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Is the "Dark Side" an addiction?


RevBurt

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Given how it decimates your body and appearance slowly over time (Lana Beniko is an anomaly, I know 🙄) can it be said that the Dark Side is actually an addiction since it slowly destroys you with each use?

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6 hours ago, RevBurt said:

Given how it decimates your body and appearance slowly over time (Lana Beniko is an anomaly, I know 🙄) can it be said that the Dark Side is actually an addiction since it slowly destroys you with each use?

No, it's not, in that sense, an addiction.  Every single human on this jolly planet is addicted to dioxygen.  Going cold turkey on dioxygen kills you more rapidly and more definitely than any drug.

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ad·dic·tion ə-ˈdik-shən  
a-
: a compulsive, chronic, physiological or psychological need for a habit-forming substance, behavior, or activity having harmful physical, psychological, or social effects and typically causing well-defined symptoms (such as anxiety, irritability, tremors, or nausea) upon withdrawal or abstinence : the state of being addicted
alcohol addiction
an addiction to prescription painkillers
drug addictions
gambling addiction
: a strong inclination to do, use, or indulge in something repeatedly
But those who know him well say he isn't driven by politics as much as his addiction to breaking news.—

 

Dependency on oxygen to survive does not define addiction as it is an essential part of survival, like food.
 
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googling addiction or any loaded term is nonsensical, you won't find the answer in a dictionary. 

That being said, I work in community mental health and I do think it's depicted at least in this game like a mental illness at least, but the stories don't tie it in with craving the dark side (some EU stories do though). Many of the Sith we meet in the game are literal maniacs and rage monsters with altered reality. Is personality really the only difference between someone like Darth Zhorrid and Jadus? Can Zhorrid just not handle her darkside the way her dad can? 

It would be more like an addiction if the more you relied on the dark side, the easier it got and the more difficult to get out of it. But alignment is just a linear, points-based scale and it's actually takes much more points the higher you go. For it to be addiction, the devs should have reversed the numbers: to get Dark 1 you need 325,000 DS points, DS 2 27500, etc, but also once you reach a new tier the points multiply: what costs 50 DS points for ratting out Malora to her master in the prologue at neutral alignment is 100 DS points at DS 1,  200 at DS 2 etc.

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You could argue yes from a metaphorical point of view, you tap into the Dark Side once it might've even been for good reason but slowly and surely you'll continue to rely on that power. And that power will come to twist you in a way. George Lucas usually compared to a cancer in the Force, born from the need to force your own will upon the universe. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

in a way yes, i mean if we just look at what it gives you ie power, you can certianly be addicted to having power so it would be more of a psychological additcion.  But if you mean is it a chemical or physical addiction then no I would say it is not. 

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On 4/1/2023 at 12:32 AM, Ardrossan said:

Many of the Sith we meet in the game are literal maniacs and rage monsters with altered reality. Is personality really the only difference between someone like Darth Zhorrid and Jadus? Can Zhorrid just not handle her darkside the way her dad can? 

I'd say it's personality, will strength, intelligence, and discipline. The dark side takes a toll on one's mind, and without proper precautions the Dark Side will consume you. The Sith see the Force as a tool to use, a power to subjugate. Sith do not live in harmony with the force, they are at constant war with it. Peace is a lie - that's why they can't find peace and become one with the force. This constant war makes them stronger, but they have to be careful never to lose, because the cost of losing is one's sanity. 

 

On 4/14/2023 at 10:45 AM, Lord_Janosch said:

The one and only, Darth Bane, said that the Dark Side is a poison.

I would rather say it's a drug, not a poison. Drugs most often are poisonous to your mind and body, but they can also benefit you, at least temporarily. Look at athletes who take performance-enhancing substances, or students who take Ritalin to study for a test.

The point is made in SW lore again and again, that the Dark Side is a shortcut to power, like many drugs are a shortcut to goals that others have to achieve through long term commitments and discipline. Like drugs, you can get addicted to the benefits the Dark Side. So no, I wouldn't say it's an addiction. You can use the Dark Side without getting addicted, some (grey) Jedi did it, Mace Windu for example. But it is something you can get addicted to quite easily.

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3 hours ago, Whykara said:

I'd say it's personality, will strength, intelligence, and discipline. The dark side takes a toll on one's mind, and without proper precautions the Dark Side will consume you. The Sith see the Force as a tool to use, a power to subjugate. Sith do not live in harmony with the force, they are at constant war with it. Peace is a lie - that's why they can't find peace and become one with the force. This constant war makes them stronger, but they have to be careful never to lose, because the cost of losing is one's sanity. 

I guess, but it's not made clear in this game at least that this is what's happening. Most of the sith we meet in the game are clearly insane, but their insanity is allowed for and encouraged in the vanilla empire. Most of the LS choices empire side aren't really 'good', they're just damage control for all the dumb stuff, like the malora example. 

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