Is “the Force” from Star Wars Real or Science Fiction?
Let’s take a closer look at what George Lucas had in mind when he created “the Force”–the latent, all-encompassing metaphysical power of the universe in the Star Wars series.
You might notice it sounds a lot like the “quintessence” of the early classical philosophies, but in fact, “the Force” is more a play on the Eastern esoteric wisdom and the concept of Tao. George Lucas built the political dynamics, jedi philosophies and conflicts in the Star Wars world with influences from the time following Japan’s Sengoku Jidai or Warring States Period and action sequences in the style of Japanese Samurai Films or Jidaigeki.
You may now see how “Jedi” seems a play off the name of this film genre. This links us back to the origins of “the Force” in Eastern philosophies.
What exactly is “the Force” from Star Wars?
–If you asked a Japanese samurai the name of “the Force” of latent and underlying power of the universe he may have answered “qi” or perhaps “kami”.
But still, he may remark that the greater universe is governed by the polar force of “taiji” (the Great Polarity) and qi is our extension of this force. Then the visual Tao symbol depicting taiji shows us the eight trigrams and two infinite forces in eternal balance–the Light and Dark Side of the Force. In Star Wars these two sides embody forces of ‘good’ and ‘evil’, although these concepts were originally defined as yang and yin.
Does the Human Body Produce Electricity or Magnetism?
Yes! In fact it does. But you won’t find yourself shooting lightning bolts from your fingertips or salvaging your T-65 X–wing from the pits of Dagobah swamps. Instead, the bioelectromagnetism in all living organisms is essential to some biological functions. More about bioelectromagnetics can be found at the Bioelectromagnetic Society.
