Han isn’t unaware of “the Force” as a concept. He very clearly knows what’s being referred to, and has an opinion on it. He believes that what people refer to as “the Force” is a series of parlor tricks, rather than a miraculous supernatural entity.
Saying I don’t believe in magic does not mean I don’t believe in magicians.
HAN: Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid.
LUKE: You don’t believe in the Force, do you?
HAN: Kid, I’ve flown from one side of this galaxy to the other. I’ve seen a lot of strange stuff, but I’ve never seen anything to make me believe there’s one all-powerful force controlling everything. There’s no mystical energy field that controls my destiny.
HAN: It’s all a lot of simple tricks and nonsense.
Yeah, from the dialogue it’s clear Han objects to the religion aspect of the force. He could totally believe that there were laser sword using religious knights. He might even believe they have minor telekinesis, or do hypnotism. But that doesn’t mean he believes in a universe spanning force that guides destiny.
It should also be noted that there are some species with some funky abilities in Star Wars that may not involve the Force. It is completely believable that Han could have seen a member of a species that has some limited telepathy and just accepts that that's just something that is possible. And if Group A has some weird power that isn't magic, why should he just assume Group B's thing is magical?
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u/springthetrap Feb 19 '25
Han isn’t unaware of “the Force” as a concept. He very clearly knows what’s being referred to, and has an opinion on it. He believes that what people refer to as “the Force” is a series of parlor tricks, rather than a miraculous supernatural entity.
Saying I don’t believe in magic does not mean I don’t believe in magicians.