the warriors who would become the first sith were apparently heterodox members of an older martial order of force-sensitive sapient beings in the "star wars" universe: the jedi. the jedi served as a space-faring knightly order within the galactic republic, a representative democracy encompassing most developed worlds. the jedi order sought to use the powers of the force to help defend the weak and advance the rule of law across the galaxy, in keeping with their ethics of self-sacrifice and service to the common welfare. the jedi creed mirrored their method of utilizing the force, and jedi doctrine favored states of serenity, detachment, compassion, and humility as the proper means of accessing its power. when members of the jedi order began to experiment with passion as an alternative, controversy emerged. the jedi establishment saw these innovations as a threat to the ethos of the jedi, opening members to the seduction of aggrandizement and cruelty. eventually, this controversy led to a sectarian conflict in which the heterodox jedi were defeated and exiled.