Stoicism and Star Trek

Stoic Star Trek

Image from Vox.

 I grew up watching the original Star Trek episodes with Kirk, McCoy and Spock.  I also enjoyed all the new Star Trek series, such as Voyager, New Generation and Enterprise. Besides loving science fiction and adventure I really enjoyed the philosophical ideas these shows brought out.  The original show came about in the 60's, and the crew included Uhura, a black bridge officer,  George Takai as Sulu, and Walter Koenig as Chekov, a Russian crew member, as well as more women in active roles, and including  story lines that forced us to think about our prejudices.  The newer series also challenged all sorts of ideas as well.  Science fiction is especially able to challenge old stereotypes.  There is something about a storyline taking place in a location that doesn't exist, using aliens from other planets, and different social systems than any we have on earth, to force us to think about our own social systems and problems.  It might be easier to step outside of our own preconceived ideas when the set up seems so different than anything we normally experience.  I remember an episode from the original series in which the crew meets beings from another planet.  Some of the beings were half black and half white, divided down the middle of their bodies.  Others were half white and half black divided the same way.  Deep prejudices kept the two groups, the black/white, and the white/black from seeing each other as the same people.  Watching this episode we all see how completely silly this distinction really is, but at the same time, during the 60's, we were not able to see the same silliness of our own divide.  Perhaps we still can't manage as well as we would like.

I identified the most with Dr. McCoy.  I was impulsive, emotional and easily moved to anger or passion about different ideas.  I was also a middle school person, and impulsive and emotional are perfect definitions of that age.  I liked his education, his passionate use of his skills to stand up for other people and strong ideas.  I identified with McCoy, but I wanted to be Spock.  I wanted to be ruled by logic, to think carefully and weigh all the ideas and possibilities and to make what was the most logical decision.  I idolized the control he had over his emotions, even if the story lines often forced him to fail at times.  I never wanted to be Kirk, to have to chose between the two advisors that gave him such conflicting advice at times.  I also didn't like his character, so there is that as well.  

Recently I started reading about Stoicism, and I am enamored with the philosophy.  I plan to learn more, and to implement some of its ideas into my life.  I read that Gene Roddenberry thought that Spock was the perfect embodiment of a Stoic, and I remembered my old desire to be like that character.  But now, as an adult, I realize I don't want to live in a perfectly controlled emotion free existence.  I like the parts of me that are the good doctor.  Maybe I want to be more like the Captain I didn't care for.  I want to get advice from my logical side, and my emotional side, and take the good parts of each to make the best decisions.

Luckily stoicism does not ask us to be emotionally free, to only be ruled by logic.  It asks us to not be too deeply indebted to the rule of passion, of desire or fear, but to make the best with what we have. Instead we should think of what things we can control, what we can affect, and to not worry about the rest.  We should have the goals of a better and happy life, but to not be enslaved to those desires.  Do not fear the worst or only desire the best, but to do our best, be virtuous and move forward.  Emotions do not rule stoics but they are part of being human, and are not good or evil of themselves. Stoics want to cultivate the positive emotions and to find the fulfilling life.  Maybe between the two, between the logic and the emotionalism of the two characters, we can find the stoic ideal in the one making the decisions.  

I will end  first with a quote from Epictetus, a very famous stoic from the first century who said, "Some things are within our power, while others are not. Within our power are opinion, motivation, desire, aversion, and, in a word, whatever is of our own doing; not within our power are our body, our property, reputation, office, and, in a word, whatever is not of our own doing. 

Roddenberry perhaps didn't understand what Stoicism was about, since he created Spock to be a creature of pure logic, following a philosophy created on his planet Vulcan in order to bring calm and peace to their culture.  He saw Spock as a strong, stiff upper lip kind of meditating emotion denying person. But, the character changed and developed as the series moved on, which any good Stoic should do.  I will end with a quote from Spock, in the last Star Trek movie.  Spock was speaking to a young Vulcan and he gave this advice, "Logic is the beginning of wisdom, not the end.”