Today in Star Trek, The Menagerie, we were introduced to the Talosians in greater detail. Their ability lies in controlling an individual’s mind and affecting their reality. It was noted that they are confused by primitive emotions such as anger and are unable to counter act it. The Talosians can be looked at as a supreme power that is science. As they are confused by primitive emotions, it can be related to how scientific observations and hypotheses that are too associated with human emotions are dismissed and not credited. Do you agree that this is a solid analogy? Or is there an analogy that relates the Talosians and science more accurately?
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I agree that arguments that are too heavily based on emotional perspective are dismissed by science, but I think the Talosian case is different. They are confused by primitive emotion because they are so advanced. Science can give credence to arguments that have emotional sides but solid basis in fact. The primitive emotions, while simple to the Telosians, are still emotions that should be understood. I think they are so advanced that they have forgotten the basics of true emotions, or that the human aspect of emotional choice is too foreign for the Telosians to understand. This means that there are emotions that are harder to understand than others - is that true?
ReplyDeleteI agree that historically emotional arguments were dismissed much more readily than persuasions based on data. The Talosians remove themselves from primitive emotions we assume they once had and in doing so become more advanced than humans. As discussed in class, science fiction tends to twist this perspective so that there appears to be something admirable in remaining human. A part of this admiration comes from the idea that some emotions, such as anger and empathy, are more easily understood by certain humans. In Daniel Goleman's book Emotional Intelligence he asserts that humans who understand the entire spectra of emotions are more successful in life than those who excel solely in traditional measures of intelligence. He also claims that females are more proficient at expressing this range of emotions than males leading to more advanced social interactions. According to Goleman, humans are actually superior to the Talosians because they can understand their primitive emotions. He would argue that the Taslosians' scientific advancements have effectively debased their standing as a supreme power.
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