[Dune] – Thesis and Quotes from Dune and Frank Herbert – Human Potential

GREAT SPOILER

 

Interaction of people and the environment: Environment changes humans while humans change the environment. 

Frank Herbert stretches the importance of the interaction between humans and the environment. This isn’t limited to the natural environment but all those that surround an individual including people or certain circumstances that surround an individual.

 Paul Atreides have learned from the best mentors such as Tuphir Hawat, Duncan Idaho, Gurney Halleck, Lady Jessica Atreides, and his father Duke Leto Atreides. 

Even after the attack on House Atreides on Arrakis, Paul would meet up with Stilgar and Chani that helped Paul Atreides adopt the Fremen culture. He could learn from the wisdom of his mentors around him.

 

 

The most notorious warriors in Dune, the Fremen Fedaykin and the Sardaukar both are born and trained on Arrakis and Salusa Secundus where both are infamous for their harsh environment for survival. The environment may be cruel and harsh, but it also empowered the people as well. 

Fremen culture especially in terms of water was shaped and developed by the deserts of Arrakis. Paul Atreides would mention that his home planet was resourceful and prosperous, but it made people soft and indolent while survival on Arrakis was vicious and difficult but helped him reach his full potential as an individual. 

 

 

Terraforming of Arrakis to a resourceful planet and the conversion of Arrakis back to a dessert also shows how humans could alter their environment. (Sandworms and sand trouts weren’t indigenous native species on Arrakis). 

Nature and our environment has always been vast than our expectation, knowledge and imagination. They have always been the best playground, teacher, test of survival to humans. 

 

 

I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little- death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.

- Lady Jessica – 

 

“Deep in the human unconscious is a pervasive need for a logical universe that makes sense. But the real universe is always one step beyond logic.”

 

“The day the flesh shapes and the flesh the day shapes,”
- Duke Leto Atreides – 

 

“Nature does not make mistakes. Right and wrong are human categories.”

 

The price we paid was the price men have always paid for achieving a paradise in this life--we went soft, we lost our edge.

 

The thing the ecologically illiterate don't realise about an ecosystem is that it's a system. A system! A system maintains a certain fluid stability that can be destroyed by a misstep in just one niche. A system has order, flowing from point to point. If something dams that flow, order collapses. The untrained might miss that collapse until it was too late. That's why the highest function of ecology is the understanding of consequences.

A mere Individual is helpless against Destiny – Free Will vs Destiny

At least one moment in life, every human will feel defeat against the massive tides of history and fate. 

Even the mighty Kwisatz Haderach who could foresee the future couldn’t resist destiny overwhelming his free will. Paul Atreides tried all his best to evade his fate to become Kwsiatz Haderach that shall cause tragedy across the universe. 

He denied every religious sign that was prophesied as Madhi and Lisan Al’Gaib. He refuses to take leadership among the Fremen. 

 

 

However, as House Harkonnen was imminent on squeezing out the Fremens, Paul Usul Muad’Dib Atreides inevitably accepts and was forced to face his destiny as Kwisatz Haderach to save the Fremens and avenge his family. 

Even when Paul Atreides arouses as Kwisatz Haderach and foresaw every event, he couldn’t marry his love Chani but marry Irulan Corrino, stop the frenzy of the Maud’Dib Jihad, prevent the death of Chani, prevent the tragedy of his sister Aria Atreides nor could he alter any events that he foresaw. 

 

 

Vladimir Harkonnen couldn’t seize power, Duke Leto Atreides failed to protect his family, emperor Shaddam Corrino 4th couldn’t keep his throne. All the characters of Dune, despite their power couldn’t alter the course of destiny that was against each of their free-will and purpose. 

 

Once men turned their thinking over to machines in the hope that this would set them free. But that only permitted other men with machines to enslave them.

 

What has mood to do with it? You fight when the necessity arises no matter the mood! Mood's a thing for cattle or making love or playing the baliset. It's not for fighting.

 

\

Any road followed precisely to its end leads precisely nowhere. Climb the mountain just a little bit to test that it's a mountain. From the top of the mountain, you cannot see the mountain.

 

“You know it's love when you want to give joy and damn the consequences.”

 

“Life produces a different taste each time you take it.”

Individuals as a group may change the course of Destiny 

The struggle between the micro and macro, in other words an individual against the tides of history and the world is one of the main questions Dune asks to the readers. 

An individual may not alter the course of history, but Dune shows that if individuals gather as a group, they could help alter the course of Destiny, but Dune also shows that it might not later the course that a group intends. 

 

 

The Bene Gesserit is a group of sorceresses with talents and superhuman abilities under one purpose; the birth of the Kwisatz Haderach that shall guide mankind to prosperity, the Golden Path. 

The Bene Gesserit as a group successfully influence the whole galaxy in pursuit of their Kwisatz Haderach Project. The Bene Gesserit have been secretly obtaining great genetics among the great houses.

 

 

They’ve also successfully preached and implanted the prophecies of the divine figure on planets including Arrakis. As a result, they’ve created the main stage for the Kwisatz Haderach’s performance although the Kwisatz Haderach started to spin out of their control. 

`

 

Fedaykins and the Fremen sietches were culturally bond by their race but never intimately united. Despite their superior combat abilities, the Fremen and Arrakis was always interfered by parties outside of Arrakis. 

However, whether the Kwisatz Haderach desired or not, once they were united under the name of Paul Usul Muad’Dib Atreides, the Madhi, Lisan Al’Gaib, they’ve achieved their independence and even overthrew the Corrino Empire that has lasted for 10,000 years. 

Fremen united as a group would even spin out of control of their messiah and conquer the universe under the name of House Atreides. Individuals may be helpless against destiny but individuals gathered as a group have the power to alter the course of history and destiny. 

 

 

Beyond a critical point within a finite space, freedom diminishes as numbers increase. This is as true of humans as it is of gas molecules in a sealed flask. The human question is not how many can possibly survive within the system, but what kind of existence is possible for those who so survive.

Science is made up of so many things that appear obvious after they are explained.

 

“It is impossible to live in the past, difficult to live in the present and a waste to live in the future.”

 

 

Absolute Control is a delusion

In the Dune Universe, even computer and artificial technologies span out of control that the Omnius, titans and Thinking Machines once reigned over humans. This created the foundation of human-centralism and precluded all artificial intelligence and computer technologies out from the Dune universe. 

In other words, humans couldn’t control their own technology as well. Paul Atreides couldn’t stop the Fe daykins from the frenzy of the Maud’Dib Jihad despite the Fedaykin’s own religious and military leader. 

 

 

The Bene Gesserit have maintained control of politics and have interfered with affairs over the galaxy for 10,000 years, yet they couldn’t control all variables and the Kwisatz Haderach was let loose of their control within a 5 year window.

 

 

The genuine meaning of the Kwisatz Haderach’s guidance of humanity to the Golden Path was to enslave and tame humanity to an extent that humanity collapses to near extinction and explosively expand as a counter-reaction.

The messiahs of Dune were worshipped and had total control of the whole universe, but they would face lonely death. Not a single character nor group nor organization was able to control their objectives but would rather face the chaos and consequences on their attempts to control. 

 

Prophets have a way of dying by violence.

 

“Do actions agree with words? There's your measure of reliability. Never confine yourself to the words.”

 

“A process cannot be understood by stopping it. Understanding must move with the flow of the process, must join it and flow with it.”

 

Pain is inevitable Everything in life accompanies pain but pain empowers the bearer
For the superhuman Bene Gesserit members, people who couldn’t resist the pain and give in weren’t even considered humans. The Bene Gesserit could become superhumans as their training and tests were vicious, but they’ve also empowered their members. 

 

 

House Harkonnen predicted that there would be 50,000 Fremen on planet Arrakis. House Atreides initially estimated millions of Fremen occupying Arrakis. In reality, there were billions of Fremen living on Arrakis deep. Despite the extreme conditions of Arrakis for survival, Fremen were able to actually proper on such environments as they’ve accumulated knowledge and strength as they’ve endured on Arrakis for such a long time. 

 

 

Paul Atreides wouldn’t have arouse as Kwisatz Haderach, if it weren’t the attack of House Harkonnen or if he couldn’t survive the harsh lifestyle of the Fremen. Pain and suffering, as much as it is hard to bear, if it doesn’t break the empowerer, would empower the bearer. 

 

What do you despise? By this are you truly known

.

A process cannot be understood by stopping it. Understanding must move with the flow of the process, must join it and flow with it.

 

The test of a man isn’t what you think he’ll do. It’s what he actually does.

 

“The mind commands the body and it obeys. The mind orders itself and meets resistance.”

Commendation of Human Potential – The mystery of life isn't a problem to solve, but a reality to experience.

Frank Herbert presents an advanced universe without computers or artificial intelligence in belief of the potential of humans. He presents the concept of mentats such as Piter De Vries and Thufir Hawat that had the capability to process information equally as such computer technology. 

Also, he made the Bene Gesserit which were superhumans both physically and mentally hardened women superior of men(Please consider the published date 1960). 

 

 

The Bene Gesserit was described as people who bloomed their talents and potential by extreme training and discipline. 

The Fremen was a nation that prospered and thrived on a planet that was believed impossible to survive. Frank Herbert mentioned that Paul Atreides’s greatest ability was his will to learn. 

 

 

Paul Atreides was trained by the mentats, greatest warriors, Bene Gesserit and the Fremen. Frank Herbert has plotted the Dune Universe on the belief of the immense potential the human body and mind has.

'Even a superbeing such as the Kwisatz Haderach is helpless against the violent currents of fate and history, an individual cannot maintain total control of him/herself and the array of events, and life is full of pain and suffering, Frank Herbert wanted to exert that still humans could endure, survive and learn from vicious life.

 

 

He wanted to praise and commentate the divinity of human potential through Dune. In this perspective, Leto Atreides Ⅱ’s vicious path to the Golden Path was an inevitable method push mankind even further to prosperity.

Humans may feel insecure and unstable of the uncertainty of the future and fear to take each step ahead of life.

 

 

However, Frank Herbert wanted to ultimately assert that humans could find their true-self and awaken their hidden potential through the uncertainty, fear, pain of life. 

Frank Herbert wanted to exert to the readers that “The mystery of life isn't a problem to solve, but a reality to experience.”

 

The mystery of life isn't a problem to solve, but a reality to experience

.

Without change something sleeps inside us, and seldom awakens. The sleeper must awaken.

 

Arrakis teaches the attitude of the knife - chopping off what's incomplete and saying: 'Now, it's complete because it's ended here.' - from "Collected Sayings of Maud'Dib'' by the Princess Irulan.

 

 

There is probably no more terrible instant of enlightenment than the one in which you discover your father is a man - with human flesh.

 

 

Knowing where the trap is—that's the first step in evading it.

 

Many have marked the speed with which Muad'Dib learned the necessities of Arrakis. The Bene Gesserit, of course, know the basis of this speed. For the others, we can say that Muad'Dib learned rapidly because his first training was in how to learn. And the first lesson of all was the basic trust that he could learn. It is shocking to find how many people do not believe they can learn, and how many more believe learning to be difficult. Muad'Dib knew that every experience carries its lesson

 

“It is so shocking to find out how many people do not believe that they can learn, and how many more believe learning to be difficult.”

 

“Without change something sleeps inside us, and seldom awakens. The sleeper must awaken.”