The Ultimate Star Trek and Philosophy

Edited by Kevin S. Decker and Jason T. Eberl

The Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series

Please circulate and re-post widely

Abstracts and subsequent essays should be philosophically substantial but accessible, written to engage the intelligent lay reader. Works focusing on the five television series and twelve Star Trek films are acceptable, and supplementary material from the “expanded universe” of Star Trek novels, comics, and video games may be included as well. Contributors of accepted essays will receive an honorarium.

Submission Guidelines:

Submission deadline for abstracts (100-500 words) and CVs: December 1, 2014.
Submission deadline for drafts of accepted papers: March 1, 2015
Kindly submit by e-mail (with or without Word attachment) to: Jason T. Eberl

Possible themes and topics might include, but are not limited to, the following:

Sisko, Sarek, and Beverly Crusher as Parental Role Models
Prophecy and Fate on DS9
Uhura’s Miniskirt and Captain Janeway: Feminism in Star Trek
“I Have Been and Always Shall Be Your Friend”: The Value of Friendship on Starships
“The One with the Whales”: Star Trek’s Ecological Ethic
“A Very Correct Philosophy”: Justifying the Prime Directive
A Secular Galaxy? Roddenberry’s Humanist Vision of the Future
“It was…Fun”: Metaphysics and Value of Death
From Jeffries to Okuda: Aesthetics of the Future
The Founders’ Xenophobia: Race Theory in the Gamma Quadrant
Starships as “Home”: The “Pioneering Spirit” vs. the “Nesting Instinct”
“Observer Effect”: Ethics and Scientific Research
From Terrorist to Vedek: Moral Redemption and Rehabilitation
Principles vs. Pragmatism: Should Janeway Cling to Federation Values in the Delta Quadrant?
“Cogenitor”: Ethical Relativism vs. Objectivism
Scotty as a “Relic”: Elder Ethics
Justifiable Genocide? The Xindi’s Prime Directive
David Marcus and Degra: Moral Responsibility for Technological Creations

“To Grow Beyond My Original Programming”: Phenomenology of Inventing Oneself
“Theiss Titillation Theory”: Sex in Star Trek
“Guilty Until Proven Innocent”: Cardassian and Q Justice
Denobulans and Andorians: Alternative Family Structures in the Alpha Quadrant
“A Matter of Honor”: Klingon’s Warrior Ethic
“She’s the Captain”: Values in Leadership
Gary Mitchell and the Q: Does Absolute Power Corrupt Absolutely?
“…as We are Above the Amoeba”: Is Incorporeality More Evolved?
An Extended Mind: Metaphysics of the Borg Collective Consciousness
A Heidegerrian View of Technology in Star Trek
“Risk is Our Business”: Moral Value of Risk-Taking
Meta-Star Trek: Importance of Humor and Parody
“Trekkies/ers”: Recognition and Subcultural Group Identity
The Hirogen and the Ethics of Hunting
Is Interspecies Cooperation Realistic?: Rousseau vs. Hobbes
Which Spock is the Real One? Alternate Universes and Identity
“The Needs of the Many”: Starfleet’s Utilitarian Ethic
Is Star Trek for Children?

To propose ideas for future volumes in the Blackwell series please email the Series Editor, William Irwin.

If you have comments or criticisms for the series, please contact the series editor after reading “Fancy Taking a Pop?” and “Writing for the Reader: A Defense of Philosophy and Popular Culture Books”