Jedi Ethics

[neotoma]

The Jedi in the Old Republic are an active force of peacekeepers and troubleshooters. They are similar in function to the Texas Rangers of history -- they come to hot spots, help put down the riot, and move on.

It's just *how* they do that that gives me shivers.

The Jedi Mind Trick (patent pending) we first saw in the original movie, where Ben Kenobi uses it to get by an enemy checkpoint. That's a perfectly ethical use of the talent, in a situation of war and espionage. So is Luke's use of it in RotJ, when he's going into Jabba's compound. Both situations are where the Jedi are dealing with people out to hurt them -- enemies, in other words -- and need all the leverage they can get.

It's just later, in the prequels, where I begin to wonder.

In TPM, when Qui-Gon attempts to use it on Watto, he's in a pretty desperate situation -- stranded on gangster territory, with enemies tracking him and his shipmates. He *must* get the parts to repair the ship, but his Republican dactaries aren't worthwhile currency out on the Rim. However, if he'd succeed in mind-tricking Watto into accepting worthless money, how would that have differed from theft? Watto wasn't trying to hurt Qui-Gon, he just wanted to be paid in useful currency for what he was selling.

That he might have tried to trick Qui-Gon later when they were discussing the bet and freeing Anakin and Shmi doesn't really matter, as we know Watto isn't a nice being. Qui-Gon, on the other hand, is supposed to be a good person, as he's a Jedi Knight and thus a defender of order and bringer of justice. Should he really be stealing property and rigging dice games?

When Obi-Wan uses the mind trick on the man selling deathsticks in AotC, it is funny on the surface, and rather disturbing underneath. Is Obi-Wan allowed to mind-whammy anyone who he finds conducting shady business? Who decides what is unpleasant but acceptable work, and what deserves mental tampering? The man is selling dubious merchandise to say the least, but he is a Coruscant resident, and thus someone whom Obi-Wan is supposed to protect, at least in theory.

I don't know that I'd trust the judgement of the Jedi, no matter how stellar they are supposed to be.

Comments

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

Absolutely--I mean, what is the justification in some of those cases? With Obi-wan in the first movie, it was the equivalent of an invisibility cloak. Same with Luke, where he had the guards bring him inside. (Also by those movies the Jedi aren't law enforcement.) But there's something innately disturbing and dehumanizing about tricking someone into doing something against their own best interests, especially when there's that hint that the person deserves it, like this is related to law enforcement.

[ataniell93.livejournal.com]

Well, I don't honestly think I could have blamed him for outright stealing in order to avoid getting stuck on Tatooine--especially since he could always send acceptable currency later, once he got back to civilisation.

But I absolutely concur on the deathstick business.

[titti]

you know the more I think about it, the more the Jedi remind me of Albus, who will do anything when he thinks it's for the best. *shivers*

[murasaki99.livejournal.com]

The mind-whammy is one of those situational ethics things for sure.

Hmm, the Star Wars gaming books describe death sticks as truly being just that - they slowly kill you while you get high. So the dealer was actually a slow murderer. With that background info Obi-Wan was actually being pretty gentle with him.

Qui-Gon rigging the dice game is another situation where if I were a judge, I'd probably give it to Qui-Gon - with the stipulation that Watto got reimbursed later. Also its no fault of Qui-Gon that Watto bet the farm on Anakin *losing* the race - and probably getting killed, to boot. That's wicked.

I'm not sure how long the mind-whammy lasts, any data on that? I think according to the gaming books it only lasts for so long, then its influence fades away. So I don't think you could permenantly mind-blast someone into a new lifestyle. Unless there's some heavier version the Jedi Council can do?