The Ethics and Morality of the Jedi Mind Trick

The Jedi Mind Trick

The mind trick, also called voice manipulation, was a Force technique employed by Jedi to influence the thoughts of the weak-minded. In particular, it was often invoked to coerce the target of this power into agreement by suggestion, to cause one to reveal information, or to appeal to a sensory impression for distraction (e.g., to imitate the sound of footsteps emanating from a corridor for sneaking past a guard). This tactic allowed its practitioners to resolve matters in a non-violent way.

Employing the Jedi Mind Trick

When using a Jedi mind trick, a Jedi often waved his or her hand to aid in the persuasion. The Jedi adopted a peculiar tone of voice along with a casual facial expression. The sentient being that was the object of the mind trick tended to adopt a casual tone of voice but a peculiar facial expression. He or she, if possessing a relatively weak mind, then agreed to whatever was being told to them without being able to think for themselves

----culled from Wookiepedia




The morality of this particular ?art? has always interested me. Firstly, the potential for diabolical abuse is clear. A morally challenged Force user could easily use this power to incite another to commit a crime, harm himself/herself, to mention just a few nefarious uses.

Yet strangely enough though, the power is referred to as the Jedi Mind Trick. The movies impress on us that either the Sith do not have or are unable to use this power. Not even Darth Tyrannus, who was once Jedi Master Dooku, appears to possess it.

Secondly, deliberate mis-use is not the only caution with the Mind Trick. Like every other ?easy way out? solution to a difficulty, it can be abused for good purposes. There is the temptation to repeatedly use it for every problem. It is presumed that there would be some guidelines for this art, and it would only be applied within certain levels of Jedi ranks. However, there doesn?t seem to be any evidence in the films to support it: Obi-Wan in ANH introduces it to Luke casually, Qui-Gon does not hesitate to (try to) use it to dupe Wattoo in TPM.

(Funny enough, it is the latter situation that gives a clear example of how easily the art can be abused: by a Jedi with the best of intentions, but still an individual who will give his mission - his job - priority over fair treatment of an innocent bystander.)

Finally, the use of the Jedi Mind Trick challenges one of the fundamental themes of Star Wars is free will vs. predestination, with the emphasis being that people make their own destinies. Is bending someone?s will, for even a short time, for even a noble purpose, something that can ever be morally justifiable?

 

Well I think that if you're evil enough to make them jump off a cliff or whatever, then you might as well use Force lightning and save yourself the effort.

 

well we only see the mind trick successfully used on clones who were geneticly altered to make them easier to control and bib fortuna, a jabba lacky.

the most questionable time it is even attempted is when QG tries to basically swindle watto by getting him to accept worthless currency for ship parts and that failed.

i am very suprised it's considered acceptable for the jedi to try to use such things in those kind of negotiations, but to be honest free will is a dream the reality in the GFFA is the same as our world: all we can hope for is the illusion of freedom.

 

It's only refered to as Jedi Mind Trick for the eu. The films just refer to it as a mind trick. That doesn't mean that the Sith don't use it, it's just that they rely on more subtle means of persuasion. Actual, old fashion trickery without using the Force. In the films, the Sith have no opportunity to use it. Or even the desire to. Dooku had no reason to use it, because he had managed to get everyone on board of their own free will. Palpatine couldn't risk getting caught by the Jedi performing this. Instead, he and Mas Amedda used a different form of persuasion. One where they played upon Jar Jar's desire to do the right thing. Vader didn't use the trick, because he believed in being forceful. Qui-gon used the trick to avoid conflict, but it failed against Watto who is a Toydarian and strong willed. Obi-wan used it also to avoid conflict. Luke used it to get past Bib Fortuna so he could speak with Jabba. Jabba was unaffected because he's a strong willed Hutt.

Yes, there is always the possibility that a Jedi could use it for personal gain. That is true of any Force usage. Thus a Jedi should use it when it is viable and not to abuse it in a way that a Sith would.

 

Sinister, it is in fact referred to as a mind trick in the movies... Jabba's translation subtitles refer to Luke's action as an 'old Jedi mind trick'. My guess is that it became known as a -jedi- mind trick because there was no other comparable group of force users known to the galaxy at large, certainly not during the Republic years. Who else would be able to do such a thing? The Sith had been thought to have been wiped out. I imagine anything force-related would have become associated with the Jedi.

I'm thinking that the mind trick is not so much a case of overriding free will, but of one will being pitted against another... which, as sinister pointed out, can be done by other means than a mind trick. If you don't care so much about something, it might be easier to influence you on that point than on something you feel strongly about. Of course, if you don't have much will to begin with, you're going to be more susceptible anyway, just as a heavy and well-muscled person can tip over someone much lighter. Obviously, just because the lighter person wanted to stay up doesn't make his falling down a violation of free will. Similarly, one will overpowering another doesn't make for a violation of free will either. It's also, however, not to say that it's ethical-- but neither is deceiving another person by lying, which would be the more conventional means.

The only person we see use a mind-trick for what might be considered personal gain (springing Han) instead of for the greater good or the good of the recipient is Luke, who is not a Jedi yet at that point and hasn't been trained like the Jedi of the Republic. Qui-Gon had the responsibility of aiding the Queen in bringing help for her entire planet, and Watto could probably have found somewhere to use Republic credits. In AOTC, Obi-Wan tells the bar patron to go home and rethink his life, which I consider a use beneficial to the recipient. In ANH, decieves the stormtroopers, which he knows to be weak-minded and susceptible in any case, for a greater cause-- aiding the Rebellion. I assume, based on this, that the Jedi do have ethical guidelines for use of the Mind Trick.

 

I personally view it as just another method of trickery which is of coure an ethical grey area, but over all I'd definitely say it's less Dark than say Force Choking/Lightninging someone into submission given that at least the Mind Trick doesn't cause physical harm. It's also worth noting I think that the Mind Trick only works on the Weak Minded.

Also, as Shrunken said, the only person we see use it for personal gain is Luke who, as much as I do love the character, isn't a fully trained Jedi in the films. I mean he's at most the equivalent of a Padawan until after he'd confronted Vader.

 

I still say that whoever's evil enough to use a Mind Trick to do malicious harm would not be using Mind Tricks to begin with.

 

I agree.

 

Yes, this is true. But I'm refering to amongest the Jedi, not a Hutt dealing with a Jedi Padawan. The Jedi never call it a Jedi mind trick. And towards the end of the Republic, there was a known Sith running around named Count Dooku.

Actually, Luke was freeing Han for the greater good. First, Han did not deserve to be betrayed like that by Lando. Second, Han was only frozen because Vader wanted to test that carbonite would freeze a living being and have that person survive. Third, they needed Han in the Alliance since he was their best pilot and a great tactician. And finally because Han had gotten sidetracked by his time with the Alliance, that he couldn't pay off his debt right away. By the time he made the effort to do so, he got delayed because of Vader's pursuit in order to bring Luke out of hiding.

Not to mention that Leia, Lando and Chewie were going to go after him whether he was involved or not. He went because they needed his help and it was the compassionate thing to do.

 

There's no evidence that he was known to the public at large as a Sith...

I agree it was the compassionate thing to do, that Luke was right to help, and that Han was a help to the alliance. In that way it can be thought of as a use for the greater good. I think I'm right in saying, though, that the alliance could have gone on without Han and that the prime motivation was personal. Han was Luke's friend, and he owed him. That was what I was referring to when I said it could be thought of as a use for personal gain.

 

There's no evidence that he wasn't known.

Yes, right. I was just pointing out that it might not have been Luke's idea. He may have come up with the plan, but he wasn't the only one there. There were three of Han's close friends and someone who was in love with him involved. I'm not doubting that the Alliance couldn't have survived without him, though as we know at Endor he was needed.

But alas, we're a bit off topic.

 

Just when I thought there wasnt one more thing to divine from SW - The Ethics and Morality of the Jedi Mind Trick. Classic!

 

When Watto told Qui-Gon that the ol' Jedi Mind Trick wasn't going to work on him, Qui-Gon should have walked to the nearest tavern and swindled the cash from the most revolting person he could find. Then Qui-Gon should have gone back to Watto to buy the ship parts he came for, and bought freedom for Anakin and Shmi. End of Anakin's angst, for a long while anyway.

This would be an instance where the ends does truly justify the means. (And, for my own two cents, robbing some thief or murderer of his money is only a little wrong.)

 

One thing that I've always wondered is whether Padawans are allowed to use Mind Tricks. From the films, we get the idea that it's important to use discretion when attempting a Mind Trick. If the Mind Trick doesn't work, there is the danger that the person the Jedi would be trying to coerce would get angry. With that being said, could a Padawan be trusted to know when is the appropriate time for such things. It just seems like maybe that might be something they weren't supposed to do until they became a Knight or something. Does anyone know the answer to this?

 

Qui told Obi not to let the Naboo send any transmissions, and when the Naboo got an incoming holo message, he mind tricked the false queen and told them not to reply to the message. Qui more or less gave Obi permission to use mind trick if the situation called for it.

As far as other Padawans, I don't know, but Anakin sorta did a non-verbal mind trick in the bar in AOTC iirc.

 

I wasn't aware that Obi-Wan used a mind trick on the false queen. When I watch that scene, it looks to me like he's just giving her advice, although I agree that Qui-Gon pretty much gave Obi-Wan permission to do whatever was necessary to protect the Naboo.

 

There was no mind trick from Obi-wan on the Naboo aboard the ship. He made a gesture that was not a mind trick gesture. Especially since in AOTC, MacGregor moves his hand the same way that Guiness did in ANH.

 

I haven't watched TPM in a while, it looked sorta mind trick-esque but I guess the mind plays tricks after a while.

Anyways, is there anything saying that you have to wave your hand for the mind trick to work or is it just a habit of the Jedi to do it that way?

 

Actually there's nothing saying that the mind trick doesn't work when you wave your hands around... but then again, there's nothing saying that it does.

The problem I have with it is the fact that the Jedi use it with so little moral compunction. Obi-Wan mind-foogles people left and right, and there seems to be no ... 'temperance' in the use. It's just as approriate to mind-trick stormtroopers to hide the droids that hold the key to the Alliance victory, as it is appropriate to mind-trick a death-stick seller... The casual use of the power is rather alarming.

 

Obi-wan didnt really show it to luke he used it to save their skin and then explained it to luke. We never see Ben "teach" luke the mind trick. Qui-gon was stranded on a backwater planet away from the republic and didnt have much of a choice.

 

Actually, there are always choices. In the end, Qui-Gon didn't need the mind-trick to get the hyperdrive from Wattoo so even though it seemed to be the "only" choice, there was an alternative.

I'm sure if we examine every situation a mind trick is employed, it will be easy to see that it wasn't the last resort.

Generally speaking, I am wary of "quick and easy" solutions. Don't they lead to the Dark Side?

 

Quick and easy is only a problem for one who wants to obtain power. Anakin felt he was not strong enough to save his mother, so he took the quick and easy path to power. Especially since he felt that he was being held back. Luke was tempted by the dark side, because he had not finished his training and thus it wasn't certain if he had the mental discipline to avoid temptation.

 

Quick and easy is only a problem for one who wants to obtain power.

Mind tricking is the 'power' over someone else's will. There's a clear distinction between the power the Jedi use for good and the power the Sith use for evil, but it's still the same kind of power.

And once you start bending rules to get things done quickly (even things that are right and just), you are going down the Dark Side.

The road to Hell is paved with good intentions, after all.

 

We're back to doing "the right thing" versus "the easy thing" versus "the necessary thing", it seems - and the Jedi's unwillingness to consider or discuss these distinctions. It all comes down to the question whether and under what conditions one argues in favor of the end justifying the means, and whether or to what extent one is aware of the ethical and moral problems in this line of argument. Personally I feel that once one starts bending the rules by seeking the easy way out, one definitely is in danger of going down the dark path, especially if one fails to or is unwilling to consider the associated problems with respect to ethics and morality.