Knightism vs the Force Discussion

ren wrote: Things have just not been the same without you. I joined totjo soon after you disappeared. People here have become more concerned with knightism than the Force, I can't wait to hear what you have learned in your time away from online jediism, 'panteista'

Do you think that has something do to with the restrictions put on non-knights and the freedoms that Knights enjoy? It seems that with rare exception (you for one) most here want to contribute but don't really have all means available to them to do so unless they are Knights. That is even a stipulation of the rank. After it is achieved is when the time to "give back" really begins.

Thread Moved for discussion purposes!

This is an interesting discussion to be had. Something, that I think we sometimes tend to over focus on. Separation of separation of duty and faith within a system of learning.

What are the expectations and freedoms of a Knight? What are our expectations of a community member in general and how do we define them?

Much Love Respect and Peace,
Kobos

Kobos wrote: This is an interesting discussion to be had. Something, that I think we sometimes tend to over focus on. Separation of separation of duty and faith within a system of learning.

What are the expectations and freedoms of a Knight? What are our expectations of a community member in general and how do we define them?

Much Love Respect and Peace,
Kobos

I kinna wanna say they differ from each individual as they create their own definitions ...

So, I'd like to know exactly what Ren mean't by "knightism" before I get too wrapped up in the discussion.

Kyrin Wyldstar wrote: Do you think that has something do to with the restrictions put on non-knights and the freedoms that Knights enjoy?.

I don't, quite the contrary.... many Knights have disappeared because once reaching the rank of Knight they realized there were effectively no benefits to it!!! Which is not a real problem if one is not a badge hunting FOMO

What I mean is people seem more concerned about appearing 'knightly' than engage in some serious force theory discussion, or ethics. They enforce rather than challenge.... Which in my view is the exact opposite of what philosophical enquiry should yield. Thought provocation is borderline frowned upon, and as kyrin pointed out, half the site is unavailable to non-knights, as a form of safety precaution (although I do not know what from).

I should point out Kyrin has a bit of a reputation. She's our lightweight abby/hannigan hybrid :laugh:

As a devoted structuralist (for want of a better word), I better ignore this thread :silly:

ren wrote: What I mean is people seem more concerned about appearing 'knightly' than engage in some serious force theory discussion, or ethics. They enforce rather than challenge.... Which in my view is the exact opposite of what philosophical enquiry should yield. Thought provocation is borderline frowned upon, and as kyrin pointed out, half the site is unavailable to non-knights, as a form of safety precaution (although I do not know what from).

I should point out Kyrin has a bit of a reputation. She's our lightweight abby/hannigan hybrid :laugh:

Thanks for elaborating Ren.

Perhaps the reason for this, if your assessment is true, is that theory, ethics, and philosophy are less comfortable topics for conversation. At the very least, they are more difficult and require a greater expenditure of energy and time. It's important to remember what brought us to this conclusion, that Jediism brings something to the table that we hadn't encountered before. Whether that is Jediism as a philosophy, a code of ethics, a way of life that appeals to us, or, a way of finding a more appropriate and perhaps even more accurate answer to the age old and universal question "why?". Perhaps both. For me personally, a major purpose was to approach the question of spirituality within an experiential frame work as scientifically as possible. I don't want to believe, I want to know. That goal, and the method I have chosen, requires a great deal of introspection and applied practice of things like meditation and the cataloguing of my experiences and the experiences of others. It requires honest conversations with yourself and others and the humility to see and accept that your hypothesis may be incorrect. Maybe this break though wasn't real. How do you know? How does the ego influence findings?

The second aspect I see here is the way of life, philosophy, and ethics. We have the luxury of knowing, not believing, that we are inspired by a work of fiction. This is a blessing because we aren't tied to a particular understanding or way of doing anything. We can create it as we see fit. We must ask ourselves what is relevant, practical, and useful to the world and ourselves. It requires care and thought. Some hold attachment to the way the Jedi were depicted in the fiction, and while that's isn't inherently a catastrophically bad thing, sticking to that form with no critical thinking as to why we should emulate a certain feature of the Jedi of the fiction can be problematic and unhelpful in achieving the goals we have set out for ourselves. This is a topic that I've seen get heated many times.

I suppose, in conclusion, doing this work isn't easy. I imagine that is probably why there is reluctance to get to the bottom of these topics. It has been like this as long as the online Jedi community has been around and it will most likely continue to be that way.

Let us not forget that there are real people suffering and dying across the planet every day. The scourge of authoritarianism is once again on the rise. Ultimately, the image we show the world of ourselves doesn't matter if it isn't representative of a truth. "Knightly" behavior means nothing if there is no substance behind it.

Also, I'm curious as to the rationale for this knights only section of the website.