On Empathy

This may seem counterintuitive to what you’ve likely come to believe about the Sith, Seeker. The Sith, empathetic? Preposterous! But hold your disbelief for but a moment, Seeker, and see that this may not be as outrageous as it seems.

Consider a society where empathy doesn’t exist. Without empathy, no one is motivated to become a doctor. Sure, some become a doctor for the profit motive, but I would argue that most doctors are incredibly empathetic. Your doctor wants to see you healthy. If they didn’t, every appointment your doctor would tell you to drink a glass of bacon grease every day, and cut off one of your toes every so often. Doing everything your doctor tells you to do will, if you’re otherwise healthy, cause you to only see them once a year for your physical – if you even do that! Keeping your customers away doesn’t seem very profitable to me. Without empathy, we’d surely have less doctors. Without doctors, Seeker, you’re going to die from something preventable. It’s selfish to desire empathy.

Move on from doctors to teachers. In the US, people do not become teachers out of greed. They don’t get paid what they’re worth. Yet, people get education degrees and become teachers, to educate the next generation. We can argue about how flawed the education system is – and I would agree with you, Seeker. We do not properly empower our children. The policy of No Child Left Behind is just as ironic as most legislation ends up being, as it directly caused so many children to be left behind intellectually. But broadly speaking, an informed society is a better society. It’s selfish to desire empathy.

And more on topic, empathy is required for the Sith code to be properly fulfilled. Empathy is a building block of passion – the foundation of the Sith code. Without empathy, the largest cause of passion would be gone: your loved ones. To love is to feel empathy. To love is to have passion. A Sith must be empathetic to be Sith. Feel your empathy, Seeker, and allow it to fuel you. Allow it to push you to break your chains. Empathy will lead to your freedom.