Star Trek and Humanism: Living by the Star Trek Ethos in a Troubled World

by Scott Robinson

"Star Trek was explicitly crafted by its creator, Gene Roddenberry, into a humanist manifesto; the stories Trek told were humanist parables, putting forth the core philosophies to which he was equality, reason, integrity, fairness, opportunity, community. I was soaking them up before I even really understood what they were. I didn’t know it way back in 1972, but Star Trek had already made a humanist of me. It just took me a while to discover that there was a word for it.

"This book is a celebration of both the stories and the values they inculcated in me. It is a humanism primer, for those not well-grounded in that domain, and it is a showcase of humanist moments from across the Star Trek landscape. It is my hope that you, the Gentle Reader, will likewise find much to celebrate in both…" (from the Introduction)

178 pages, Paperback

Published April 1, 2023

Reviews

[Bruce Stephenson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Author Scott Robinson uses events from the various Star Trek series and movies to illustrate aspects of humanism. As I consider myself to be a secular humanist and an avid fan of the original Star Trek series, I should have loved this book... but for some reason I didn't. I did enjoy the brief descriptions of the various story elements, and there are some excellent quotes from Gene Rodenberry and a variety of other humanist authors (Carl Sagan, Yuval Noah Harari, Bertrand Russel, etc.). While the book over-all is obviously well researched, I found the main text in which Robinson expands on humanist affirmations, how morals may have developed, etc. didn't grab me and hold my interest. Too philosophical perhaps? Too abstract? I'm not quite sure what it was... but I just didn't connect with it the way that I expected to. Some great ideas, however, and some important things to say about our way forward and the benefits of a humanist future.