Preemptive War and Star Trek Into Darkness.   Star Trek has a long tradition of dealing with ethical, social, and political issues in the real world, and Star Trek Into Darkness is no different. One of the most important issues in the world today is how far a society should go to protect itself. What freedoms should we be willing to give up for sake of safety and security? Should a government be allowed to spy on its own citizens? And is it morally and ethically permissible to start a preemptive war with a real or perceived enemy? Star Trek Into Darkness tackles this last question head-on through Admiral Marcus's attempt to start a preemptive war against the Klingons. In this episode of Meta Treks: A Star Trek Philosophy Podcast, hosts Mike Morrison and Zachary Fruhling examine the ethical issue of preemptive war as the principle ethical dilemma in Star Trek Into Darkness.   Chapters Welcome to Episode 20 (00:01:07) Preemptive War and Star Trek Into Darkness (00:03:12) The Portrayal of Khan (00:07:28) Synopsis of Star Trek Into Darkness (00:09:38) Star Trek Into Darkness and the Post-9/11 World (00:11:52) Preemptive War - Consequentialism vs. Care Ethics (00:20:14) The Trolley Problem, a.k.a. The Shuttlecraft Problem (00:28:27) Preemptive War and Deontological/Kantian Ethics (00:38:08) Militarism and Fear of the Klingons (00:40:34) Final Thoughts (00:53:39)