Synopsis: An artificially engineered virus infects the population on Deep Space Nine and causes them to lose their ability to communicate with words. This episode can be interpreted as being an illustration of how the unconscious communicates to us indirectly, by means other than rational thought or speech. Depth psychology is the field of psychology… Continue reading Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Season 1, Episode 5: “Babel”
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Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 6, Episode 12: “Ship in a Bottle”
Synopsis: During a holodeck repair the character of Professor Moriarty from one of Lt. Commander Data’s Sherlock Holmes programs reappears and tries to take control of the Enterprise. In this episode the character of Professor James Moriarty can be interpreted as embodying the Logos-driven rational ego that believes it is all that is real. Depth… Continue reading Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 6, Episode 12: “Ship in a Bottle”
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Season 1, Episode 4: “A Man Alone”
Synopsis: Constable Odo finds himself a suspect when there is a murder on the station. In this episode we learn a little more about how Commander Benjamin Sisko is adjusting to meeting Lt. Jadzia Dax, who is the new host of his old friend Curzon Dax. Curzon Dax having been an older man and mentor… Continue reading Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Season 1, Episode 4: “A Man Alone”
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Season 1, Episode 3: “Past Prologue”
Synopsis: A Bajoran freedom fighter seeks asylum on Deep Space Nine. In this episode, much like the episode “Emissary,” that proceeded it, there is a preponderance of images used to introduce viewers to characters; what their backstory is, how they think, and how they act. Perhaps because of this, I believe that the most visible… Continue reading Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Season 1, Episode 3: “Past Prologue”
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Season 1, Episodes 1 and 2: “Emissary, Part I and Part II”
Synopsis: Commander Sisko and his son, Jake, arrive at Deep Space Nine. In this pilot episode of the series, perhaps since it is two episodes shown together, we see two main themes from depth psychology elucidated in them. Depth psychology, which has been described by Susan Rowland as “a countercultural attempt to heal the splitting… Continue reading Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Season 1, Episodes 1 and 2: “Emissary, Part I and Part II”
Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 6, Episode 11: “Chain of Command, Part II”
Synopsis: After Captain Picard is captured by the Cardassians he is tortured. In this episode, while Captain Jean-Luc Picard is being tortured, an unnamed interrogator lets slip that when he was six years old he was bullied. Picard then tells him that from this point he will think of him as being: “six years old,… Continue reading Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 6, Episode 11: “Chain of Command, Part II”
Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 6, Episode 10: “Chain of Command, Part I”
Synopsis: Starfleet Command falls for a Cardassian ploy that allows Captain Picard to be captured by them. In this episode viewers witness an illustration of the dangers of being motivated only by the Logos-driven rational ego, without taking into consideration any other potentialities. Depth psychology teaches us that what makes the psyche most unwell is… Continue reading Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 6, Episode 10: “Chain of Command, Part I”
Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 6, Episode 9: “The Quality of Life”
Synopsis: Lt. Commander Data observes that another artificial life form has exhibited signs of sentience and acts to defend its rights. In this episode we see how the conscious ego determines what it values and what it does not. Often what is not valued is contained in an individual’s unconscious, but sometimes the ego is… Continue reading Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 6, Episode 9: “The Quality of Life”
Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 6, Episode 8: “A Fistful of Datas”
Synopsis: In an experiment to ascertain whether or not Lt. Commander Data is able to be an emergency bypass to the Enterprise’s main computer a malfunction causes Data’s programs to merge with that of the ship’s. In this episode viewers get an illustration of the concept of inflation from the Analytical Psychology of Carl Gustav… Continue reading Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 6, Episode 8: “A Fistful of Datas”
Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 6, Episode 7: “Rascals”
Synopsis: A transporter malfunction causes Captain Picard, Ensign Ro, Guinan, and Keiko O’Brien to materialize aboard the Enterprise as children. In my last post on the episode “True Q” I wrote about how it could be seen as an illustration of James Hillman’s acorn theory from his book, The Soul’s Code. The acorn theory being… Continue reading Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 6, Episode 7: “Rascals”