55: Quark Speak and Spell

Ferengi Virtue Ethics.  From the fur-wearing, whip-wielding villains of the early seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation to the more developed and nuanced Ferengi in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, profit is the underlying motive for practically all Ferengi action. In this episode of Meta Treks, hosts Zachary Fruhling and Mike Morrison discuss Ferengi virtue ethics, or which character traits uniquely define the Ferengi. But is this drive for profit an essential biological or psychological Ferengi instinct, or is the drive for profit a culturally reinforced learned behavior? Join Zachary and Mike as they discuss the Ferengi Rules of Acquisition and the need for a kinder, gentler Ferenginar.  Chapters Welcome to Episode 55 (00:01:43) Initial Thoughts on the Ferengi (00:02:52) Rules of Acquisition: Rule-Based Ethics or Virtue Ethics? (00:06:25) Profitability as an Underlying Ferengi Virtue (00:11:02) Character Exceptions (00:14:35) Ferengi Ed-Tech: Quark Speak & Spell (00:18:23) Nature vs. Nurture - Instinct or Learned Behaviors? (00:21:10) Nog - A Ferengi Out of Water (00:26:26) Human/Ferengi Moral Role Reversal (00:32:58) Ferengi Stoicism: "Nature Decays but Latinum Lasts Forever" (00:36:46) How Should Ferengi Virtues Be Perceived by Non-Ferengi? (00:41:58) Cultural Assimilation (00:46:18) A Kinder, Gentler Ferenginar (00:49:56) Ferengi Family Values (00:52:18) Change of Heart - Saul to Paul and Zek to Rom (01:00:15) Final Thoughts (01:02:08)  Hosts Zachary Fruhling and Mike Morrison  Production Mike Morrison (Editor) Zachary Fruhling (Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Ken Tripp (Executive Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Patrick Devlin (Associate Producer) Kay Shaw (Associate Producer) Norman Lao (Associate Producer) Richard Marquez (Production Manager) Brandon-Shea Mutala (Patreon Manager)  Send us your feedback! Twitter: @trekfm Facebook: http://facebook.com/trekfm Voicemail: http://www.speakpipe.com/trekfm Contact Form: http://www.trek.fm/contact Visit the Trek.fm website at http://www.trek.fm/ Subscribe in iTunes: http://itunes.com/trekfm  Support the Network! Become a Trek.fm Patron on Patreon and help us keep Star Trek talk coming every week. We have great perks for you at http://patreon.com/trekfm