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
20: Bay of Targs
Preemptive War and Star Trek Into Darkness.
Star Trek has a long tradition of dealing with ethical,
social, and political issues in the real world, and Star Trek Into
Darkness is no different. One of the most important issues in the
world today is how far a society should go to protect itself. What
freedoms should we be willing to give up for sake of safety and
security? Should a government be allowed to spy on its own
citizens? And is it morally and ethically permissible to start a
preemptive war with a real or perceived enemy? Star Trek Into
Darkness tackles this last question head-on through Admiral
Marcus's attempt to start a preemptive war against the Klingons. In
this episode of Meta Treks: A Star Trek Philosophy
Podcast, hosts Mike Morrison and Zachary Fruhling examine the
ethical issue of preemptive war as the principle ethical dilemma in
Star Trek Into Darkness.
Chapters
Welcome to Episode 20 (00:01:07)
Preemptive War and Star Trek Into Darkness
(00:03:12)
The Portrayal of Khan (00:07:28)
Synopsis of Star Trek Into Darkness (00:09:38)
Star Trek Into Darkness and the Post-9/11 World
(00:11:52)
Preemptive War - Consequentialism vs. Care Ethics (00:20:14)
The Trolley Problem, a.k.a. The Shuttlecraft Problem
(00:28:27)
Preemptive War and Deontological/Kantian Ethics (00:38:08)
Militarism and Fear of the Klingons (00:40:34)
Final Thoughts (00:53:39)
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