Why are the sith such masochists?

Tenebrous was glad that Plagueis successfully defeated him, and even congratulated him on it.

Even near death, Dooku was encouraging Vos to strike him down and replace him as a more powerful sith (Dark Disciple).

I'm sure there are other examples too.

Why do you believe this is so when considering that the entire premise of the dark-side is about indulging in selfishness?

Because they were adhering to the Rule of Two, wherein the strong replace the weak.

Originally posted by Galan007
Because they were adhering to the Rule of Two, wherein the strong replace the weak.

Plagueis too kinda just sat their passively as he fried to death, despite Sidious anticipating a massive counteract.

It's like the attitude of the sith is "ah well, f*ck it. I'm a miserable piece of shit just let it end already".

Probably just comes down to this:

So are the sith selfish or selfless?

Selfish, undoubtedly.

So then why should they sacrifice themselves for some mystic order?

It is a contradiction of sorts, but the way I see it...

If that particular Sith adheres to the Rule of Two, they plan on eventually being killed by their apprentice anyway -- and if/when this happens, it means the master did an adequate job training the apprentice. That the fundamental core and methodology of the RoT itself.

Flip side, if that particular Sith is struck down by an 'outsider'(say a Jedi) out of anger/hatred, then they have essentially succeeded in coaxing or converting that being to the dark side. Yes they may have been killed in the process, but if doing so required the other being to entirely disregard their own morals/values/teachings, and channel the dark side out of sheer rage...even if only for a moment...Then it's a win-win for the Sith.

Originally posted by Kurk
So then why should they sacrifice themselves for some mystic order?

Yep. It's a pretty blatant contradiction.

@Galan so let me rephrase this:

What would a sith get (keeping in mind that they're selfish) out of their apprentice or rogue jedi striking them down without putting up much resistance?

How is this different from old Ben letting Vader strike him down?

Originally posted by Kurk
@Galan so let me rephrase this:

What would a sith get (keeping in mind that they're selfish) out of their apprentice or rogue jedi striking them down without putting up much resistance?

Like I said, though: it is indeed somewhat of a contradiction for such utterly selfish beings to openly embrace(and in some cases even relish) their own deaths, like many of them have. But again: this seems to be a fairly common trope among Sith, so the only sense of it I can make is what I have already mentioned. /shrug

Perhaps someone more knowledgeable on the Rule of Two like DMD can give his insight as well.

I can understand them taking satisfaction in both the things you mentioned, because oddly enough, I have relished the same events for years now.

Get ready for another "Kurk" moment:

a.) the potential satisfaction of knowing they had trained their apprentice/successor adequately

If I had to choose my death I could list a several options, but at the top of the list would be death at the hands of my superior; whether that be physically, indirectly, intellectually, etc.

Recently I've been contemplating the idea of adopting an orphan once I am financially stable enough to do so. I would raise this kid as my apprentice, not my child, and teach him/her everything I know. Once old enough, I would grant my protege a position in my law-firm/business, expecting them to quickly ascend through the ranks and bring in clients better than I can. I would expect to be made obsolete by my apprentice's effectiveness at some point in time (The orphan would be carefully selected by considering their gene pool and ensuring that they are meant to be my superior in IQ, health, etc—hopefully genetic engineering is available by then). Once they reach that point, I would concede my position of power to them as a symbolic means of failure/death, and plan to die shortly thereafter.

This really appeals to me for some reason, but I can't find the words to describe it. Just thinking about it makes me feel like Tenebrous did as he was dying at the hands of Plagueis.

or b.) the potential satisfaction of knowing that it took a Jedi embracing the dark side(essentially throwing away his/her own beliefs) to kill them... That's just how Sith think.

I have also experienced this and unsuccessfully tried to implement it in my highschool life.

In highschool, I was in the top quarter of my class, but by no means the tip-top scholar. I was able to contend with the saludictorian, but was not their equal. Their flaw was their kindness and willingness to help lesser students. I loathed this flaw and saw the potential this person possessed if they learned to stop their benevolent behaviors. I encouraged this person to (figuratively speaking) destroy me in projects and such through aggressive means, but they were too nice to be turned hostile and humiliate me in front of our peers. I fantasized for months about this person using their intelligence to attend an ivy-league (which they did) and eventually become a hedge-fund manager on Wall Street. Instead they pursued medicine. Such potential wasted.

what

I've always interpreted as them sort of wishing for (more like, being okay with ) their death all along. It's not masochistic at all, in fact, quite the opposite.

The dark side is horrible. It's a disease, in the words of plagueis. So I wouldn't be surprised if, when it's inevitable, death would seem like a good option. Naturally, their basic impulses makes them want to live, and gain power yada yada yada, but when it's inevitable...

So I'd say that though they're selfish and want power, eternal life, etc. without care for others, the best option when you're that kind of person is death. I wouldn't want that kind of depressing emptiness and futile search for fulfillment in power eating my soul, tbh.

Originally posted by Zentrex
I've always interpreted as them sort of wishing for (more like, being okay with ) their death all along. It's not masochistic at all, in fact, quite the opposite.

The dark side is horrible. It's a disease, in the words of plagueis. So I wouldn't be surprised if, when it's inevitable, death would seem like a good option. Naturally, their basic impulses makes them want to live, and gain power yada yada yada, but when it's inevitable...

So I'd say that though they're selfish and want power, eternal life, etc. without care for others, the best option when you're that kind of person is death. I wouldn't want that kind of depressing emptiness and futile search for fulfillment in power eating my soul, tbh.

Because they want you to go dark. That's all. If you kill them, you are gonna prove they are/were right about you. Besides that, they have techniques to transfer their spirits into other vessels.