Meta Treks: A Star Trek Philosophy Podcast

The Meaning of Life.  Perhaps the most fundamental philosophical question, the most important question of the human condition, is the question, "What is the meaning of life?" In this episode of Meta Treks, hosts Mike Morrison and Zachary Fruhling explore competing philosophical theories about the meaning of life within the Star Trek universe. Topics covered include the distinction between universal meaning and subjective meaning, meaning as progress and the Federation's progress narrative, colonialism and criticism of the progress narrative, nihilism and the lack of meaning, existentialism and self-chosen individual or cultural meaning, theism and religious meaning, finding meaning in a galactic cultural melting pot, and new questions of meaning in the 21st century that the upcoming Star Trek 2017 series might consider.  Chapters Welcome to Episode 12 (00:01:15) Introducing the Topic (00:03:18) Two Approaches: Capital-M "Meaning" vs. lowercase-m "meaning" (00:05:53) Metanarratives and Peace (00:09:09) A Cri