Abstract

The currents of philosophy have always been influenced by the culture in which thinkers live and work. In ancient China, the profound turmoil that eventually tore apart the Zhou dynasty led to social and intellectual unrest, out of which was born a new class of writers and thinkers who created the foundations for Chinese philosophy. There are historical and philosophical parallels with this Chinese time of uprooting in the “Dark Times” of the Star Wars universe. Few Jedi survive through the Dark Times, but they are the closest thing to philosophers we can find during the Star Wars saga's most intense period of oppression and wickedness. This chapter considers Dark Horse's Dark Times series for examples of three Jedi Masters who survived Palpatine's purge. Dass Jennir (a human), Kai Hudorra (a Bothan), and K'kruhk (a Whiphid) are studied here through the Chinese philosophies of Confucianism and Daoism.