Meta Treks is a Trek.fm podcast dedicated to a deep examination of the philosophical ideas found in Star Trek. In each episode, Zachary Fruhling and Mike Morrison take you on a fascinating journey into the inner workings of Star Trek storytelling, deeper into subspace than you've ever traveled before.
http://trek.fm/meta-treks
18: The Poker Game of Life (on the Enterprise)
Poker, Virtue Ethics, and the Prisoner's Dilemma.
In Star Trek: The Next Generation, we see a lot of poker:
from Commander Riker cleaning house, to Data learning how to bluff,
to Geordi claiming not to cheat with his VISOR. But exactly why do
we see so much poker in Star Trek? What important
character traits or skills does the game of poker help instill in a
young Starfleet officer? Can any important lessons in ethics or
diplomacy be learned from playing poker? How are those character
traits or skills different from those learned from playing other
games, such as three-dimensional chess? And how does poker relate
to game-like scenarios in ethics, such as the Prisoner's Dilemma?
In this episode of Meta Treks: A Star Trek Philosophy
Podcast, hosts Mike Morrison and Zachary Fruhling tackle the
philosophy and ethics of poker aboard the Enterprise-D. From virtue
ethics to game theory, Mike and Zachary bluff their way through a
discussion of the deeper significance of poker in the Star
Trek universe.
Chapters
Welcome to Episode 18 (00:01:07)
Intro to the Topic (00:01:19)
Meta Treks Reviews on iTunes (00:05:04)
Poker Episodes in Star Trek: The Next Generation
(00:08:38)
Virtue Ethics - Does Poker Cultivate Desirable Character Traits?
(00:27:15)
Game Theory and the Prisoner's Dilemma (00:46:55)
"Chain of Command" and the Prisoner's Dilemma (00:55:47)
Final Thoughts (01:02:23)
Send us your feedback! Twitter: @trekfm Facebook: http://facebook.com/trekfm Voicemail: http://www.speakpipe.com/trekfm Contact Form: http://www.trek.fm/contact
Visit the Trek.fm website at http://www.trek.fm/ Subscribe in iTunes: http://itunes.com/trekfm
Support the Network! Become a Trek.fm Patron on Patreon and help us keep Star Trek talk coming every week. We have great perks for you at http://patreon.com/trekfm