# Darth Vader Mental Diagnosis **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 11, 2010, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/darth-vader-mental-diagnosis/542837 "2010-06-11T20:01:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2010, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/darth-vader-mental-diagnosis/542837/21 "2010-06-13T02:36:15Z")
My good friend in high school was fond of saying that Vader/Ani had dissociative identity disorder. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2010, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/darth-vader-mental-diagnosis/542837/22 "2010-06-13T10:30:52Z")
In fact, I’d say Vader make such an effective villain because he \*isn’t \*insane. He’s intensely loyal, highly disciplined, deeply principled and has a strong work ethic. Where’s the crazy? ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2010, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/darth-vader-mental-diagnosis/542837/23 "2010-06-13T13:43:15Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > In fact, I’d say Vader make such an effective villain because he \*isn’t \*insane. He’s intensely loyal. . . Well, he throws his boss down a deep hole to his death, so he’s not THAT loyal. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2010, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/darth-vader-mental-diagnosis/542837/24 "2010-06-13T13:52:42Z")
Only because he stopped acting rationally and let sentiment get the better of him. Or maybe he reached the conclusion that loyalty to family was more important than loyalty to liege. ---
**Author:** ![SCSimmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e495f1/32.png) [@SCSimmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCSimmons)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2010, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/darth-vader-mental-diagnosis/542837/25 "2010-06-13T18:16:08Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > You can take that up with the director, Lucas. He attempts to explain this away at the end of _Revenge_, when Jinn learns how to transcend death. You can take from that that he then taught Yoda and Kenobi, though I’m unsure how Anakin was supposed to have learned it. I like [Lore Sjöberg’s explanation](http://www.brunching.com/lukeside.html), personally. ---
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2010, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/darth-vader-mental-diagnosis/542837/26 "2010-06-13T19:47:27Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > Well, he throws his boss down a deep hole to his death, so he’s not THAT loyal. the rub is, it’s at the moment where he stopped being loyal that he stopped being a villain. i agree that vader was a great villain because he was such an automaton, and robots make for the best villains because they don’t screw up. think of how much more terrifying the droid army would be if they were actual robots programmed and designed to kill? the irony of course being that the biological clone army is the more efficient, ruthless militar [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/darth-vader-mental-diagnosis/542837.md?page=1)