Star Trek and Philosophy: The Wrath of Kant by Kevin S. Decker

Star Trek and Philosophy: The Wrath of Kant Reviews

• 
  Antigone

  Kirk: Everything Harry tells you is a lie. Remember that. Everything Harry tells you is a lie.
  
  Harry: Now listen to this carefully, Norman. I am lying.
  
  Norman: You say you are lying, but if everything you say is a lie, then you are telling the truth. But you cannot tell the truth, because everything you say is a lie. But...you lie...you tell the truth, but you cannot, for you lie. Illogical. Illogical. Please explain. You are human. Only humans can explain their behavior. Please explain.
  
  Norman, his medallion blinking wildly, his circuits frying to a wisp of smoke, is now quite clearly toast. As are the Alices, the Barbaras, the Maisies, the Hermans, and good ol' Stella Mudd. Every one of these presumptuous androids has been laid low by the kind of verbal trickery our Captain holds in reserve for rogue technological upstarts (See: Nomad, the M-5, V'ger). In this case he's using a fourth century construction called the Liar's Paradox; a contradiction that deftly challenges our logical principles of reasoning.
  
  There's a lot to be said for exploring philosophy through the lens of the Star Trek universe, especially as it comes in essay form from twenty-one professional philosophers who also happen to be Trekkies. The joy they take in drawing scenes, themes and parallels is positively infectious. Whether it's Darmok and Wittgenstein, the Vulcans and the Stoics, Kahn and Nietzsche, the Q Continuum and the Hedonistic Paradox - their enthusiasm is unbridled, injecting the reading with a healthy dose of fun. Who isn't going to warm up to cloning when offered with a side of Jem'Hadar? Moral autonomy as featured in the realm of the Borg Queen? I recommend in particular Sander Lee's "Is Odo a Collaborator?" for the grit of Kant's Categorical Imperative and the Murphy/Porter contribution, "Recognizing the Big Picture: Why We Want to Live in the Federation" for its fine and distinctive description of a regime of recognition.
  
  This was a pleasure...and a really great way to rekindle interest in the field.
  
• 
  Thomas

  I've never been more embarrassed from reading a book in a public place. Well, with the possible exception of 'Lolita'...
  
  This book offers some pretty predictable material on time travel, Spock's logic, free will vs. the Borg, Picard's code of ethics, etc...But what I really like is that it doesn't shy away from the murky moral issues explored by Trek's oft forgotten Deep Space Nine.
  
  Picking up from some of the later TNG material, DS9 complicated Roddenberry's utopian vision with "realistic" story lines about hatred, religious bigotry, diplomacy, state sponsored espionage, war -- as well as just everyday frictions in a multicultural environment. So for example I was pleasantly surprised by the essay on Odo's ethical dilemmas (both during the Dominion War and the Cardassian occupation of DS9) And I also thoroughly enjoyed the essay focusing on reconstruction after Bajoran/Cardassian rapprochement. Unlike most material explored in pop culture, these are issues for which there really are no easy answers (a stance familiar to anyone studying foreign policy.)
  
• 
  Becky

  This book was great fun. It was very intelligent, and written in a way that easily caught amateur philosopher's up to speed on the last 3000 years of philosophy. Also, it was superb to go through and watch the episodes discussed in the book. Piling nerdy onto nerdy. Seriously though, people don't appreciate how much culture is influenced by philosophy, how their actions reflect their philosophy, and how much scifi/fantasy actually sets standards as a sort of "thought experiment" in and of themselves.
• 
  Jon

  The chapter on Aristotle and the Ferengi really helped me to understand the current real world economy. I know. I'm surprised I wrote that sentence. However, I'm not kidding. I mean like...holy cow, man.
• 
  Pia Margić

  A very interesting read, which I would reccomend to any and all Trekkies, and those interestend in the subjects of trans and post-humanism, and the philosopical and moral dillemas of futuristic tech.
• 
  Shauna

  This was an interesting approach to introducing readers to philosophy. I feel like this book did for philosophy what Looney Tunes did for classical music. In the book, you read about particular characters, cultures, or plot lines which are all familiar and the author point you back toward the philosophical approach that was embraced. Much easier than trying to comprehend such abstract ideas with technical jargon.
• 
  Bev

  Star Trek & Philosophy: The Wrath of Kant is a collection of essays edited by Jason T. Eberl and Kevin S. Decker. These essays use episodes and moments from Star Trek's various incarnations and feature films to explore philosophical issues ranging from the nature of communication between very disparate species to logical development of Vulcans to the ethical dilemmas found in Deep Space Nine. The essays use one of the icons of fictional space exploration to explore the philosophies of the human race.
  
  
  The collection opens with an examination of one of my favorite Next Generation episodes, "Darmok." It discusses the essence of truly alien communication and commends the popular television show for addressing the difficulties in a very real way. Most science fiction novels and programs represent the universe as being full of very human-like creatures who all, magically, either speak English or have a language that translates very nicely into English when run through a universal translator. But philosophers have posited that a truly alien species would probably have points of reference so very different from ours that there may not be the common ground to allow such easy translation. "Darmok" reflects this idea while keeping it grounded in just familiar enough territory for the average viewer to understand.
  
  Next up are two essays on the nature of Vulcans. One explaining the logic of Vulcan by giving a brief overview of the civilization of Vulcan and its dependence on the teachings and philosophy of Surak. The second compares Data's wish to be human to Spock's efforts to completely control his human side. It also discusses the relative merits of being able to control one's emotions versus the complete absence of them.
  
  Other topics covered include revenge (courtesy of The Wrath of Khan) and whether it has a part in a meaningful life--and, ultimately, just what a meaningful life is; issues of morality and how it relates to the Q; the ethics of cloning and genetic manipulation (courtesy of Dr. Bashir and "The Masterpiece Society"; rational moral autonomy vs. full moral autonomy (Star Trek: Insurrection); the consequences and effects of collaboration (Nazi Germany via the Cardassians and Odo & the Bajorans); Business Ethics 101--can the Ferengi teach us anything?; human nature and individuality (vis-à-vis the Borg); the idea of recognition and importance of each individual (the entire philosophy of Star Trek); fantasy versus reality and the merits of the holodeck; the nature of time; the foundations of faith, and the nuts & bolts of life, death and immortality.
  
  This is a very interesting, but very dense book. For someone who doesn't have a hefty philosophical background it gets a bit deep at times, but never so deep that I felt like I was drowning. Thoroughly enjoyable and well worth the time. My favorite essay? The one on "Darmok" and language. Four stars.
  
  Review first posted on my blog
  My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
  
• 
  Gregg Wingo

  Yes, this is a serious philosophy text although it is more of a supplemental text for a survey course than a primary text. A clever professor could create quite the multimedia course especially for an online or hybrid class. The text cites current and past philosophers and their relationships to various plots and specific episodes in the Star Trek universe. While subtitled "The Wrath of Kant" Immanuel is perhaps one of the less cited philosophers in the book but it does reference thinkers from the Pre-Socratics to Lyotard. Strangely missing is Frederic Jameson, American's chief Postmodernist and advocate for the primary literary importance of the SF genre in the cultural logic of Late Capitalism.
  
  Speaking of capitalism, the text would also work well as a business ethics supplement for introductory and capstone business courses. With twelve pages dedicated to the Ferengi "Rules of Acquisition" it is more reflective on business ethics than most business texts I utilized while teaching business marketing and management in the post-Enron-Arthur Anderson and the early part of Great Recession. It also touches on other aspects of capitalism including Adam Smith, John Stuart Mill's "Utilitarianism", stockholder/stakeholder theory, social responsibility theories of corporations, Milgram's experiments, classical liberalism, laissez-faire economics, free markets, and Milton Friedman. The material on the Ferengi represents a sharp critique of Fukuyama's "The End of History and the Last Man" and its assumption that capitalism and Western liberal democracy are inherently entwined, and reinforces the question that "Communist" China poses to us today.
  
  Easier than the primary materials this text will introduce the reader to the principal questions that have confronted Man and philosophers over the last 2500 years and in the Star Trek universe the next 500 years. Live Long and Prosper!
• 
  Derek Parsons

  A delightful collection of essays from various authors based on numerous Star Trek episodes addressing the philosophical questions therein. Let me quote the Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry who quotes Ray Bradbury..."Because science fiction is a remarkable device for looking at the human creature and into the human condition. Indeed,as Ray Bradbury has often said, science fiction may the one of the last places in our society where the philosopher can roam just as freely as he chooses."
  
  Some of the topics I enjoyed from the book were how languages are built and what that says about our culture and why we shouldn't spend our life on the Holodeck (engaging in false realities). My favorite was the discussion between the view points of Data, who so achingly wants to experience emotions on his quest to be human, and Mr. Spock, who so logically wants to deny his human half and eliminate all emotions. There are certainly pros and cons to both. Ultimately it all whittles down to what makes us human?
  
  A special thanks to my dear former student, Mikah Young, who gave the book to me as a gift.
  
• 
  Gabrielam13

  O cărticică destul de drăguță. Pe cât de multe eseuri, pe atât de multe viziuni filosofice: unele apropiindu-se mai multe de Star Trek, altele folosindu-se de acesta numai ca un pretext pentru a-și expune teoriile. Trebuie să recunosc, însă că a face filosofie aplicând-o pe evenimente și personaje din Star Trek a fost pentru mine un mod neașteptat de plăcut de a învăța. M-a încântat mai ales eseul despre logică și nenumăratele dăți când Captain Kirk a distrus vreo mașină livrându-i paradoxuri logice. Și, desigur, întreaga carte mi-a trezit amintiri din facultate, care a fost îmbuibată cu temele prezentate aici: filosofia minții, logică, politică, morală, religie, metafizică.
  
  Nu a fost neaparat ce m-am așteptat eu: o lucrare consistentă cu întreaga filosofie din universul Star Trek, căci bănuiesc că o asemenea lucrare ar fi imensă și niciodată exhaustivă. Dar nici colecția de eseuri n-a stricat, căci ele ne-au livrat monstre din potențialul pe care îl ascunde acest minunat univers.
• 
  David Shane

  "Not only is Captain James Tiberius Kirk a man of action, he can also deploy a syllogism with deadly force."
  
  May the same be said of us and our children.
  
  This book is a highly variable collection of essays, both in writing quality and in how well the essayist connected with Star Trek. One of the essays is written from the perspective of a Vulcan, while other authors just seem to be grinding a pet axe with a couple episode references thrown in as afterthought.
  
  But I'm glad I read the book. I especially liked the first essay on cultural literacy, which nearly convinced me to give the Star Trek writers honorary degrees in linguistics. An essay toward the end about what it *means* to be *you* was also thought provoking.
• 
  Stewart

  "Star Trek and Philosophy," edited by Jason T. Eberl and Kevin S. Decker, is a compilation of essays on philosophical issues which were seen on the many "Star Trek" TV series and feature movies, including the nature of time, business ethics, mind and consciousness, and emotions and logic. The writers are mostly professors of philosophy. The essays vary in interest, but overall the issues discussed should be important to readers, whether they are Trekkies or not. The best chapter ("Time: The Final Frontier" by Amy Kind) is on the nature of time and whether it is objective, subjective, or doesn't exit at all.
• 
  Yannick

  The book was great and I am very fond of the concept to relate philosophy to pop-culture and media phenomena such as Star Trek. It might motivate people to dig deeper into the unsettling world of philosophical terms and topics. For a foreign speaker, it was written in a challenging but still fluent way. It was not too long, had a nice pacing and kept chapters at an appropriate length. Only critique is that, from a very personal viewpoint, there was too much of moral-, identity- etc., i.e. practical philosophy and too little of natural-, metaphysical-, ontological- etc., i.e. theoretical philosophy.
• 
  Garin

  This series of books present philosophy with examples from pop culture series that are well known to the reader. In this case, the series was Star Trek. The book does an excellent job of pulling examples from the source material in such a way as to make the philosophical ideas being described very clear. The book would not be as effective if the person did not have at least a basic knowledge of the Star Trek Franchise, and for those people I would recommend finding a book in the same series that covers a series or movie that they've seen and love. All in all, this book was a great read.
• 
  Matthew Cirilli

  Any fan of the different Star Trek series would enjoy this book, although I helps if you are familiar with TOS, TNG, and DS9. There are some fascinating and thought-provoking essays and it is definitely worth a read. Unfortunately, it seems that philosophy is incapable of answering most of the questions that are raised in these essays. I feel that there is a serious limit to what philosophy is able to accomplish.
• 
  Kathy

  Of course I loved it! It's Star Trek. But seriously it is quite interested to see how philosophers apply their various systems to the Star Trek universe. A few of them have to stretch to get there, but that's excusable.
  
  I admit to skipping a few essays because, I am chagrined to state, I have seen little of DS9. That will soon be rectified as I have ordered the first season from Amazon.
  
  
• 
  Jason Burke Murphy

  Todd and I have an essay in this book in which we use the show to present the idea of political recognition.
  
  Many essays are a true lark. The show is of necessity philosophical and several characters and plots are laid directly on a philosophical distinction.
• 
  Joel

  Decently well put together book. Like anything that has many authors some of the sections were not as attention grabbing as others. For the subject matter it was very well written and incorporated the issues presented in Star Trek very well.
• 
  Lance

  A very light and fun look at philosophy through the eyes of the world of Star Trek. This book is a compilation of 15 page essays on a variety of subjects, such as the view of time, ethics and humanity. If you want to dust off your philosophy knowledge, this is a great book to do it with.
• 
  Ryan Patrick

  Based on this book, I would say that DS9 concerns itself with ethics the most, while TOS might be most attuned to metaphysical questions, and TNG finds a nice balance of exploring all the branches of philosophy. Not much philosophical love for VOY, though.
• 
  Andrea Naegele

  it was ok, i mean there were some intresting parts but over all it had trouble keeping my attention. Not the best but not a bad book
• 
  Naftoli

  What can I say, I love philosophy and I love Star Trek this was a superb book! I'd give it 6 stars if it was possible.
• 
  Sveučilišna Knjižnica Rijeka

  Zvjezdane staze (televizijska serija) - Eseji i studije
• 
  Josh

  The first few chapters were great, but they dragged a bit after that. Still a good intro to philosophy for the uninitiated Star Trek fan.
• 
  Michele

  Loved!
• 
  Stephie Williams

  An interesting view of Star Trek.
• 
  Chels Patterson

  It's very interesting for both philosophy people and Star Trek fans. And a little more fleshed out than the Matrix Philosophy book.
• 
  Katerina

  3.75 stars