I read in the Book of the Sith a note by Luke Skywalker regarding the price of some Sith powers how they run the risk of harming and even killing the user yet some Sith still seek out these self destroying abilities. So I got to thinking is it possible that some Sith are so full of hate and self loathing that subconsciously they really just want to die?
"Life creates the Force, and makes it grow." Therefore, I believe that mis-using the Force leads to death, hatred, and destruction. Vader showed it's possible for a Sith to still have some last vestige of good in him, waiting for a chance to escape the darkness, even if that escape is at the cost of his own life. I don't know if anyone truly wants to die; many are so desperate for any change in their lives that death seems like a better choice than going on.
I think the major flaw of the Sith is that they only seek greater power. Too much power can corrupt you and eventually turn self-destructive. That passage seemed to be written by the point of view of a Jedi who knows that the Sith's quest for power blinds them to see that it is indeed self destructive, but from a darksider's point of view if it leads to greater power and control, it is only an advantage.
There's a theory that this applies to all truly evil people - they subconsciously want to die - but survival instinct counters this - and they kill, instead.
I have always believed the Dark Side and It's exploitation harms the health of the user. Eventually, practicing the powers of the Dark Side lead to decay and death. Force Bomb is one of the more eh hem.. interesting self destructive Sith powers.
They may well be aware of the dangers, but I think rather than not caring about them, they see them as a necessary and tolerable risk to take in order to achieve their goals of absolute power and control.
The Sith must seek some self destruction, they know that training an apprentice practically means that the apprentice will likely one day betray them and slay them. If (major if, I am a Jedi) I was a Sith Lord, I would not train a apprentice, because you know what is coming when you teach someone younger than you all your old tricks.
Then taking an apprentice would imply that the Sith experience emotions like everyone else; they get lonely for companionship in addition to wanting to pass along their hard-won experience and knowledge. They are not always hellbent on conquering the galaxy. They must have times of quiet reflection where they experience self-doubt, longing for what has been lost, despair (which would in turn drive them to take greater risks with the power of the Dark Side of the Force to escape that), and yes, even suicide. Has there ever been suicidal Sith? I would be shocked if there were no recorded instances of this in the Star Wars universe.
Some Sith commit "suicide by Jedi" rather than allowing themselves to be captured. For example: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Lord_Kopecz
Yes, but that's not depression-driven suicide. He was dying anyway. That's one thing that I've always found lacking in Star Wars--the fact that all Sith are so purely evil that have lost their humanity, and thus their allure as a villain. Villains who are filled with self-doubt, remorse, longing for the old ways, and/or even despair that things can never go back to the way they were before so let's just finish what we started type mentalities are far more interesting to read about.
That's what makes them interesting and dynamic. When we see a fall from grace, and someone turn to the Dark Side, we always hope they will change at the last minute and return to the light. Well, I do...a good example if anyone remembers the old show Beast Wars, was when Black Arachnia, after taking all the crap from Megatron, finally had enough and turned away from the Decepticons and started fighting them. She had to prove herself, of course, and it was interesting because you could see she really had turned, but no one believed her. A rather complex plot line for a kids' show. And the segue back to Star Wars is this. I prefer to see this type of plot structure in my villains even if they never turn, but at least show that they are afflicted by the same doubts and questions that plague us all, even when they seem to be at the pinnacle of their power.
This. Every Sith Lord thinks that they're the special snowflake who's mighty enough to overcome the risks of death in the name of greater power. So its not that they seek self-destroying power, its that they seek greater power, period. They'll let nothing, not even fear of death, hinder them in gaining greater power.
Palpatine didn't. Not only did he have clones of himself, but he always made sure that his apprentices would never surpass him.
At the end of the day, though, when they lay in bed at night, you gotta wonder if they think about everyone and everything they left behind, if they ever feel not just alone, but lonely. I don't know about the alien species, but humans are not designed to cope well with isolation, and that's ultimately what a Sith must do--isolate him- or herself from all others in the quest for the ultimate power in the hopes that once achieved, it will justify all the things they had to do to get there. I always wonder if they have doubts about whether the ends will ultimately justify the means...
