Klingon Virtue Ethics.
For Klingons, the key ethical question is whether one's heart is
truly Klingon. In this episode of Meta Treks, hosts Zachary
Fruhling and Mike Morrison examine "Klingon Virtue Ethics," with
virtue ethics being a distinctive form of ethical theory
emphasizing desirable character traits over individual actions.
Zachary and Mike debate the nature of essential Klingon character
traits such as loyalty, duty, and honor. But unlike humans, who
tend to remain in the middle-ground on many aspects of human
nature, Klingons take their essential virtues and character traits
to extreme levels (not to mention those terrible Klingon table
manners and an endless but life-affirming thirst for blood
wine).
In their discussion, Zachary and Mike cover the Aristotelian notion
of eudaimonia ("happiness," or "living well") and consider what
living well, or rather dying well, means for Klingons. In addition,
Zachary and Mike apply the virtue-theory notion of an "ideal
individual" to the Klingon messianic figure Kahless, the individual
viewed by most Klingons as the ideal Klingon to be emulated and
revered. Finally, Zachary and Mike contrast the highly idealized
(and sometime naive) sense of Klingon virtues embraced by the
character of Worf with the more realistic character traits of other
less-honorable Klingons.
Chapters
Welcome To Episode 7 (00:01:25)
Discussing SacTrek (00:02:48)
Overview of Virtue Ethics (00:11:26)
Traditional Virtue Ethics Theories (00:14:48)
Virtue Ethics In Star Trek (00:16:52)
Discussion of Eudaimonia (00:24:39)
Final Thoughts (01:07:29)
Zach's Recommended Klingon Episodes (01:10:53)
Mike's Recommended Klingon Episodes (01:11:26)
