Maud’Dib

It is as the Princess Irulan says; to understand Paul Atreides, Mau’Dib, we have to understand him as a Fremen in context. 

This protects us from analysing him in such a way we forget that and the importance of it. Mentats compare the with- and without- assimilation of this awareness to recognise the validity of Paul Maud’Dib’s decision-making processes. 

“One cannot accurately judge a culture by the standards of a different culture.” Rakis Holy Nomad

It goes beyond “Paul is a psychopath.” All leaders bare traits of psychopathy. It is not the definitive understanding of the man. Maud’Dib was a living prophecy, a religious leader, Mahdi. He was rightly considered so for many generations after his time. 

Paul was not a Qwizard Haderach. He did not ‘come a generation too early’. Paul knew his children would be. He foresaw this both with his Mentat training and in his spice visions. Maud’Dib did manipulate the superstition of the Bene Gesserit, Fremen and Imperium alike, using the role as political leverage to attain his goals. 

In doing so, Paul’s calculations and foresight of the long-term consequences undoubtably proved his seizing of the Imperial Throne as necessary to subdue opposition from within and fragmentation of the feudal Empire, to avoid stagnation which his son LetoII later discussed in his journals and with Moneo and the Idaho gholas. Maud’Dib and LetoII both saw the same view in their spice visions. They met each other there. 

Fremen socio-ethicology vs Existentialism

Fremen socio-ethicology vs Existentialism

"Authenticity
Many noted existentialist writers consider the theme of authentic existence important. Authentic existence involves the idea that one has to "create oneself" and then live in accordance with this self. What is meant by authenticity is that in acting, one should act as oneself, not as "one" acts or as "one's genes" or any other essence requires. The authentic act is one that is in accordance with one's freedom. Of course, as a condition of freedom is facticity, this includes one's facticity, but not to the degree that this facticity can in any way determine one's choices (in the sense that one could then blame one's background for making the choice one made). The role of facticity in relation to authenticity involves letting one's actual values come into play when one makes a choice (instead of, like Kierkegaard's Aesthete, "choosing" randomly), so that one also takes responsibility for the act instead of choosing either-or without allowing the options to have different values.

In contrast to this, the inauthentic is the denial to live in accordance with one's freedom. This can take many forms, from pretending choices are meaningless or random, through convincing oneself that some form of determinism is true, to a sort of "mimicry" where one acts as "one should." How "one" should act is often determined by an image one has of how one such as oneself (say, a bank manager, lion tamer, prostitute, etc.) acts. This image usually corresponds to some sort of social norm, but this does not mean that all acting in accordance with social norms is inauthentic: The main point is the attitude one takes to one's own freedom and responsibility, and the extent to which one acts in accordance with this freedom."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Existentialism


                            "The authentic act is one that is in accordance with one's freedom."

 

Fremen society is structured based on minimalism of survival necessity. If one member of the tribe does not act appropriately for the good of the tribe, the whole tribe will suffer. Fremen culture is extremist by necessity; it 'preserves moisture' rather than 'conserves water'. Freedom within Fremen society is a moot point, and [their] laws although simple, elaborate around necessity. Before the coming of Maud'Dib, trial by combat; to kill another member of the tribe is to assume that persons responsibilities.