Perhaps I should explain myself...
Recently a couple people and I were having an argument which I had hoped to be about the nature of the force, however it quickly turned into me being shot down and cut off without an explanation. Since I'm uninterrupted here, I'll give it a go.
I should begin by saying I do not believe people have one single motivation for an action. For example, in Episode III when Anakin charges Obi Wan from the lava boat and gets chopped down, he is doing this in part, because he lacks discipline. Yes, he may be arrogant or enraged, both or neither, but to do so was clearly a lack of forethought, which to me shows a lack of discipline.
This is reinforced by Anakin's previous actions. He killed a massive amount of sand people when his mother was injured or whatever. Time and time again he is saying "I know I am better than this" or "I know I could be a better jedi" but he is being caught up in emotions (namely, emotions which lead to the dark side) and is unable to do so. I do not believe he has the discipline to control himself. He may be arrogant, he may have rage, but why? This is, in part, a discipline issue.
This brings me to my next theory, the nature of the force. I believe (in core if not in practice) that jedi are about compassion, discipline, and the common good of man. I feel they are a victim of emotion as we all are, but they handle it in a different way. Its not that a jedi does not feel anger, but that a jedi does not act on anger. A jedi acts on reason. In fact, Yoda tells luke a jedi acts when reason is in control, when he's "calm, at peace, passive." He reinforces this by claiming only a calm mind can distinguish the good from the bad. Its imperative that a jedi be in good physical and mental condition, because the two work together. A sound mind and body allow a maximum connection to the force. A jedi must also face their worst fears. They must also be compassionate, they must love one and all, not possessively, not discriminantly. To do this requires a great devotion and even greater discipline. A jedi has a strong connection to the natural world. The jedi uses things that are ready-to-hand, meaning tools which allow us to experience the environment as natural extensions of our own bodies, such as a lightsaber. They are in touch with themselves, with the earth, and things around them. They care.
The dark side, conversely, is rooted in fear. It is about unrestrained emotions, like pride, love, anger, hatred, arrogance. The nature of the dark side is slavery. People who fall to the dark side are slaves to their own fear and more. They are taught aggression, technical thinking, control, and domination. Instead of feeling the force as jedi do, the Sith are trained to visually control nature as a set of external objects. According to this view, all reality is ready to be subordinated and controlled, for the purpose of increasing power over nature (called enframing).
People in the dark side have a certain heirarchy, the master and the slave. However, it is the master who has the distorted view. A philosopher named Hegel upholds our self-understanding comes from other people, when we confront another person like ourselves. When one is at the top, who is alike enough to give ourselves understanding of ourselves? The answer is: nobody. To understand yourself in that position is to make the world in your own self image, just as the Emporer in Star Wars. If there is more than one person, each fails to see the other as an equal and therefore leads to a power struggle. By this struggle we come to know the value of life and one person ends up stepping down out of fear and necesity. The slave, conversely, has nothing to lose but this fear and everything to gain. Common elements of the dark side are tools which are present-at-hand, high-tech tools which detach us from our environment. In doing things this way, we are "challenging" nature to merely serve our instrumental needs on our terms, rather than acknowleding it as a being in itself. It becomes distorted in the same way Emporer Palpatine becomes distorted in Episode III. Darth Vader and the Sith's view of the force are epitomes of this. Darth Vader's senses, indeed his very life is mediated by the artificial. He, after his battle with Obi-wan and resurrection (of sorts) by the Emporer, became fully enframed.
Thus, while the jedi feel and experience the force as a part of themselves, they are able to have a strong connection with the force. Although it is said their actions are guided by the force, they are not slaves of it. They do not control the force, they are merely mediating the energy. The jedi use the force for defense.
Conversely, because of the dark side's view on the force, they are slaves of it. They are slaves of their over-powered emotions, their anger and hate. They are consumed by negative emotions and with their negative outlook they inflict their will upon others by "controlling" the force. The Sith use the force for control and domination.
This leads me to wonder, what is power and which is more powerful, Sith or Jedi? It would seem that the Sith, with the pain and suffering they can inflict through the force and other actions, would be very powerful beings, but are they really? This is obvious power, but perhaps it won't look so powerful upon closer inspection. As stated above, the Sith are taught to use their emotions, most of which have roots in fear (anger, hatred, etc.). It would seem, then, the Sith never face their fears. Not facing fears could be considered weakness by some. Similarly, a Sith will often hurt or kill people or beings weaker than themselves. To me, this is cowardice, which is also a weakness. They do not excersize the discipline to control their emotions, again, weakness.
A jedi, on the other hand, faces fear. They live with discipline and feel compassion towards others, most often indiscriminantly. To me, this would take a considerable strength. They recognize the need for a strong connection to the force and feel it in the very fiber of their being. To develop such a connection would, assumingly, take a lot of strength and effort. As we learn in Episode III and throughout the original Trilogy, Jedi can even exist in the force after their bodies die. I would imagine this would take a considerable power, but of a different kind.
So which is more powerful? The offensive Sith or the deffensive Jedi? I think both are equally powerful, but in very different ways. While it is true Sith do have a great outwardly power, the inward power of a Jedi is undeniable.
To read more, look up the book "Star Wars and Philosophy, More Powerful than You Can Possibly Imagine"
I should begin by saying I do not believe people have one single motivation for an action. For example, in Episode III when Anakin charges Obi Wan from the lava boat and gets chopped down, he is doing this in part, because he lacks discipline. Yes, he may be arrogant or enraged, both or neither, but to do so was clearly a lack of forethought, which to me shows a lack of discipline.
This is reinforced by Anakin's previous actions. He killed a massive amount of sand people when his mother was injured or whatever. Time and time again he is saying "I know I am better than this" or "I know I could be a better jedi" but he is being caught up in emotions (namely, emotions which lead to the dark side) and is unable to do so. I do not believe he has the discipline to control himself. He may be arrogant, he may have rage, but why? This is, in part, a discipline issue.
This brings me to my next theory, the nature of the force. I believe (in core if not in practice) that jedi are about compassion, discipline, and the common good of man. I feel they are a victim of emotion as we all are, but they handle it in a different way. Its not that a jedi does not feel anger, but that a jedi does not act on anger. A jedi acts on reason. In fact, Yoda tells luke a jedi acts when reason is in control, when he's "calm, at peace, passive." He reinforces this by claiming only a calm mind can distinguish the good from the bad. Its imperative that a jedi be in good physical and mental condition, because the two work together. A sound mind and body allow a maximum connection to the force. A jedi must also face their worst fears. They must also be compassionate, they must love one and all, not possessively, not discriminantly. To do this requires a great devotion and even greater discipline. A jedi has a strong connection to the natural world. The jedi uses things that are ready-to-hand, meaning tools which allow us to experience the environment as natural extensions of our own bodies, such as a lightsaber. They are in touch with themselves, with the earth, and things around them. They care.
The dark side, conversely, is rooted in fear. It is about unrestrained emotions, like pride, love, anger, hatred, arrogance. The nature of the dark side is slavery. People who fall to the dark side are slaves to their own fear and more. They are taught aggression, technical thinking, control, and domination. Instead of feeling the force as jedi do, the Sith are trained to visually control nature as a set of external objects. According to this view, all reality is ready to be subordinated and controlled, for the purpose of increasing power over nature (called enframing).
People in the dark side have a certain heirarchy, the master and the slave. However, it is the master who has the distorted view. A philosopher named Hegel upholds our self-understanding comes from other people, when we confront another person like ourselves. When one is at the top, who is alike enough to give ourselves understanding of ourselves? The answer is: nobody. To understand yourself in that position is to make the world in your own self image, just as the Emporer in Star Wars. If there is more than one person, each fails to see the other as an equal and therefore leads to a power struggle. By this struggle we come to know the value of life and one person ends up stepping down out of fear and necesity. The slave, conversely, has nothing to lose but this fear and everything to gain. Common elements of the dark side are tools which are present-at-hand, high-tech tools which detach us from our environment. In doing things this way, we are "challenging" nature to merely serve our instrumental needs on our terms, rather than acknowleding it as a being in itself. It becomes distorted in the same way Emporer Palpatine becomes distorted in Episode III. Darth Vader and the Sith's view of the force are epitomes of this. Darth Vader's senses, indeed his very life is mediated by the artificial. He, after his battle with Obi-wan and resurrection (of sorts) by the Emporer, became fully enframed.
Thus, while the jedi feel and experience the force as a part of themselves, they are able to have a strong connection with the force. Although it is said their actions are guided by the force, they are not slaves of it. They do not control the force, they are merely mediating the energy. The jedi use the force for defense.
Conversely, because of the dark side's view on the force, they are slaves of it. They are slaves of their over-powered emotions, their anger and hate. They are consumed by negative emotions and with their negative outlook they inflict their will upon others by "controlling" the force. The Sith use the force for control and domination.
This leads me to wonder, what is power and which is more powerful, Sith or Jedi? It would seem that the Sith, with the pain and suffering they can inflict through the force and other actions, would be very powerful beings, but are they really? This is obvious power, but perhaps it won't look so powerful upon closer inspection. As stated above, the Sith are taught to use their emotions, most of which have roots in fear (anger, hatred, etc.). It would seem, then, the Sith never face their fears. Not facing fears could be considered weakness by some. Similarly, a Sith will often hurt or kill people or beings weaker than themselves. To me, this is cowardice, which is also a weakness. They do not excersize the discipline to control their emotions, again, weakness.
A jedi, on the other hand, faces fear. They live with discipline and feel compassion towards others, most often indiscriminantly. To me, this would take a considerable strength. They recognize the need for a strong connection to the force and feel it in the very fiber of their being. To develop such a connection would, assumingly, take a lot of strength and effort. As we learn in Episode III and throughout the original Trilogy, Jedi can even exist in the force after their bodies die. I would imagine this would take a considerable power, but of a different kind.
So which is more powerful? The offensive Sith or the deffensive Jedi? I think both are equally powerful, but in very different ways. While it is true Sith do have a great outwardly power, the inward power of a Jedi is undeniable.
To read more, look up the book "Star Wars and Philosophy, More Powerful than You Can Possibly Imagine"