Meta Treks: A Star Trek Philosophy Podcast

Scientific and Medical Ethics.   In Deep Space Nine, we learn that the Bajoran scientist Dr. Mora Pol helped Odo achieve his full potential as a sentient, shape-shifting life form. Odo, however, carried deep-seated resentment for his initial treatment under Dr. Mora and for some of Dr. Mora's more invasive research methods. In this episode of Meta Treks, hosts Zachary Fruhling and Mike Morrison discuss issues of scientific and medical ethics in Star Trek, including whether one is ever justified in causing harm to another living being for benefit of that being itself, for the benefit of other living beings, for a society's greater good, or for the sake of increasing scientific and medical knowledge.   Chapters  Welcome to Episode 51 (00:01:07)  The Four Stages of Odo and Dr. Mora (00:02:25)  Sentience, Suffering, and Informed Consent (00:05:21)  Competing Ethical Theories on Scientific Research (00:13:56)  The Cardassian Factor - Comparing Dr. Mora Pol with Dr. Crell Moset (00:24:46)  Virtue Ethics - Clinica