Meta Treks: A Star Trek Philosophy Podcast - 92: Prepaid Long-Distance Mind Meld

92: Prepaid Long-Distance Mind Meld

01/21/19 • 80 min

Meta Treks: A Star Trek Philosophy Podcast

Discovery Season 1 - Essential Trek Philosophy.

We in the 21st century do not live in an age of mythology as the ancient Greeks and Romans did, with epic heroes and narratives to provide context and meaning for our lives. Yet we hunger and thirst for meaning, as humans have done since the dawn of human history and consciousness. To its fans, Star Trek has become a form of modern mythology, with its own ethos, purposefulness, and meaningfulness, and with its own epic heroes—whether Captain Kirk in the Original Series or Michael Burnham in Star Trek: Discovery—whose journeys, struggles, and overcoming of obstacles are reminiscent of the existential journeys of classical epic heroes, from Odysseus in Homer's Odyssey to Dante Alighieri in the Divine Comedy.

In this episode of Meta Treks, hosts Mike Morrison and Zachary Fruhling discuss the philosophical themes in season one of Star Trek: Discovery, from speculative and theoretical issues in contemporary physics and biology—emergence, panspermia, and panpsychism—to existential questions of self-identity and self-definition—including the rise, fall, and redemption of Michael Burnham, the Federation's struggle to maintain its ideals during wartime and in the face of imminent threats to its very existence, and the emerging unification and national identity of the Klingon Empire.

Chapters Intro (00:01:19) Initial Thoughts About Star Trek: Discovery - Season One (00:2:31) Essential Trek Philosophy Essentials (00:17:19) Context is for Kings (00:19:06) The Vulcan Hello / Battle at the Binary Stars (00:27:07) The Butcher's Knife Cares Not for the Lamb's Cry / Choose Your Pain (00:37:50) Lethe (00:42:43) Will You Take My Hand? (00:50:54) Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad (00:59:03) Final Thoughts (01:04:58) Recap (01:12:48) Closing (01:13:55)

Hosts Mike Morrison and Zachary Fruhling

Production Mike Morrison (Editor) Zachary Fruhling (Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Ken Tripp (Executive Producer) Patrick Devlin (Associate Producer) Kay Shaw (Associate Producer) Mark Walker (Associate Producer) Norman C. Lao (Associate Producer) Richard Marquez (Production Manager) Brandon-Shea Mutala (Patreon Manager)

Discovery Season 1 - Essential Trek Philosophy.

Hosts Mike Morrison and Zachary Fruhling

Previous Episode

91: Get That Whale Some Gumbo

Equality and Equal Rights.

Equality in the United Federation of Planets is often taken for granted, that alien life forms are entitled to the same rights, privileges, and opportunities as humans. But to which beings does this equality extend? Humanoids? Only sentient life forms? Intelligent androids? Whales? Nanites? And equality in what sense? Political equality? Moral equality? Equality under the law? Equality of opportunity?

In this episode of Meta Treks, hosts Zachary Fruhling and Mike Morrison discuss the philosophy of equality in the Star Trek universe, from issues of accessibility for disabled Starfleet officers such as Commander LaForge (TNG) and Ensign Melora (DS9: "Melora"), to the rights of non-humanoid life forms, whether intelligent whales here on Earth (Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home) or non-human aliens such as the Horta (TOS: "The Devil in the Dark") and the Sheliak (TNG: "The Ensigns of Command").

Chapters Intro (00:01:19) Equality - Making a Distinction (00:03:16) Political Equality Over Time in Star Trek (00:04:49) Moral Equality in the Federation (00:11:22) Moral Equality and Future Potential (00:20:25) Equality Under the Law, Equal Rights, and the Ethics of Care (00:28:07) Equality and Exploitation (00:33:48) Deep Space Nine and Equal Opportunity (00:36:34) Starfleet and the Federation: Is the Captains Life More Valuable? (00:46:42) Our Attitude Toward Other Cultures in the 24th Century (00:55:34) Closing (00:58:52)

Hosts Zachary Fruhling and Mike Morrison

Production Mike Morrison (Editor) Zachary Fruhling (Producer) Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Ken Tripp (Executive Producer) Patrick Devlin (Associate Producer) Kay Shaw (Associate Producer) Mark Walker (Associate Producer) Norman C. Lao (Associate Producer) Richard Marquez (Production Manager) Brandon-Shea Mutala (Patreon Manager)

Next Episode

93: In a Relevantly Similar Possible Universe, I Would Always Have Been Your Friend, Jim

Alternate Universes and Modal Realism.

The Star Trek franchise is full of alternate universes, from different quantum realities (TNG: "Parallels") and the alternate reality seen in the Kelvin timeline (Star Trek, 2009) to the Mirror Universe seen in the Original Series, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and Star Trek: Discovery. In Star Trek, these alternate universes are just as real as the actual universe, a philosophical position known as "modal realism." In this episode of Meta Treks, hosts Zachary Fruhling and Mike Morrison debate modal realism, the reality of alternate universes, through the lens of the Star Trek universe and whether we should consider alternate realities or "possible worlds" to be as metaphysically real as our own actual universe.

Chapters Intro (00:01:19) Initial Thought on Modal Realism (00:04:04) What Difference Does It Make? (00:08:45) David Lewis and Counterfactuals (00:12:36) Modal Concepts (00:17:43) The Distinction and Contrast of the Mirror Universe in Star Trek (00:20:46) Quantum Branching (00:29:50) Gottfried Leibniz and "Best of All Possible Worlds" (00:34:28) Is Modal Realism a Scientific Question or a Philosophical Question? (00:39:00) The Space Between the Spaces (00:43:26) Different Types of Possible Universes (00:45:20) Criticisms of Modal Realism (00:57:13) Diverging Universes (01:00:10) Closing (01:05:03)

Hosts Zachary Fruhling and Mike Morrison