A long time ago in a galaxy far away…
Well, maybe it was not that long ago and maybe it was not that far away. There lived three sisters in a country home far from the hustle and chaos of the city. There were wide open fields all around and quiet except for the occasional cluck from a chicken or breeze through the grass. Suddenly this peace is interrupted by a loud argument coming from within the house. The three sisters are quarreling about the chores that must be done before their parents return home from work. The eldest sister is frustrated with the youngest sister’s refusal to help and turns towards the middle sister for support. The middle sister is annoyed with both her sisters and does not wish to fight. However, knowing the buttons of both her sisters, she strategically pushes a few on each of her sisters and turns them at each other so they will continue the quarrel and leave her out of it. In fact, this was a common practice by the middle sister. She would often get back at one of her sisters by turning the other onto her. The middle sister was often believed to be the innocent one when all along there was this dark thread to be traced through her past.
Scott Barry Kaufman, a Columbia University phycologist, has been fascinated by the light and dark sides of people. Being a bit of a Star Wars geek (which who isn’t?), he likes to relate some of his research to the Dark Side and Light Side of the force. The Jedi of course are the ultimate representation of the Light Side of the Force. The Jedi believe in knowledge and peace, they value all life, and they are known for their compassion. The Sith, on the other hand, are the epidemy of the Dark Side. The Sith are driven by power and conflict, they value only their self-interest, and tend to display aggression. While Kaufman notes that Star Wars is just a fictional story, he believes that humans have a lot to learn from the fiction we tell ourselves. Often this fiction will reflect some truth we find within.
The Light Triad vs. The Dark Triad
There is a large body of research that currently exists on the Dark Triad: Narcissism, Psychopathy, and Machiavellianism. Psychologists have been fascinated with the dark side of human nature for years. However, Kaufman and a few of his colleagues noticed that the study of the light side of human nature was lacking. So, they sat down and searched for a Light Triad that was more than just the opposite of Narcissism, Psychopathy, and Machiavellianism. They came up with the following Light Triad: Faith in Humanity, Humanism, and Kantianism.
Kaufman designed a quiz online that you can take to show you which side of the Force you channel. I am a sucker for quizzes so of course I immediately went to his website and found the quiz. At the end of the questionnaire a picture of Yoda popped up with the following message, “You are moderately tipped toward the light side of the force!” Moderately? Well at least I am not tipped toward the Dark side. I scrolled down for my results. I ended up being 12.4% below average in Kantianism and 7.75% above average in Machiavellianism.
As you might have guessed I am the middle sister in the story from earlier. I feel ashamed of my past and how I treated my sisters. However, Kaufman argues that too often we shame our dark sides and oppress them rather than trying to understand them and accept them. All of us have a dark side and it is important we learn to embrace it and understand it. Perhaps the more we try to fight it the more likely we will end up like Anakin. Haha, just kidding… hopefully. But seriously, maybe we should be more observant of ourselves and our motivations. I personally will be embracing my Lavender Lightsaber and investigating both my light and dark tendencies.
Take the quiz HERE and find out where you fall on the Dark and Light spectrum. Comment below with your experience if you would like to share.
Resources
Are You Yoda or Darth Vader?: How to recognize your light and dark sides by Brian Gallagher from Nautilus Magazine
Transcend: The New Science of Self-Actualization by Scott Barry Kaufman
The Theory of Relativitea 