Shadow Philosophy

[The One]

First let me say Im new to the site, so hello to everybody
Now I have a question that I want some B5 experts to answer
what is the shadow philosophy? I understand that is about making wars and spreading chaos as a way to advance the younger races, but do really the shadows want the younger races to confront the shadow vessels directly? to unite the younge races in a big war against the shadows? or is it that the shadows use decisive force to make the younger races to fight eachother, helping the ones they think they are fit to survive, like the centauri against the narn?

I remember Justin saying that the alliance of races that Sheridan and Delen had formed was "unproductive" so the shadows didnt appear pleased with the younger races fighting them that way.

So finally are the shadow battlecrabs and shadow fighters really made "weak" to fight the younger races or the younger races just got lucky the shadows didnt vaporize them?

English is not my first language so excuse me if a made a mistake.

 

[GaribaldisHair]

The whole point, as I understand it, is to draw the younger races into fighting against each other, not against the Shadows. I seem to remember in one episode, the Brakiri admitting to going along with making war on their neighbours with the Shadows as allies. The goal is to force conflict so that the "strong" races, who win these conflicts can grow and develop while the "weak" races are filtered out of the gene pool.

Sheridan's alliance was deemed "unproductive" precisely because it got the younger races (both "strong" and "weak") working together against the Shadows rather than beating up on each other, so both "strong" and "weak" survive, thus defeating the Shadows' intention of helping the "strong" to grow and getting rid of the "weak". Survival of the fittest on a galactic scale.

 

[The One]

Thanks for replying, it makes sense that the shadows would want the younger races to fight eachother (the shadows helping some more than others) since the shadow are first ones it would be almost imposible to survive a direct confrontation against them on a big scale.

 

[RMcD]

So finally are the shadow battlecrabs and shadow fighters really made "weak" to fight the younger races or the younger races just got lucky the shadows didnt vaporize them?

I don't think they were made weak, since it seemed to take so much to kill them (for the battlecrabs a telepath, and a lot of concentrated firepower). If the shadows had intentionally made them weak, it seems to me they would have made them a lot less invincible than they appear.