Gnosticism, Esotericism, and Secrecy in Star Trek. We often take for granted that philosophers and Starfleet officers mean what they say. But there is a rich history of esoteric writing in the history of philosophy, whether for pedagogical, protective, or political purposes. The same is often true within the Star Trek universe itself. All of Star Trek can interpreted as a form of esoteric expression on the part of its creator Gene Roddenberry as a way of expressing his own social and political m...
Aug 17, 2020•1 hr 37 min•Ep. 98
Philosophical Themes in Star Trek: Picard, Season 1. The recently completed first season of Star Trek: Picard deals with an impressive amount of philosophical material in a mere ten episodes. In this episode of Meta Treks, hosts Zachary Fruhling and Mike Morrison discuss the philosophical themes and concepts within the premier season of Star Trek: Picard. From Rios's broody existentialism to the metaphysics of android neurons, join Zachary and Mike as they practice absolute candor in their discu...
Apr 06, 2020•1 hr 34 min•Ep. 97
Enterprise Season 1 - Essential Trek Philosophy. Like the first season of any new television series, Season 1 of Enterprise struggled to find its footing, especially coming out of the the successful run of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager throughout the 1990s. And while Season 1 of Enterprise had important overarching themes, such as human technological progress, showing the Star Trek universe to be a possible future for us in the emerging 21st century, getting back t...
Nov 18, 2019•1 hr 26 min•Ep. 96
Death Wish. Nineteenth-century German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche held that Western philosophers from Socrates onward have had a gigantic death wish in the form of philosophical escapism and denial of our nature as finite, embodied beings with our own uniquely individual perspectives, drives, and desires. Philosophers in the Q Continuum likewise seem to have a death wish, especially Quinn, the Q Continuum's greatest philosopher. In this episode of Meta Treks, hosts Zachary Fruhling and Mike ...
Oct 29, 2019•1 hr 33 min•Ep. 95
Utopianism in Star Trek. The Star Trek universe is sometimes claimed to be a utopia. From technological progress to an enlightened view of human nature and equal opportunity, the vision of the future depicted in Star Trek is often touted by fans as the best possible future for humankind. An often-overlooked aspect of utopianism, however, is that "utopia" literally means "no place," calling into question the plausibility of such an optimistic future. From intragalactic wars to power-hungry admira...
Jun 04, 2019•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 94
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 Zachar...
May 06, 2019•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 93
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 i...
Jan 21, 2019•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 92
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 Morri...
Jan 14, 2019•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 91
The Q Continuum. From the The Original Series onward, Star Trek has had a preoccupation with false gods, culminating in the introduction of Q and the Q Continuum in Star Trek: The Next Generation. But although members of the Q Continuum have many of the properties usually ascribed to deities—such as omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence, and so on—do they posses these qualities to sufficient degree to be considered genuine deities of the Star Trek universe? In this episode of Meta Treks, hosts ...
Oct 08, 2018•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 90
Philosophical Themes in "The Cage." In the opening scenes of "The Cage," the unaired pilot episode of Star Trek: The Original Series, Captain Christopher Pike is having an existential crisis, feeling the weight of his responsibility as a starship captain, being responsible for the lives of the people under his command, and longing for a different kind of life (being home on Earth with a picnic lunch and horseback riding every day, or perhaps becoming an Orion trader). When Captain Pike is impris...
Sep 24, 2018•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 89
The Original Series Season 1 - Essential Trek Philosophy. The entire Star Trek franchise, with over 700 television episodes and 13 feature films (to date), owes its existence to the strength of season 1 of Star Trek: The Original Series. If season 1 hadn't been as strong as it was, we wouldn't have the Star Trek franchise we know and love today. Season 1 of The Original Series isn't just strong dramatically, however. It is also strong philosophically, episode by episode exploring abstract ideas,...
Jul 02, 2018•1 hr 26 min•Ep. 88
Philosophical Themes in "These Are the Voyages." In this episode of Meta Treks, hosts Zachary Fruhling and Mike Morrison explore the philosophical themes in the series finale of Star Trek: Enterprise, "These Are the Voyages." While "These Are the Voyages" remains controversial with fans of Enterprise because of the focus on Commander Riker and Counselor Troi aboard the Enterprise-D, "These Are the Voyages" had the weighty task of book-ending 18 continuous years of Star Trek on television, from 1...
May 28, 2018•1 hr 26 min•Ep. 87
Good vs. Evil in Star Trek. We generally understand the meaning of "good," whether in the sense of following the rules or in the sense of minimizing the suffering of others. But, paradoxically, we understand the nature of "evil" to a far lesser degree. While Star Trek tends to shy away from making strict moral judgments, opting instead to humanize its villains by explaining the psychological motivations for their actions or the roots of those actions in past experiences, Star Trek does, however,...
Apr 23, 2018•1 hr 34 min•Ep. 86
The Visitor. In this episode of Meta Treks, hosts Zachary Fruhling and Mike Morrison discuss the philosophical themes in the fourth-season Deep Space Nine episode, "The Visitor." Inspired by Jake Sisko's passion for writing, Zachary and Mike discuss the relationship between creative writing, lived experience, and what the German philosopher Martin Heidegger called "Being-in-the-World." Zachary and Mike also discuss "The Visitor" as a phenomenological metaphor for various aspects of human experie...
Apr 10, 2018•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 85
TNG Season 5 - Essential Trek Philosophy. In this episode of Meta Treks, hosts Mike Morrison and Zachary Fruhling compare their top picks for Essential Trek Philosophy from season 5 of Star Trek: The Next Generation. From transhumanism and a positive spin on genetic engineering in "The Masterpiece Society" to the philosophy of language and an exploration of non-referential language in "Darmok," season five contains some of the philosophically richest episodes in all of Star Trek: The Next Genera...
Mar 21, 2018•1 hr 29 min•Ep. 84
The Conscience of the King. To what extent does a person remain morally responsible for his or her actions over time, even after many years or after changes in character and experience? Can people ever change who they fundamentally are inside, or do they merely become better actors playing different roles? In "The Conscience of the King" (Star Trek: The Original Series, Season 1), Captain Kirk suspects the 23rd-Century Shakespearean actor Anton Karidian of actually being the (believed-deceased) ...
Mar 12, 2018•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 83
Drone Warfare and "The Arsenal of Freedom." When the Enterprise is sent to the Lorenz Cluster in search of the missing U.S.S. Drake, the crew gets drawn into a life-and-death game of cat and mouse with the demonstration model of an ancient automated weapon system, including increasingly powerful and adaptive autonomous sentry probes. While the concept of automated drone warfare may have been closer to science and military fiction in the late 1980s during the first season of Star Trek: The Next G...
Mar 05, 2018•1 hr 41 min•Ep. 82
Vulcan Katras and the Mind-Body Problem. Episode 6 of Star Trek: Discovery, "Lethe," explored and expanded upon the metaphysics of Vulcan katras beyond what had been seen in previous iterations of Star Trek. But what exactly is a Vulcan katra and what properties does it have? From transferring consciousness from one Vulcan to another, to enabling a form of disembodied immortality, katras play an important role in Vulcan mysticism and metaphysics. In this episode of Meta Treks, hosts Zachary Fruh...
Oct 30, 2017•1 hr 27 min•Ep. 81
Deep Space Nine Season 5 - Essential Trek Philosophy. When people think of ethics in Star Trek, they often think primarily of ethical dilemmas, such as balancing the greater good of one group of people with the greater good of another group of people, or juxtaposing the rights of particular individuals with the common good. But season 5 of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine takes a different approach to its exploration of ethics, using dramatic situations to explore not merely ethical dilemmas, but also...
Oct 23, 2017•1 hr 32 min•Ep. 80
The Philosophy of Color in Star Trek. Star Trek: The Original Series is a colorful show, known for its striking set decorations and bold costuming, from the orange highlights on the Enterprise bridge to the primary colors of the Original Series uniforms, including the uniforms of the infamous Redshirts. But what exactly does it mean for a uniform to be red? Is redness a physical property of the uniform itself, or is redness an aspect of subjective mental experience for whomever observes the unif...
Oct 09, 2017•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 79
Philosophical Themes in Star Trek: Discovery, Episodes 1 and 2. Every Star Trek television series is a mirror, reflecting and illuminating the moral dilemmas and the political issues of its time. The premier episodes of Star Trek: Discovery, "The Vulcan Hello" and "Battle at the Binary Stars," are no exception. While it is still too early to know yet what Star Trek: Discovery will eventually become, and the ongoing relevance it will have as current events unfold, it is possible, at least tentati...
Oct 02, 2017•1 hr 39 min•Ep. 78
Property Ownership in Star Trek. There may be no money in the 24th century, at least not as we know it. And humankind may no longer be driven by the acquisition of material wealth. But what exactly do you do if you want to own one of those extra-special limited-vintage bottles of Chateau Picard? In this episode of Meta Treks, hosts Zachary Fruhling and Mike Morrison discuss the philosophy and economics of property ownership in Star Trek. What role does property ownership play in a post-scarcity,...
Sep 25, 2017•1 hr 31 min•Ep. 77
Voyager Season 5 - Essential Trek Philosophy. If you've ever had the urge to replicate yourself some curtains when faced with a late-night existential crisis, then the fifth-season opener of Star Trek: Voyager, "Night" is for you! In "Night" we see perhaps the best example of ennui (boredom) in all of Star Trek, including some guilt-laden soul searching from Captain Janeway. But an existential crisis alone does not a season of Star Trek make. And Voyager season 5 is also filled with various ethi...
Aug 14, 2017•1 hr 35 min•Ep. 76
Star Trek Philosophy of Education. An advanced future civilization such as the United Federation of Planets would surely have an equally advanced educational system. After all, we are told in Star Trek: The Next Generation that 24th century schoolchildren learn calculus in grade school aboard the Enterprise ! But other than an accelerated math curriculum, what are the defining characteristics of the educational system and the philosophy of education within in the Star Trek universe? In this epis...
Jul 31, 2017•1 hr 42 min
Narratives and Metanarratives in Star Trek . Throughout Western history, grand narratives, or metanarratives , have been used to define who we are and where we should be going as a people. These metanarratives have included things like the Enlightenment , the Scientific Revolution , Democracy , Marxism , Emancipation , and many other competing metanarratives that have made up the tapestry of Western civilization. Star Trek , likewise, has its grand metanarratives, which tie together individual s...
Jul 17, 2017•1 hr 37 min
Pen Pals. When Lt. Commander Data contacts a girl named "Sarjenka" from a pre-warp civilization in distress on his 24th-century space ham radio, it leads to a super-secret philosophical discussion about the nature of the Prime Directive in Captain Picard's quarters. Should the Prime Directive be interpreted strictly or loosely? How should Starfleet officers weigh the high-stakes, life-or-death consequences for an entire civilization against their responsibility and oath to uphold the Prime Direc...
Jul 03, 2017•1 hr 26 min
Enterprise Season 2 - Essential Trek Philosophy. Season 2 of Enterprise contained numerous fun and interesting and science-fiction concepts and ideas, as the crew of the NX-01 encountered novelty and adventure going where no humans had ever gone before. But this season also explored a number of important philosophical and ethical issues, from the Kantian principle of not using other sentient beings as a means to your own ends in "Dead Stop" to the politics of gender and sexual identity in "Stigm...
Jun 26, 2017•1 hr 39 min
Future Human Cultural Evolution with Patrick Devlin. In the Star Trek universe, the cultural progression of alien races is remarkably deterministic, as cultures proceed from their own versions of the stone age, to the bronze age, to the industrial age, and culminating in warp-capable civilizations that are fully fledged members of the galactic community. But what reasons do we have for thinking that our own diverse human cultures will progress along the path laid out for us in the Star Trek univ...
Jun 12, 2017•1 hr 30 min
Cardassian Virtue Ethics. Throughout the Star Trek universe, the various alien races serve as a mirror for the best and the worst of our own human natures, and the Cardassians are no exception. But which character traits do the Cardassians find most virtuous? And which characters in the Star Trek universe are the best candidates for the ideal or most virtuous Cardassians, based on the unique character traits that Cardassians themselves recognize as virtues? In this episode of Meta Treks , hosts ...
Jun 05, 2017•1 hr 22 min
"Rapture" and Altered States of Consciousness. On the eve of Bajor's admittance into the Federation, an accident in one of Quark's holosuites results in the synapses being hyper-stimulated in Captain Sisko's brain. Captain Sisko enters a heightened state of awareness allowing him to locate the legendary Bajoran lost city of B'hala. In this episode of Meta Treks , hosts Zachary Fruhling and Mike Morrison discuss the philosophical themes and concepts in the fifth-season Deep Space Nine episode "Ra...
May 29, 2017•1 hr 18 min
