The Outsider: A Stoic Analysis

When it comes to philosophy and stoicism, we can find many connections deeply woven through the Star Wars saga. In this theme one can see the large role the Jedi play in the transformation of Anakin Skywalker to Darth Vader by forcing upon him stoic ideas and making him go against his human nature. Before we can get to the root of Anakin’s transformation, one must have a good understanding of what Stoicism is.
There are many elements that tie into the stoic idea. Living in agreement with nature. You must only consume what you need. “To live in agreement with nature requires embracing and making good use of all events that unfold in this rationally structured universe” (Stephens, 20). Using fate well and understanding that whatever conditions one finds them in are meant to
Another main factor of his transformation can be blamed on his attempt to unnaturally block emotion and, most importantly, anger. In chapter seven of book one in Seneca’s “On Anger” he states, “Some think that the best course is to control anger, not to banish it, and by removing its excesses to confine it within beneficial bounds, keeping, however, that part without which, action will be inert and the mind's force and energy broken.” Seneca believes that it is easier to conquer anger than to control it. The Jedi went wrong by not training Anakin Aristotle’s Nicomachaean Ethics or the Golden Mean. The Nicomachaean Ethics describes how all things are good in moderation and helps us to understand what a moderate emotion is. If the Jedi had used this then Anakin’s anger would have had a lower chance of building up the way that it did by blocking it out and not dealing with it. It is unnatural to completely block out anger. It is okay to be angry as long as it doesn’t get in the way of your judgment or control you. Emotion is part of being a human and going against Anakin’s human nature was a