SPECULATION How do we define the force

"The Force is what gives a Jedi his power. It's an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us. It binds the galaxy together." Ben Kenobi

 

"For my ally is the Force. And a powerful ally it is. Life creates it, makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us and binds us. Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter. You must feel the Force around you. Here, between you, me, the tree, the rock, everywhere! Yes, even between the land and the ship."
―Yoda

 

so you did a decent job of defining what it means to have balance in the force, but your thesis is how do we define the force.

lets take a look at the (canon) source material. in this case we will use the clone wars Mortis arch.

the force manifested itself in what appeared to be an alternate dimension on a physical force sensitive planet. The planet was inhabited by 3 beings. again, a physical manifestation of the Force so that Anakin (the chosen one) could comprehend what was happening. They even shared a common language so that they could converse. so the father, and the 2 children. one representing the dark side of the force, the other representing the light side. Anakin was chosen by the father to keep the two children in balance... but if you want to get technical he wasn't just the chosen one.. he was the Force version of a messiah more or less. he was literally conceived for that purpose. in the end he chose not to follow that path and returned to the "real world".

all of that would have to prove that the force is not just a mystical energy, but in fact an omnipresent sentient being with the the ability to think and act.

at least thats my best guess. but its a very difficult concept to consider. especially when you think about what it means to bring balance.

 

Ben Kenobi: Remember, a Jedi can feel the Force flowing through him.
Luke Skywalker: You mean it controls your actions?
Kenobi: Partially, but it also obeys your commands.

 

MYSTERIOUSLY AMORPHOUS

 

A substance, force of nature and life itself without personalization like Gods or Devil.
And you literally may have the access to the Force, not just pleas.

 

In our world people can only pray. Answer? You never know - He hear you or not. With the Force it's different.

But yes, it's only if you're force sensitive.

 

And i'm waiting here for the first person saying: midichlorians...



Great topic btw. Interesting. I agree with MemphisRains. The Force surrounds us and penetrates us (Herbert mmmm) and it guides us and are actions but it can be manipulated as well.

 

The Force is an energy field created by all living things.
In essence, it is the collective consciousness of the galaxy.
There is good and bad. And neutral. This is true of the Force and is independent of it.

When the Sith emerge they put the Force out of balance. Why?
Because they spread evil and darkness across the galaxy. They actively do evil. "Evil is everywhere" - ROTS opening crawl.
SOme may say from their perspective they are in the right, but they are wrong in thinking that.
They act out of their selfish desires, fears and quest for greater power to the detriment of the galaxy.
This darkness they spread then impacts upon the life that creates the Force.
So if there is darkness, or as Lor San Tekka says, despair everywhere then the collective consciousness of the galaxy is impacted.
Thus the Force continues to go out of balance because the energy this life creates is clouded by darkness. It is in a depression.
And as Tekka says, there can be no balance without the Jedi, so...

The Jedi are essentially the only beings capable of destroying the powerful Sith (or other Dark Side faction) and restoring balance.
That is their role. Through their selflessness and compassion they serve the will of the Force - again the collective consciousness of the galaxy that desires a return to harmony. This guides the Jedi in their role as keepers of the peace. Sometimes they get things wrong. They get complacent. But that alone doesn't impact the Force. It is the deeds of the evil doers that does.

Analogy:

Look at the Force as a swimming pool.
The Jedi maintain the pH value of the swimming pool.
The Sith come along and piss in it. They kill the Jedi. And they continue pissing in it. The swimmers (beings across the galaxy) have to swim in all this piss and are very unhappy. So they start crying and their snot goes in. And because they're scared they piss themselves too. So it's got all their unhappy snot and scared piss in it (despair).

The pH value of the pool is unbalanced. It's full of piss etc and needs cleaning.

A new swimming pool chemical guy, ha, (Jedi) comes along, kills the Sith and puts some chlorine in the pool. It balances again. Everyone is happy....until someone other guy comes along and starts pissing in the pool again.

OBI-WAN: (continuing) . . . You were the Chosen One! It was said that you would, destroy the Sith, not join them. It was you who would bring balance to the Force, not leave it in Darkness.

The Force itself has two elements to it. The living Force and the cosmic Force. From my understand it is the living Force that connects everything and everyone. And then this impacts upon the cosmic Force which is the more mysterious element that gives a Force user some interesting abilities. So for me this indicates that the living Force is the part that is originally impacted by the rise of the Dark Side. When that takes over the light, all life is impacted ("what happens to one of you will affect the other, you must understand this"). Thus going back to my point above, the energy created by these lifeforms, connected by the living Force, is negative. Bad. Evil spreads further.


The Force is the manifestation of life. All life wants freedom, peace and to be happy. So when life is suffering, when the dark side is oppressing them, the energy they omit, that becomes the force, would in itself desire an end to the darkness. This is the will of the force and the Jedi listen to it to enact its will and bring harmony.

Clarification from the man behind all this:

"The first film starts with the last age of the Republic; which is it's getting tired, old, it's getting corrupt. There's the rise of the Sith, who are now becoming a force, and in the backdrop of this you have Anakin Skywalker: a young boy who's destined to be a very significant player in bringing balance back to the Force and the Republic.

In the second film, we get into more of that turmoil. It's the beginning of the Clone Wars, it's the beginning of the end of democracy in the Republic, sorta the beginning of the end of the Republic, and it's Anakin Skyalker beginning to deal with some of his more intense emotions of anger, hatred, sense of loss, possessiveness, jealousy, and the other things he's coping with.

Then we will get to the 3rd film, where he is seduced to the dark side, which brings up to films four, five, and six, where Anakin's offspring redeem him & allow him to fulfill the prophecy where he brings balance to the Force by doing away with the Sith and getting rid of evil in the universe."

--George Lucas, The Star Wars Trilogy VHS Boxset 2000.

The sad thing is Padme says there is still good in him and Luke says in ROTJ there is good in you. Its recurring. There is good in him. And that will bring balance to the force. He needs to get rid of the Sith and bring balance to the Force."

--George Lucas, ROTS DVD Commentary.

"It really has to do with learning," Lucas says, "Children teach you compassion. They teach you to love unconditionally. Anakin can't be redeemed for all the pain and suffering he's caused. He doesn't right the wrongs, but he stops the horror. The end of the Saga is simply Anakin saying, I care about this person, regardless of what it means to me. I will throw away everything that I have, everything that I've grown to love- primarily the Emperor- and throw away my life, to save this person. And I'm doing it because he has faith in me; he loves me despite all the horrible things I've done. I broke his mother's heart, but he still cares about me, and I can't let that die. Anakin is very different in the end. The thing of it is: The prophecy was right. Anakin was the chosen one, and he does bring balance to the Force. He takes the one ounce of good still left in him and destroys the Emperor out of compassion for his son."

--George Lucas, The Making Of Revenge Of The Sith; page 221

"I think it is obvious that [Qui-Gon] was wrong in Episode I and made a dangerous decision, but ultimately this decision may be correct. The “phantom menace” refers to the force of the dark side of the universe. Anakin will be taken over by dark forces which in turn destroy the balance of the Galaxy, but the individual who kills the Emperor is Darth Vader—also Anakin. The tale meanders and both the prediction and Qui-Gon are correct—Anakin is the chosen one, and he did bring peace at last with his own sacrifice. Luke couldn't kill the Emperor himself, but he could make Anakin reflect on his life and kill the Emperor."

--George Lucas, Cut Magazine interview, 1999


Literally nothing in the movies or said by the creators themselves suggest that there needs to be equal light side and dark side Force users for there to be balance.
It is about maintaining the natural balance that exists - a balance of light and dark. The Jedi do this. The Sith empower the darkness and spread it everywhere. They tip the scales.

In TFA both LST and Maz Kanata speak of how the dark side must be fought against and destroyed. At no point does anyone suggest it would be a good things to have a Sith or two around!

 

Seemed like you were talking about what the Force is and how it is balanced...but ok...

...Having watched the films the Force is what Kenobi says it is: an energy field created by all living things that connects all living things.
It's a mysterious energy field that even atheists like me can get on board with.

 

I don't understand what you're asking me.
The Force is energy created by living things. That is what it is. It's impossible to separate it from Kenobi's quote.

 

Are you saying Obi Wan and Yoda were wrong? That the Force isn't an energy field created by all living things?