Meta Treks 25: Feed Me Gagh / by Trek fm

Risa and Hedonism.

Running Time: 1 hour 29 minutes 10 seconds
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What role does the pleasure planet of Risa play in the ethics of Star Trek? Is Risa the ultimate hedonistic escape from the moralistic constraints of life in the Federation? Or is Risa the ultimate embodiment of the Federation's ideals of tolerance and acceptance? In this episode of Meta Treks, hosts Zachary Fruhling and Mike Morrison discuss Risa, hedonism, and the clash of Federation values seen in the Deep Space Nine episode "Let He Who Is Without Sin." Zachary and Mike cover the different traditions of hedonism as expressed by the ancient Greek philosophers Aristippus and Epicurus, the value of different kinds of pleasures as expressed by the utilitarian philosopher John Stuart Mill, and the critique of morality based on fear and pleasure as expressed by the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. Finally, Zachary and Mike explore the most fundamental Risean question of all, "Is it the quantity of the horga'hns or the quality of the jamaharon?"

Chapters

Welcome to Episode 25 (00:01:07)
Initial Thoughts - Where Does Risa Fit into Federation Morality? (00:03:32)
Hedonism and DS9 "Let He Who is Without Sin" (00:04:20)
Risa Episodes in Star Trek (00:05:52)
Is Risa an Escape from Federation Values, or their Ultimate Embodiment? (00:11:23)
Hedonism - Aristippus vs. Epicurus (00:16:09)
The Outskirts of Risa (00:19:37)
The Subjectivity of Pleasure - Fair Haven as Paradise? (00:24:47)
John Stuart Mill - The Quantity of Horga'hns vs. the Quality of the Jamaharon (00:27:06)
Fullerton and Nietzsche - A Clash of Federation Moralities (00:31:12)
Nietzsche, Morality, and the Will to Power (00:37:23)
Falling Short - Hypocrisy and the Ad Hominem Fallacy (00:42:46)
Clever Beasts - Nietzsche on Deconstructing Morality (00:47:47)
Nietzsche on Pleasure - The Apollonian (Federation) Standpoint vs. The Dionysian (Risean) Standpoint (00:53:47)
Being Constrained by Fear (01:10:33)
Final Thoughts (01:14:55)

Hosts

Zachary Fruhling and Mike Morrison

Production

Dennis Castello (Editor and Producer) Norman C. Lao (Executive Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Charlynn Schmiedt (Executive Producer) Patrick Devlin (Associate Producer) Will Nguyen (Content Manager) Richard Marquez (Production Manager)

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