Star Trek: Is The Prime Directive Unethical?
The ever sprawling universe found within the Star Trek franchise is filled to the brim with various technological advancements and a constantly growing plethora of (often humanoid) alien races and cultures. It is also rich, with a complex set of philosophical questions and quandaries, constantly asking what it means to be right, honorable, and ethical, in a world like our own which is far from black and white. Some of the biggest, and longest running, questions around the ethics of the space faring federation center around what is heralded as Starfleet's most important rule: The Prime Directive.
Otherwise known as Starfleet order no. 1, which goes a long way in showing how important it is, the Prime Directive is a rule that prohibits a Starfleet officer from interfering with less technologically advanced civilizations, while they are off gallivanting across the galaxy. The benchmark for when a culture is technologically advanced enough is most commonly accepted to be the ability to achieve warp, or another warp-like method of long-distance traveling. This is because it likely that with this technology, it would only be a short matter of time until they bump into others in the vastness of space. The exact summary of the order, which was first explained in the Original Series episode “Bread and Circuses” is as follows:
“No identification of self or mission; no interference with the social development of said planet; no references to space, other worlds, or advanced civilizations.”
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