Fear is the Mind-Killer: The Philosophy of Dune

Before Star Wars, Dune was the landmark of science fiction released in 1965 by American Author Frank Herbert. Inspired by the Arthurian Legend, Dune tells the story of Paul Atreides, the son of Duke Leto Atreides who presides as the head of House Atreides. Aptly named after the House of Atreus - which in Greek mythology came across great misfortune - Paul and his mother Lady Jessica suffer through several hardships 20,000 years in the future when humanity operates in a feudal intergalactic society. Planetary travel is made possible by a spice melange which can only be mined on a Arrakis (a.k.a Dune), a hostile desert planet inhabited by monstrous sandworms.

Mood has nothing to do with it.

Dune part one plays out as the classic hero's journey, and the first thing I learned from the book was that mood has nothing to do with it. One of the military leaders of House Atreides is Gurney Halleck, who teaches Paul to fight. In an early scene, Gurney prompts Paul to train, to which Paul replies "I'm not in the mood for it." Gurney says to Paul, "Mood? 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."

This particular exchange between these two characters made me question my life in a way I never had before when I read Dune for the first time. How much of a role does mood play throughout our day? Does it keep us from living a life of purpose because we don’t feel like doing everything in our power to enrich our lives? I still question myself every day for times when I’m not doing something that needs doing just because I don’t feel like it.

Ultimately, we live in a world that is very much outside of our control, but what we do have control over is our mood. Living life isn’t a choice. We didn’t choose to be born, and we didn’t choose our initial circumstances, but whether we like it or not, we’re here. And we’re here to stay for an unknown duration of time.

What we feel about life has nothing to do with us living our lives. Your feelings can’t stop you from acting, only inaction can do that. Action invites increased action. It’s impossible to surpass our feelings and moods entirely, but it comes down to a matter of control. Who do we let run the show, our mood or our mind?

This is what Dune taught me, that I’m not a victim of my own self, I’m the master of my own self.

Excessive success can make you soft.

"We came from Caladan - a paradise world for our form of life. There existed no need on Caladan to build a physical paradise or a paradise of the mind - we can see the actuality all around us. And 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."

One of the liabilities of the House of Atreides is that at the start of the book, they came from paradise, and they went into the desert and suffered from the extremely harsh surroundings. The Fremen on the other hand are incredibly resilient and competent in handling this terrible environment because it's all they've known. In the words of Bane from The Dark Knight Rises, "You merely adopted the darkness. But I was born in it." If we do encounter darkness in our lives, it's important to know that those could be the moments that actually make us tougher, and they could be worthwhile in the long run.

Navigate uncertainty with confidence.

"A Bene Gesserit axiom came to Jessica’s mind: ‘Survival is the ability to swim in strange water.’" Effective leadership requires effective thinking, which requires the acknowledgement that you can learn in the first place. "Leaders are readers" is a common phrase that reinforces this necessity.

"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."

Keep the plan simple.

“I will tell you something about your new name," Stilgar said. "The choice pleases us. Muad’Dib is wise in the ways of the desert. Muad’Dib creates his own water. Muad’Dib hides from the sun and travels in the cool night. Muad’Dib is fruitful and multiples over the land. Muad’Dib we call ‘instructor of boys.’ That is a powerful base on which to build your life, Paul-Muad’Dib... We welcome you."

Keep it simple for everyone involved in the mission, especially when navigating turbulent times. Don't confuse complexity with intelligence or cleverness. In fact, the execution of a strategy becomes more complex by the day, as issues and challenges seem to accumulate hourly. The best way to ensure success is by minimizing the friction others will face as they work to accomplish their tasks and goals.

Fear is the mind-killer.

The first lesson that I draw on from Dune is not in any way unique. This litany is revered by Dune fans the world over because of it’s powerful mental call to action against the unknown. It is known as the Litany Against Fear, and it goes as follows:

"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."

This fictional litany stood out to me in a profound way as a young man. The wording of this phrase is unique and compelling. If taken literally, fear literally kills the mind. In a way, I think this is physically true. I’m not a neurologist, but it makes sense to me that every time we let fear take total control of our minds, we’re losing a battle against ourselves and our own interests which can negatively impact our brain and how it functions in the future.

The litany is not saying that it’s wrong to experience fear, but that we have to acknowledge fear for what it is. Fear is meant to make us stop and evaluate our circumstances.

So for those of us who kill fear to do what we need to do — to us i say greatness is coming.