star trek explores these strange seemingly inconsequential extremes because it wants you to consider the possibility that your concept of ethics doesnt and could never possibly account for every scenario. It wants you to consider the ethical ramifications of just wiping out the little nanites taking over your ships computer even though eventually this will kill you all becuase
-What if they're sentient?
-What if they don't realize they're hurting us?
-What if what hurts us is what they need to live?
-What if we can communicate with them?
Star Trek takes the situation of, "these computer bugs are eating our ship and in an hour we'll all be dead and we COULD just wipe them out utterly but...what if they're like us?" because the ramifications effect what risks we ourselves are willing to take in the name of pacifism and understanding. it says that even the smallest most immenently dangerous creature deserves as much of a chance to live peacefully as we can possibly give it through understanding.
without examining ourselves this way, through these made up seemingly inane situations, we will never be able to understand ourselves and what we're truly capable of, what levels of understanding can be achieved. without the ability to place ourselves in a difficult situation and reach beyond our first instinct of fight or flight and self-preservation, we will never be evolve as a global community
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