Meta Treks: A Star Trek Philosophy Podcast

Cloaking Devices and the Ring of Gyges.   Invisibility has a long tradition both in fiction and in philosophy, from The Ring of Gyges in Plato's Republic to The Invisible Man by H. G. Wells, from the One Ring in The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien to the Klingon and Romulan cloaking devices seen throughout the Star Trek universe. In this episode of Meta Treks hosts Mike Morrison and Zachary Fruhling discuss the ethics of invisibility. Do these fictional invisibility devices reveal the true darkness of our inner nature, or is the power of invisibility a seductive and corrupting force that leads to a spiral of moral decay? Is it possible, through the cultivation of moral virtues, habits, and training, to shield oneself against the influence of the temptations of anonymity? And speaking of invisibility rings and cloaking devices, Mike and Zachary ask the deepest question of all: what exactly would Captains Kirk, Picard, Sisko, Janeway, and Archer do with unfettered access to a personal cloaking device or