Synopsis: A transporter malfunction results in the creation of a duplicate, opposite Captain Kirk.
This was the episode that first made me realize that Star Trek could be interpreted through a depth psychological perspective, and a telling of its message was a part of my solo show, Soul Trek: My Sci-Fi Journey Toward Wholeness, which in turn led to the creation and title of this blog. In a very real way, “The Enemy Within” can be considered an enactment of Carl (C. G.) Jung’s concept of the union of opposites. In this episode a transporter malfunction splits Captain James T. Kirk into a “Good Kirk,” which can be interpreted as his conscious ego, and an “Evil Kirk,” which can be seen as his unconscious shadow. Mr. Spock remarks that “this is a fascinating chance to analyze the human mind, examine the roles of good and evil,” and it is. As is revealed as the plot unfolds, Kirk needs both sides of his personality to be whole; that his unconscious shadow, or “Evil Kirk,” contains the strength that is needed by the conscious ego in order to be a complete psyche and command the Enterprise. This episode also contains a scene in which we learn about Spock’s ongoing internal conflict between his human and Vulcan halves, and how his intelligence allows them to work together.
But now I want to propose that another reason this episode is so full of meaning is that it may also be considered an embodiment of James Hillman’s concept of personifying. One of the four moves – personifying, pathologizing, psychologizing, and dehumanizing – Hillman lays out in his book Re-Visioning Psychology (1975). By personifying the two internal forces of Kirk as “Good” and “Evil,” Kirk is given the ability to separate out different parts of his psyche to find out what they are trying to tell him about how he should live. Creating this split can be seen as pathologizing; and psychologizing, or seeing through, the characters of “Good Kirk” and “Evil Kirk” enlightens Kirk as to who he really is. The two separate halves are dehumanized when they are once again united in Kirk’s psyche. While Kirk remarks toward the end of the episode that: “I’ve seen a part of myself no man should ever see,” he has in fact been given an opportunity to better understand himself. This should be especially valuable as there is also an indication of the pressure that command of the Enterprise puts on Kirk’s psyche, when Spock tells him that: “You can’t afford the luxury of being anything less than perfect.” Which is interesting, because I would argue that one of the gifts of Star Trek is allowing us to explore the imperfections in ourselves and our society that make us who we are.
Reference:
Hillman, J. (1975). Re-visioning psychology. Harper.
Original post created 8 January 2021
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