Star Trek and Philosophy by Kevin S. Decker

Author:Kevin S. Decker
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Open Court
Published: 2010-06-07T16:00:00+00:00

But not all thinkers who seek to promote mutual recognition agree with Berlin’s characterization of “positive freedom.” Charles Taylor would endorse Green’s principle, adding a phrase like “make the best of themselves by their own lights.” 147 Self-mastery by all citizens is a principle that would hardly be of use for any tyrant. Recognition isn’t attained by means of a common understanding of what’s good, nor is it necessarily involved with any common good feeling. Recognition is more fundamental than that: without it, one’s reasons won’t count as reasons in the eyes of others. The unrecognized aren’t entitled to challenge anyone’s opinions, including any views about them. As an example, prior to the present day, gays and lesbians were often considered mentally ill despite their own claims to the contrary. Their claims didn’t “count” because they weren’t recognized as capable judges. Until people recognized as clearly sane “came out of the closet” and sought an extension of that recognition to their choice of partner, the cycle wasn’t broken.148

Star Trek rhetorically shifts the positions in “The Outcast” (TNG), when Commander Riker seeks to rescue Soren, a sexless J’naii scientist, from culturally ordered brainwashing after s(he) falls into heterosexual love with him. The impassioned Riker argues in front of a J’naii court that Soren isn’t ill, but should be recognized in hir unique orientation. Certainly, the value of recognition in culturally uncomfortable situations is easier to accept in sci-fi.

Some charge that such a principle mixes up equality and freedom—but one just isn’t free if others aren’t recognizing you. Abolishing slavery was considered “impossible” just as long and in as much as slaves were denied recognition. To the Romulans, the Remans’ complaints aren’t worth considering. In our society, feminist political demands are sometimes met by jokes and parodies that enact a denial of recognition. For there to be recognition, a state must have policies that secure for citizens the capacities to challenge each other out of mutual respect and acknowledge each others’ beliefs and talents. While liberal negative liberties—such as an absence of state interference in matters of speech and opinion—can play a crucial role, they aren’t sufficient for recognition. In the utopian future of Star Trek, perhaps the Federation functions as a paradigm of recognition, or so we shall see.

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