Footnotes (or musings from the editor)

Philosophy professors Jim Stramel and Amber Katherine on the set of “Star Trek Enterprise.”

“Star Trek” Visit Turns into a Lesson in Similitude: The entertainment industry and philosophers might not seem to have much in common, but two SMC professors have forged an interesting relationship with one of Hollywood’s most popular and lucrative creations – “Star Trek.”

Philosophy professors Amber Katherine and Jim Stramel launched their unique “Philosophy of Star Trek” course in fall 2002, which led to a relationship with the current “Star Trek” series “Enterprise.”

Last September, Katherine and Stramel were invited to visit the Paramount Studios set of “Enterprise” while an episode was being shot. But even better, from their perspective, Brannon Braga, the co-creator and executive producer of “Enterprise,” spoke to their class last November.

“We watched ‘Similitude,’ a then, not-yet-aired episode of ‘Enterprise’ in which the crew of the Enterprise spacecraft clones Captain Archer to harvest brain tissue for a life-saving transplant into the comatose captain. The procedure required the clone to be killed,” Stramel said. “After the episode, we had a very lively discussion and Q-&-A with Braga, which led to a conversation on the extent to which the episode represented ‘modern’ or ‘postmodern’ philosophical commitments.”

Added Katherine, “We brought popular culture and academic philosophy together in a learning experience that was intellectually engaging and fun.”

Stay tuned for further philosophical journeys into outer space.