatine. He tells Anakin a Sith legend – ‘The Tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise’– Plagueis was so strong in the Dark Side he could keep the people he cared about from dying… Anakin asks Palpatine if it’s possible to learn this power, and Palpatine replies… ‘Not from a Jedi…” Shortly afterwards, Anakin learns that Palpatine – like Plagueis – is a Sith Lord, Darth Sidious, and that he may hold the secret that might save Padme’s life.
Darth Sidious
The Jedi Council finds out through Anakin that Palpatine is a Sith Lord and set out to destroy him, because that is the foremost duty of the Jedi. Before Mace Windu can defeat Palpatine in a lightsaber duel, however, Anakin cuts off his hand and allows Palpatine to kill Windu. Knowing now that he has betrayed the Jedi and guaranteed himself expulsion from the Jedi Order – if not worse – Anakin became Palpatine’s new apprentice, Darth Vader
Mace Windu
Darth Vader
Palpatine sends Vader (Anakin) to murder all the Jedi in the Jedi Temple (including the younglings) while he orders the assassination of the Jedi that had been dispatched across the galaxy. Only Yoda and Obi-Wan survive the massacre. With the destruction of the Jedi nearly complete , Chancellor Palpatine dissolves the Galactic Republic, establishes the Galactic Empire, and names himself Emperor.
Obi-Wan and Yoda discover Anakin’s betrayal and massacre at the Jedi Temple, and Yoda orders Obi-Wan to kill Anakin and remove the threat of the new Sith Lord. Having been Anakin’s friend and father-figure for many years, Obi-Wan finds this hard to bear and first attempts reasoning with Anakin in the hopes of bringing him back to the ‘good side’ of the Force.
Upon realizing that Anakin’s redemption is impossible, he fights Anakin on the volcanic planet of Mustafar in an epic lightsaber duel and successfully defeats him. Thus, the relationship between Anakin and Obi-Wan sadly ends.
THE STAR WARS PREQUEL FILMS AND AMERICAN POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY
SOME BASIC IDEAS FROM STAR WARS AND WESTERN PHILOSOPHY
The Force
An energy field that flows through all living things that only the Jedi Knights and the Dark Lords of the Sith can harness and manipulate
The Human Intellect
A unique ability that human have to think, reason, and make calculated decisions. Like the Jedi and the Force, humans are the only creatures on Earth that possess this unique ability
The Jedi Knights
The protagonists (heroes) of the Star Wars saga
The Jedi use the Force selflessly – that is, to benefit others
Altruists
Altruists are people who use their intellect to benefit other people – not because they’ll benefit from it, but because they genuine care or empathize with other people or things
The Sith Lords
The Lords of the Sith are the villains in the Star Wars saga.
They use the Force only to benefit themselves and fulfill their passions
Narcissists
Narcissists are the people who use their intellect exclusively to benefit themselves
The word narcissism is based off of a Greek fable about Narcissus – a man so full of himself that he stared at his own reflection all day.
THE MAJOR DEBATES IN POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY
THE HUMAN NATURE DEBATE
HUMANS ARE INTRINSICALLY SELFLESS
Qui-Gon Jinn – Anakin is Selfless
-In The Phantom Menace, Qui-Gon argues that Anakin is ‘the Chosen One’ – a person destined to bring balance to the Force and rid the galaxy of the toxic influence of the Lord of the Sith
-In short, Qui-Gon believed that Anakin’s nature was inherently good.
Plato – The Nature of Humanity is More Selfless
Plato, an ancient Greek philosopher argued in his book, The Republic, that humans are inherently good and destined for greatness.
He argued that everyone is called to do something specific and that humans fulfilled their potential by answering that calling.
HUMANS ARE INTRINSICALLY SELF-INTERESTED
Yoda – Anakin is Self-Interested
Unlike Qui-Gon, Yoda argues that Anakin’s experience as a slave has engrained in him a survivalist mentality. He argues that if put in a vulnerable position, Anakin will do what he has to in order to feel safe – even if it means embracing the ‘Dark Side’ of the Force
Aristotle Humans are Self-Interested Animals
Like Yoda, Aristotle argues that while humanity can think and reason, when put to it, we are at our barest nature, animals and will do what we have to in order to survive – even if it means doing terrible things
THE SEPARATION OF POWERS QUESTION
The Galactic Republic’s Government
The Galactic Republic, like our government, has three branches that check each other and balance each other out.
The Jedi Council, the judicial arm of the Republic, often did its own thing regardless of what the other two branches of government wanted. For this reason, the Chancellor (executive) and the Senate ultimately began to distrust the Council and their intentions.
Our Government
Our government, like the Galactic Republic, has three branches with the judicial being the most powerful and independent.
A French philosopher, Baron de Montesquieu, argued that a powerful and independent judiciary is essential to keep the other two branches from overstepping their power
The Federalist Papers 10 and 51
Federalist 10 argues that the United States should be a new hybrid government (a mix of a republic and an indirect democracy, a constitutional republic) in hopes of mitigating the influence of partisanship and autocratic rule.
Federalist 51 emphasizes the importance of the separation of powers and checks and balances. Three separately independent but co-equal branches of government.
The separation of powers is what made America completely different from anything at the time and still sets us apart as an example for how representative democracies should be designed around the world today.
The Question of Power
This is very important. The Founding Fathers, based on Montesquieu’s philosophy, wanted THE judicial branch to be the most powerful, because it was the only entity that wasn’t answerable to voters and therefore the least likely to be influenced by politics.
The Fouding Fathers designed the executive branch to be the least powerful. They had just fought to escape the whims of a tyrannical king, and the steward of power, the president, was designed in response to his abuse of power.
Upper Case vs. Lower Case
There is a HUGE difference between ‘upper case D Democrats’ and ‘lower case d democrats.’
Upper case D Democrats belong to the Democratic political party.
Lower case d democrats are advocates for democracy and the democratic process. Most Republicans AND Democrats in America are lower case d democrats, because the thing that set America apart at the time (and still today) is its belief in that process and the democratic institutions (independently powerful yet dependent on each other) that Montesquieu proposed.
I don’t care what political party you belong to, but if you truly love America, you therefore believe in its original purpose – that of representative government, separation of powers, and the democratic process. All of us should be lower case d democrats.
THE SOCIAL CONTRACT QUESTION
What is a Social Contract?
A social contract is a deal that is struck between a citizenry and their government
Citizens agree to follow the laws
Government promises to protect the citizens and provide them with the basic necessities of life
Both sides are expected to adhere to the social contract.
SOCIAL CONTRACTS SHOULD NOT BE BROKEN: ORDER IS PREFERABLE TO CHAOS
Anakin Goes to the Dark Side: Order Over Chaos
In The Revenge of the Sith, Anakin ends up going to the Dark Side and propping up the Galactic Empire created by Chancellor Palpatine.
He was offered a number of chances to change his mind, but betraying Palpatine and the Empire, from his perspective, was more problematic than sticking with them.
Thomas Hobbes’ Leviathan Order Over Chaos
A British philosopher, Thomas Hobbes, essentially made this argument. Once people enter into a social contract with a government, they escape anarchy. By abandoning their government, people run the risk of returning to anarchy, and Hobbes believed this was unacceptable – even if the government was tyrannical. In his opinion, order is always preferable to chaos.
SOCIAL CONTRACTS SOMETIMES CAN AND SHOULD BE BROKEN: FOR THE GREATER GOOD
For The Greater Good…
Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin’s mentor, despised the Empire and believed the Jedi and their sympathizers had the right to revolt against the Empire and attempt to restore the Galactic Republic.
In order to achieve that end, he had to oppose – and ultimately fight Anakin and the Empire for the greater good.
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John Locke’s Second Treatise of Government For the Greater Good
Another British philosopher, John Locke, argued the same in his work, The Second Treatise of Government. He, like Kenobi, argues that if a government becomes tyrannical, the people have the right to (and should) oust the sitting government and start over.
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The Revenge of the Sith and the Declaration of Independence
The third Star Wars prequel movie tells the story of the deterioration of Anakin and Obi-Wan’s relationship.
Similarly, the Declaration of Independence is essentially a documented history of the deterioration of the relationship between the American colonies and Great Britain right before the American Revolution.
Three Parts With One Purpose
The Declaration of Independence has three parts
An introduction. This includes the part “We hold these truths self-evident that all men are created equal and are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, among these being life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
A list of all of the wrongs done by King George III to the American colonies
A conclusion which states that the colonies have chosen to break the social contract they had and become independent.
An Invitation…
One of several questions on your midterm that you can choose from asks you to watch The Revenge of the Sith.
As you watch, take notes on all of the things that Anakin does wrong. Some of these things will be small, and some of things things are NOT small.
After having watched the movie and taken those notes, you will be prepared to write a Declaration of Independence from Obi-Wan to Anakin, because like the American colonies, Obi-Wan tried very hard to resolve his differences with Anakin but ultimately chose to part ways.
How to Access the Movie
Unfortunately, the only way to access the movie for free is to
Come on campus and check it out of the library. I had them put three copies on reserve. You are able to take the DVD home, so you don’t have to stay on campus
Watch a copy you already have (and many of you or your friends probably own it)
Watch it on Disney+ if you or someone you know has a subscription.
You CAN rent it from YouTube for five dollars on YouTube and four dollars on Amazon.
Reminder!! This Question is OPTIONAL
This exam question is one of several that you will be able to choose from.
Therefore, if you don’t want to spend the money or aren’t that interested in Star Wars, YOU CAN CHOOSE NOT TO WATCH THE FILM.
Questions?
Just like in previous lectures, if you have questions, please feel free to email, call, or text me. I am always happy to help you all learn the material better.
Have a good week, and
May the Force be with you!
