The Ultimate Star Trek and Philosophy by William Irwin & Jason T. Eberl

Author:William Irwin & Jason T. Eberl
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781119146025
Publisher: Wiley
Published: 2016-01-23T00:00:00+00:00

Is Data an End in Himself, or Merely a Means to an End?

Is Picard a Kantian? In “The Measure of a Man” at least, he is.12 Is Maddox a utilitarian? One might think so. He wishes to create great benefits for Starfleet, resulting in safer conditions for humans and humanoids working in space, by subjecting a smaller group of beings—engineered Datas—to various dangers. Even when Data explains that he doesn't want to risk losing his life in the research process, the fear of one is outweighed by the potential benefits to the many. However, Maddox also reveals himself to be a Kantian, because he wouldn't suggest sacrificing any “sentient” crewmember for the sake of Starfleet. Both Maddox and Picard acknowledge only rational beings as persons. It's just that their definitions of who or what counts as “rational”—or “sentient”—differ. We thus return to Hanley's definitions of “human.” Maddox sees a “sentient being” (read: sapient, rational being) as a biological or psychological human or humanoid, and thus fails to see Data as a sentient moral agent. However, Kant anticipated Data's situation, arguing that any rational being should be treated as an end in himself or herself. Data is certainly a rational being—and, for Kant, any rational being will be able to understand the basic principles of the categorical imperative and thus merit respect as a morally autonomous being. So, in Kant's view, we have an obligation to accept aliens and robots as persons and moral agents, as long as they're rational.13

If Maddox had been a pure utilitarian and Louvois had agreed with him, Data's personhood would've been irrelevant. From a purely utilitarian perspective, as long as greatest happiness for the greatest number has been produced, it does not matter who suffers—human, humanoid, or any other kind of being. From a Kantian perspective, however, since no rational being should ever be used merely as a means to an end, Data, or anyone else, should never be reduced to a mere tool or a slave in violation of their personal dignity, even if it could benefit Starfleet to have an army of Datas at the ready.

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