Skip to main content

Does Star Trek solve the Mind-Body problem?


For those of you who are unaware of the mind-body problem, it is basically trying to determine how the mind connects with the body, and can lead on to 'what is the mind' and whether it is a physical object (note - this refers to the mind not the brain). As in Star Trek, one can use the transporters to transport a person from one position to another, and the person is perfectly intact, this implies that Star Trek solves the mind-body problem. Is this the case and, if so, what is the solution to it?



Answer




Star Trek embraces whatever philosophy is required to tell the current story.




  1. In the TOS episode "The Lights of Zetar" Enterprise encounters extant members of a dead civilization who existed for millennia as acorporeal minds searching for a suitable body in which to live out the remainder of their corporeal lives. This is an example of Cartesian or substance dualism.




  2. In the TNG episode "The Schizoid Man" cyberneticist Ira Graves flees his dying body and causes his mind to run on a new substrate, the positronic brain and body of Lt. Cmdr. Data. This is an example of monism, in particular, physicalism.




  3. On Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, we learn on the existence of the Prophets, acorporeal entities that exist at least partly outside time itself, though they do inhibit material bodies from time to time. This is (probably) an example of idealistic monism.





  4. In the TOS episode "Turnabout Intruder", Janice Lester swaps ids with Captain Kirk, inhabiting his body while he inhabited hers. Substance dualism again.




  5. In the TOS episode "What Are Little Girls Made Of?" Roger Corby transfers his mind to run on a new substrate: an android body. Physicalism again.




  6. In the movie The Search for Spock we learn that Spock's katra, whatever that is, was deposited into Dr. McCoy to be later extracted by some mystical process. This is an example of property dualism.





If there's a mind-body philosophy that Star Trek has not yet embraced, give them time.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

harry potter - Did Dolores Umbridge Have Any Association with Voldemort (or Death Eaters) before His Return?

I noticed that Dolores Umbridge was born during the first Wizarding War, so it's very likely she wasn't a Death Eater then (but she is pretty evil -- who knows?). After that Voldemort was not around in a way that could affect many people, and most wouldn't know he was planning to rise again. During that time, and up through Voldemort's return (in Goblet of Fire ), did Umbridge have any connection with the Death Eaters or with Voldemort? Was she doing what she did on her own, or was it because of an association with Voldemort or his allies? Answer Dolores Umbridge was definitely not a good person. However, as Sirius points out, "the world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters". Remember that he also says that he doesn't believe Umbridge to be a Death Eater, but that she's evil enough (or something like that). I think there are two strong reasons to believe that: Umbridge was proud to do everything according to the law, except when she trie...

futurama - How much time is lost in 'Time Keeps on Slippin''

In time Keeps on Slippin' , Farnsworth creates a basketball team which he matures by abusing Chronitons. This leads to time skipping forward by random, but ever increasing amounts. How much time was skipped in this way? Answer Unfortunately, I don't think a good estimate can be made for this, for two reasons: Many of the time skips move forward by an indeterminate amount of time. At one point, the Professor mentions localized regions of space skipping forward much more than others. We then see two young boys on the street below complaining about having to pay social security, only to suddenly become senior citizens and start complaining about wanting their money. Thus, each individual could have experienced a different amount of time skippage.

aliens - Interstellar Zoo story

I vaguely remember this story from my childhood: it was about an interstellar zoo that came to Earth with lots of bizarre and unusual species, and humans would file through and gape at all the crazy looking creatures from other planets. The twist came at the end when the perspective shifted to the other side of the bars and we discovered that the "creatures" were traveling through space on a kind of safari. They thought they were the visitors and we were the animals. Neither side knew that the other side thought they were the zoo creatures. Answer Got it. Zoo, by Edward D. Hoch. Published in 1958. Link to Publication History Link to PDF

harry potter - What is the difference between Diffindo and Sectumsempra?

In the Harry Potter books, Diffindo is called the 'Severing Charm' and it’s most commonly used to cut ropes and the like. However, in the last book Hermione uses it on Ron but misses, creating a 'slash in his jeans' and his knee gets cut, causing him to 'roar in pain'. We've only seen Sectumsempra used once on screen when Harry directly uses it on Malfoy in the sixth book, but there it's mentioned that he is 'waving his wand wildly'. Wouldn't Diffindo, if used in such a fashion also cause a similar effect? Similarly, if it was able to cut Ron, it would also be able to, say, chop off an ear (George's)? In that case, how are these two spells different, except for Sectumsempra seemingly used exclusively to hurt humans? Answer While Diffindo and Sectumsempra both can be countered by other spells, Diffindo is far more easily countered. Reparo, a relatively common spell, can completely reverse its effect when used once. “He pulled the old cop...