Star Trek and Philsophy

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Star Trek’s great accomplishment was giving us a stage on which to answer our “what if” questions about the future of humanity and explore philosophical ideas in a modern framework. What happens after we reach utopia? What happens when we meet alien life? What does humanity do when it doesn’t have to do anything? According to Star Trek, it boldly goes for the sake of knowing what’s out there.
Created in 1966, Star Trek was described by creator Gene Roddenberry as a “Wagon Train to the Stars.” One of the first science fiction shows directed at adults instead of children, Roddenberry hoped to combine adventure and morality, modeling the show’s format on traditional mythological storytelling, which is most obviously seen in the trio of Kirk, Spock and McCoy.
To fully appreciate Star Trek’s influence, you have to understand its enormous scope. Although the first series only ran for three years, the show gained popularity in syndication. It would go on to spawn five new series with a total of 726 episodes, 12 films, 31 Emmy Awards and 149 nominations, one Academy Award and 15 Oscar nominations, 120 CDs, 40 video games, 70 million books in print and one invented language, estimated to be spoken by over 100 people.
Star Trek was very culturally influential. When Nichelle Nichols, who played Uhura in the original series and several films, considered leaving the show during the second season to pursue a career on Broadway, she was persuaded to stay by Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., who told her that a show depicting a black woman working alongside white men in a position of power helped further racial equality. Nichols was later employed by NASA for recruiting African Americans and women to become astronauts. Actor Whoppi Goldberg ha...

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...ted by power or greed or even survival. This is humanity motivated by the search for knowledge, by curiosity that overcame the barriers of gender, race and even species. Out of the turmoil that they were anticipating in the 60s, out of the unmitigated scientific advancements they predicted and out of a time period that is documented in the series as the most violent and barbaric in human history, they saw hope for the human race. Space unifies us, prosperity enables us, and curiosity inspires us.
In Star Trek. the future is bright. We are led by noble captains, scientific and artistic achievement, and the search for knowledge. We don’t destroy Earth or leave Earth or even overpopulate Earth. We go to space, not to conquer it, but to know it. As humans we are equal and intelligent and good. The hope in Star Trek isn’t just for scientific progress, it is for mankind.

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