Philosophy and Star Trek

Catalog description

The five Star Trek television series focus on issues and topics that are extremely philosophically interesting. In this course, we will investigate several of those issues in detail. Each week, we will watch an episode of Star Trek from one of the five TV series, and will read contemporary or historical philosophical texts that discuss the issues raised by those episodes. The course will focus primarily on topics in moral philosophy or ethics, including social and political philosophy (although we will also discuss various issues in metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, and other areas). Science fiction has the unique ability to highlight the moral, social, and political issues we often take for granted - as those issues are presented in a highly fictionalized and futuristic context, we may come to appreciate analogous, morally important aspects of our own society to which we are currently blind. Thus, through the stories and ethical dilemmas presented in Star Trek and related philosophical writings, this course aims to help students gain a deeper understanding of their own world.