Luke switches off his targeting computer in order to destroy the Death Star, and Obi-Wan sadly ruminates that Anakin is 'more machine now than man,' because of his cybernetic Vader enhancements. In Joseph Campbell's Power of Myth, Campbell basically asserts his belief that the message of Star Wars – at least in the original trilogy - was somewhat anti-technological. So are droids also 'luminous beings?' Does the 'crude matter' of a mechanical body have any bearing on accessing the Force? A compelling fan theory on Reddit suggests R2-D2 is Force-sensitive, and there's good reason to believe this is legit.Įxcept for rare instances like Solo, the canon of Star Wars rarely has anything profound to say about artificial intelligence. Yoda told us that the 'crude matter' of physical bodies has nothing to do with Force energy. It's connected to biological questions about midi-chlorians, said to exist in the cells of all living things and grant Force-users their power.
Are droids alive? In the Star Wars galaxy, this isn't purely a philosophical question.
