fandomhigh | Ethics [Thursday, November 4, 2nd period]

"In one of the religious texts of this planet, love is described as patient and kind, beyond such things as holding grudges," Anakin said, looking down at his notes, then snorted and made the universal symbol for "blah, blah, blah" with his hand.

He might be a soft touch on the subject, but he was hoping no one in the room would call him on it. Given that his daughter was in school, and his granddaughter taught, that was asking a little bit too much from his class.

"In my version of the Jedi Order, we were taught that in order to maintain the proper distance necessary to negotiate impartially across our galaxy, we were to strive for serenity, not passion. To be Jedi, we should not know anger, or hatred, or love. When we were very small children, we were raised in the Temple so that family loyalty or planetary allegiance would not get in the way of following the will of the Force."

He crossed his arms over his chest, the ring on his left hand gleaming under the light, and glanced around the room. "Is this an unreasonable standard to hold someone to? Can you stop someone from falling in love? What do you think the Masters of my Order were trying to prevent?"

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Is the Jedi standard unreasonable to hold someone to? Can you stop someone from falling in love? What do you think the Masters of my Order were trying to prevent?"

Other than, you know, secret marriages, falls to the Dark Side, and galactic chaos. Hypothetically.

"Is it all that different from being a monk or a nun?" Elphaba asked. "There you are asked the same thing, though I suppose they also close themselves off from the world. But if they fall in love, they have the option to leave service."

"But in your case, I don't know. Maybe they wanted... control over the very people that were part of the order?"

Edited 2010-11-04 15:47 (UTC)

Anakin shook his head. "The Jedi aren't interested in control like that. We see it as being of the Dark Side."

"Then I guess they just didn't like the unpredictability of feelings," Elphaba said. "Especially if you have the ability to do things beyond what others can."

She had to agree with that sort of sentiment, given what seemed to happen when she got over-emotional about things.

"Trying to stop someone from falling in love is stupid," Kennedy said bluntly, and it didn't escape her that she felt a lot more strongly on the subject than she might have a year ago. It wasn't that her general opinion on the matter had changed; it was just more than a purely academic opinion now. "That's like an open invitation for a world of badness."

She'd been raised Catholic. She had opinions. And was also leveling a pointed look at Anakin's left hand.

"Do you have to act upon it, though?" Anakin replied, quirking up his eyebrows. He saw where her eyes were resting.

"Why would you stop yourself?" asked Kennedy, for whom 'self-restraint' had never been a viable character trait. Or, for that matter, 'celibacy.' "I get the concept. Self-denial, character growth, blah blah, makes you a better person and all that. I still think it's stupid."

"I don't think it's unreasonable," Jason said, totally matter-of-fact. "If you've got a really important job, and having a wife and a family would make your job harder, then falling in love would just cause problems, and the person you love would be a liability."

Anakin nodded. "That's precisely what they were thinking," he said. "Good."

"Love is just distracting when you've got a mission to carry out," Squall answered with a frown. "It's a liability. Especially if you're supposed to be impartial." He shrugged. "It's not unreasonable. It's not even all that hard. It just takes a little discipline."

And Squall would know. Because he absolutely, positively, had managed to not fall in love. A lot.

And as an added bonus, stopping yourself from falling in love meant that you could never have your heart broken. Instead, you just died a little inside each day -- and that was Just Fine!

"Or a lot of discipline," Anakin replied. "Do you think you could do it?"

"Of course," Squall answered.

(It's harder than I thought it would be, but I'm managing it. More or less.)

"It's part of my job to not let emotions control me. They're stupid and pointless, anyway."

(It doesn't matter what emotion you start with -- they all end in pain.)

Scully was looking... disbelieving. "What did they do when all those little Jedi hit adolescence? Seriously?"

"Train them," Anakin replied with a shrug. "Only attachment was forbidden."

"I'm sorry, sir. Maybe that's possible with alien species-- maybe it was even a preferable outcome. But." Scully shook her head, just not understanding. "It's the nature of human beings to bond emotionally with people as friends. As siblings, if they grew up together. As more, once they mature. Saying that that feeling is-- wrong? Or just-- how did they characterize it?"

//People are going to love,// Jonothon said, simply. //They'll do it knowing it can't end well, knowing they shouldn't. Love is... it's something that defies rules and limitations.//

And it hurt like hell when it was ripped away.

//And it can tear a person to bloody shreds in all th'time it takes for someone to turn and walk in the other direction.//

"Exactly," Anakin said. "Add powers and it's a recipe for disaster."

//Or else,// Jonothon offered, perhaps a touch on the wry side, //it can give a person th'confidence they need to face powers that would otherwise leave them feeling... lacking.//

Or, if not to face those powers, at least give them some capacity to live with themselves for a bit.

Medusa's first thought was 'genetic mismatch,' which was the main thing the general bar on love matches was meant to prevent in Attilan (...yes. Yes, she was currently basically leading the crown prince in rebellion. No one tell his father.), but she was aware it didn't work the same way for most humans. "I do not know enough about your Order to say with certainty," she said slowly, "but might they not have been trying to prevent anyone else having something or someone to...hold over their members, so to speak?"

Anakin nodded. "It's also why Jedi were taken from their families and home planets so young--to guarantee impartiality."

Ethics [Thursday, November 4, 2nd period]

Answer the discussion questions [11/4]

Re: Answer the discussion questions [11/4]

Re: Answer the discussion questions [11/4]

Re: Answer the discussion questions [11/4]

Re: Answer the discussion questions [11/4]

Re: Answer the discussion questions [11/4]

Re: Answer the discussion questions [11/4]

Re: Answer the discussion questions [11/4]

Re: Answer the discussion questions [11/4]

Re: Answer the discussion questions [11/4]

Re: Answer the discussion questions [11/4]

Re: Answer the discussion questions [11/4]

Re: Answer the discussion questions [11/4]

Re: Answer the discussion questions [11/4]

Re: Answer the discussion questions [11/4]

Re: Answer the discussion questions [11/4]

Re: Answer the discussion questions [11/4]

Re: Answer the discussion questions [11/4]

Re: Answer the discussion questions [11/4]

Re: Answer the discussion questions [11/4]