Klingon Virtue Ethics.
For Klingons, the key ethical question is whether one's heart is
truly Klingon. In this episode of Meta Treks, hosts Zachary
Fruhling and Mike Morrison examine "Klingon Virtue Ethics," with
virtue ethics being a distinctive form of ethical theory
emphasizing desirable character traits over individual actions.
Zachary and Mike debate the nature of essential Klingon character
traits such as loyalty, duty, and honor. But unlike humans, who
tend to remain in the middle-ground on many aspects of human
nature, Klingons take their essential virtues and character traits
to extreme levels (not to mention those terrible Klingon table
manners and an endless but life-affirming thirst for blood
wine).
In their discussion, Zachary and Mike cover the Aristotelian notion
of eudaimonia ("happiness," or "living well") and consider what
living well, or rather dying well, means for Klingons. In addition,
Zachary and Mike apply the virtue-theory notion of an "ideal
individual" to the Klingon messianic figure Kahless, the individual
viewed by most Klingons as the ideal Klingon to be emulated and
revered. Finally, Zachary and Mike contrast the highly idealized
(and sometime naive) sense of Klingon virtues embraced by the
character of Worf with the more realistic character traits of other
less-honorable Klingons.
Chapters
Welcome To Episode 7 (00:01:25)
Discussing SacTrek (00:02:48)
Overview of Virtue Ethics (00:11:26)
Traditional Virtue Ethics Theories (00:14:48)
Virtue Ethics In Star Trek (00:16:52)
Discussion of Eudaimonia (00:24:39)
Final Thoughts (01:07:29)
Zach's Recommended Klingon Episodes (01:10:53)
Mike's Recommended Klingon Episodes (01:11:26)
Consequentialism vs. Deontological Ethics.
In the Deep Space Nine episode "In the Pale Moonlight," was
Captain Sisko justified in using less-then-honorable means to bring
the Romulans into the war with the Dominion in order to end the war
and save lives? Or were Sisko's actions unjustified because they
violated universally valid moral rules and principles?
In this episode of Meta Treks, hosts Mike Morrison and Zachary
Fruhling analyze "In the Pale Moonlight" from the contrasting
ethical theories of consequentalist ethics (or utilitarianism) and
deontological ethics (or rule-based ethics). Mike and Zachary
consider the applicability of different forms of consequentialism,
such as Jeremy Bentham's quantitative approach to utilitarianism,
John Start Mill's more qualitative approach to utilitarianism, and
rule utilitarianism as a middle-ground between ethics emphasizing
consequences and ethics emphasizing rules.
This episode of Meta Treks covers the crucial concepts of
deontological/Kantian ethics, such as Kant's Categorical
Imperative, the notion that some actions are intrinsically right or
wrong regardless of consequences, and treating others as ends in
themselves and not merely as means to your own ends. Mike and
Zachary wrap up the conversation with a discussion of whether the
justification for the Prime Directive is chiefly consequentialist
or whether the Prime Directive, as the Federation's highest law or
rule, is grounded in the intrinsic worth of the natural development
of other worlds and cultures.
Chapters
Welcome to Episode 6 (00:01:06)
Discussing the CBS Star Trek Announcement (00:02:22)
Introducing the Topic (00:15:10)
Consequentialism (00:16:40)
Example - In The Pale Moonlight (00:19:31)
Utilitarianism (00:32:09)
Deontological Ethics (00:44:00)
Kantian Ethics (00:44:40)
The Categorical Imperative (00:49:00)
The Prime Directive (01:05:38)
Rule Utilitarianism (01:10:05)
Virtue Based Ethics (01:17:46)
Final Thoughts (01:20:06)
Production
Dennis Castello (Editor and Producer) Norman C. Lao (Executive Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Charlynn Schmiedt (Executive Producer) Will Nguyen (Content Manager) Richard Marquez (Production Manager)
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Personal Identity.
As characters in Star Trek change over time (think TV Picard versus
Movie Picard), what accounts for the persistence of those
characters' personal identity?
In this episode of Meta Treks, the continuation of a
two-part discussion on the problem of identity in Star Trek, hosts
Zachary Fruhling and Mike Morrison consider various responses to
the problem of personal identity, including John Locke's views on
memory and the continuity of consciousness, David Hume's bundle
theory of the self, and Rene Descartes's views on mind-body dualism
and personal identity.
Zachary and Mike close out their discussion of personal identity by
considering identity issues in alternate timelines, counterfactual
scenarios, and the Mirror Universe. Can David Lewis's possible
worlds interpretation of counterfactuals, along with Saul Kripke's
account of personal names as rigid designators, explain the
identity of Star Trek characters across alternate timelines? Is it
possible to give any account of why Star Trek characters are
somehow connected to their Mirror Universe counterparts? Join
Zachary and Mike as they wrestle with these issues in personal
identity and more, all told through examples taken directly from
the Star Trek universe.
Chapters
Welcome to Episode 5 (00:01:06)
Introducing the Topic (00:02:23)
Examples of Personal Identity in Star Trek (00:10:40)
Numerical Identity (00:12:56)
Continuity of Consciousness (00:17:57)
The Bundle Theory (00:26:50)
Dualism (00:34:09)
Alternate Universes (00:52:56)
Names as Rigid Designators (01:00:46)
Final Thoughts (01:11:21)
Production
Dennis Castello (Editor and Producer) Norman C. Lao (Executive Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Charlynn Schmiedt (Executive Producer) Will Nguyen (Content Manager) Richard Marquez (Production Manager)
The Problem of Identity.
In this episode of Meta Treks, part one of a two-part
discussion on the problem of identity in Star Trek, hosts Mike
Morrison and Zachary Fruhling consider the metaphysical problem of
identity over time as it applies to inanimate objects. As objects
undergo changes over time, do they remain the same objects or do
they become different objects? Mike and Zachary reinterpret the
classic philosophical example of the Ship of Theseus, in which
components of a ship are replaced one at a time, in Star Trek terms
as the "Starship of Theseus," asking whether the Enterprise remains
the same ship following repairs or a refit.
Mike and Zachary introduce the problem of identity with an overview
of Leibniz's Law and the numerical identity of indiscernible
objects, followed by a discussion of different possible responses
to the problem of identity over time: the continuity-of-change
response, four-dimensionalism and time slices, and Aristotle's four
types of causes (material cause, formal cause, efficient cause, and
final cause).
Chapters
Welcome to Meta Treks 4 (00:01:07)
Introduction to the Topic (00:02:10)
The Ship of Theseus (00:10:18)
The Starship of Theseus (00:13:35)
Resolving the Identity Problem (00:29:17)
Continuity of Changes (00:29:51)
Four Dimensionalism (00:37:18)
Aristotle's Answers (00:46:37)
Final Thoughts (01:00:43)
Hosts
Mike Morrison and Zachary Fruhling