The spirit of exploration that characterizes "Star Trek"'s many television and cinematic incarnations is also the driving force behind philosophical inquiry throughout human history. This book features essays that follow "Star Trek"'s inspiration to reach out to the farthest frontiers the mind may reach, while also delving into the human essence.

From cult to mainstream, the Star Trek epic has gone where no work of dramatic art has gone before, to become the most popular imaginary world yet conceived.

The same restless and relentless spirit of exploration that propels the voyages of the starship Enterprise is also the driving force of philosophical wonder throughout human history. Star Trek and philosophy share the same prime directive: testing ideas from our past and present to progressively improve our future.

In Star Trek and Philosophy, twenty-one professional philosophers put their brains into warp drive to probe the limits of the limitless, expanding our knowledge of the furthest reaches of thought while also delving deep into the human essence.

“A philosophical feast for Trekkies and other sci-fi fans. One of the things that makes Star Trek so exciting is the philosophical angle it has often presented. Reading this terrific book will prolong and deepen that excitement.”

—Jorge J. E. Gracia, editor of Mel Gibson's Passion and Philosophy

“Playful, subtle, and rich with cultural referencesbut actively create it. As well as beaming up famous philosophers like Kant and Nietzsche, this wonderful book plunges us into recent philosophical discussions, some of which have arisen in the wake of the accelerated technological developments of the past fifty years.”

—Margret Grebowicz, editor of SciFi in the Mind's Eye

“Boldly going where so many have gone before, these twenty-one philosophers manage to do the impossible: they find new ways to talk about this most talked about of TV franchises.”

—James B. South, editor of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Philosophy

“Star Trek in all its incarnations remains one of the most philosophically fascinating TV and movie epics. Star Trek and Philosophy appeals to both philosophers and fans.”

—Richard Hanley, author of Is Data Human? The Metaphysics of Star Trek


Take a trip on the Starship Enterprise before the "Star Trek" film teleports itself into cinemas. The spirit of exploration that characterizes "Star Trek"'s various television and cinematic incarnations is also the driving force behind philosophical inquiry throughout human history. "Star Trek and Philosophy" share the mission of testing ideas from our past and present that can progressively improve our future.This volume gathers together twenty-one professional philosophers who recognize, as most other Trekkies have over the past 40 years, that "Star Trek" isn't merely escapist entertainment. Rather, "Star Trek" calls viewers back again and again to consider questions not only about the scientific prospects of interstellar travel, but also the inward journey to examine the human condition. The essays in this volume follow "Star Trek"'s inspiration to reach out to the farthest frontiers the mind may reach, while also delving deep into the human essence.Among the questions dealt with in this volume is how it's possible for persons from different cultural backgrounds to communicate with each other; whether there's value in the Stoic temperament of emotional detachment exhibited by Vulcans, and how difficult it may be to live such a logical life. These books teach philosophical wisdom by looking closely at entertainment icons. In each volume of this best-selling series, a team of sharp philosophical brains puts one pop culture icon (movie, TV show, or other topic) under the microscope, exposing its hidden philosophical implications in an instantly readable way.