Janeways Ethics

[Captain Bolivar 0]

Put yourself in Janeways shoes. You've just got Voyager back to Earth from a 22 year trip. You've lost several crew members. Notable Seven of Nine. While this is hard for you, as a Starfleet officer would it be ethical to go back and change 15 years of history affecting countless lives (especially those on Earth) just to save a few lives and make the trip a bit shorter. Of course there is a possibility that you could destroy a large portion of the Borg, there is also the possiblity that you could get the Voyager crew assimilated. Furthermore, even if you do damage the Borg and get Voyager home sooner, do the ends justify the means. Is it right to change 15 years of peoples lives without their consent?

[A l t e r E g o 9]

We don't have all the facts surrounding her choice to return, ALL we do know is that she did it to save friends lives. I think her decision to do it was based on more than meets the eye, I think for some reason, she pulled a Kirk. Her uncaring attitude about the consequences to other peoples lives leads me to believe there is factor known only by the now dead Janeway and perhaps Temporal Investigations.

[Captain Jean-Luc Picard 1]

I think her decision to do it was based on more than meets the eye, I think for some reason, she pulled a Kirk.

:)

 

Voyager was lost in 2371 and didn't return to Earth till 2393, being lost for 23 years (including the year 2371). In 2403, Admiral Janeway traveled back in time 26 years to 2377 to bring Voyager home early. From the perspective of a "time cop" if you will, Admiral Janeway serriously violated the prime directive. Then again, if you look at it from Captain Janeway's perspective, that future was only a "possibility". With that said, I'm not sure how to answer. Hmm... Very thought provoking! :)

[emojams 0]

she throws out the prime directive and does what she feels is right ,i like her thinking ,the prime d is a general guideline with a lot of latitde for different situations .so ithink she did what she felt was right.

[Captain Bolivar 0]

Before I begin to speak, I'd just like to let you know that although I may disagree with some opinions here, I believe that your opinions are perfectly valid in their own right and my arguments are for arguments sake only. Captain Jean-Luc Picard, you say that from Janeway's perspective the future was only a possibility. Do you mean the Captain Janeway or Admiral Janeway? If you are referring to Admiral Janeway, she was a PART of that future, so how could she think of it as a "possibility". The future that she erased was the natural timline. As for emojams, you feel that she did what she thinks is right. You may be right, but just because she thinks her actions were right, that does not mean that it is. How would you like it if someone went back in time to the 80's and changed some significant event. Where would you, your family, and your friends be in this new timeline? I don't believe that Captain Picard (not the Startrekfans.net member) would have never changed history for so few lives. In "Generations" his brother and nephew die, and he has the opportunity to use the Nexus to change those events. But he realizes that bad things happen and that he shouldn't be changing the timeline so significantly. Sure he does stop Soran just before the Nexus arrives but that is a mere 5 minutes of history, which I think he is justified in doing. The only reasons Picard has ever been in the past was to change the events of the past back to their original course after someone else had altered them. (for example: Star Trek First Contact) Just my thoughts.

[roguedawg 0]

I never much cared for Janeway's 'ethics'.She was the biggest hypocrite!She had many opportunities to return her ship and crew home earlier than they did get back,but didn't because some ethical onjection always came up.Then,she ACCEPTS the illegal aid of a woman(her older self) who has broken every temporal law on the books!What's up with that?She has no objections if SHE is the person being unethical?What a load of Targ droppings!

[Captain Bolivar 0]

Thank you! Someone that finally agrees that Janeway is a hypocrite. Sure, Voyager is a "fun" show, but TNG will forever hold the prize for having the ethical captain. It's poetic that Janeway is an admiral because in Star Trek the admirals are always the least ethical. For example... Dourghty, Pressman, alternate reality Janeway etc.

[Syperphobia 0]

I really do not think anyone can contemplate the ethical issues of the show Endgame, except Janeway. You have to understand that when she time traveled back into the past she was just facing herself and her issues of being that stubborn hyporcrite that she always was. I believe that this was a powerful episode, but if I was in Admiral Janeway's shoes, I would not go back to the past even if I knew the outcome. It is far to risky to just tamper with time, and as far as we know the 31st century now is in complete shambles, probably due to how careless people think of the 'Almighty Temporal Directive'. Even now in this world we are tampering with the timeline as we go to psychics that appear to predict our futures, it makes us paranoid and feel completely invuenerable, it makes people believe in fate and not allow them to take a hold of their destiny. Instead of going in the past, Admiral Janeway should of crossed the entire universe trying to find a cure for Tuvock, or even suggested to the EMH to take him out of the pain and misery that he was in. I know this might make a lot of people angry with me, but Tuvock's mind was in pain, think about being in pain everyday, not even knowing who your true friends are. Admiral Janeway seemed to forget a little something when she went back into the past, but when she heard the speech from Harry Kim, she knew that they didnt care about the dangers of the situation, but the entire trip was dedicated 'To the Journey'. The journey of hope and peace and when they reached home, they did loose a lot of loved ones, but that is the way life goes, and no one should tamper with it. Again with the Tuvock issue, if I learned that I developed a fatal disease, and knew that it was something that happened to me in the past, of course I would try to go into the past and prevent myself from getting it, but knowing myself I would probably ignore my futureself leading more harm to me, becoming paranoid. Without the influence of Star Trek, I, and everyone would just ack in primal nature, beucase we all want this world and our lives to be bright and happy and easier. Because we do have Star Trek's warning with the Temporal Directive and other SCI-FI warnings we think twice about messing with the past (if we had the opportunity).

Edited August 13, 2003 by Syperphobia

[fredbroca 0]

I liked voyager very much but I was disapointed with the last show I just have to say why time travel I think it would have done so much better without it

[Gotabite 0]

I am a huge Voyager fan. I also enjoyed TNG. I guess I have to begin by saying that I've not always agreed with all of the decisions of either Captain. But I do believe that both always felt that they were being responsible in their decision making. As far as the episode Endgame and time travel, personally I have always had a problem with that concept..........I did enjoy Endgame, the story/plot, the drama, the action and the dynamics/interaction with the Borg Queen and what happened to her. But changing history and peoples lives that way.......I must say that I am uneasy with........STILL, when I think about the ethics of time travel, I have to wonder about how even in this day and time, people's lives get changed every day against their wills, and without their involvement. And I wonder how ethical that is too ..................It happens via laws, wars, decisions made by our local and federal government, judicial decisions,etc.............I guess what I feel is that no matter what you do, you'll always please and offend somebody. So you just can't win. ...........................Anyway, I thought most of the time Janeway was as ethical as any other Captain, even when I disagreed with her.

[TrekkieMage 0]

I am a huge Voyager fan.  I also enjoyed TNG.  I guess I have to begin by saying that I've not always agreed with all of the decisions of either Captain.  But I do believe that both always felt that they were being responsible in their decision making.  As far as the episode Endgame and time travel, personally I have always had a problem with that concept..........I did enjoy Endgame,  the story/plot, the drama, the action and the dynamics/interaction with the Borg Queen and what happened to her. :lol:  But changing history and peoples lives that way.......I must say that I am uneasy with........STILL, when I think about the ethics of time travel, I have to wonder about how even in this day and time, people's lives get changed every day against their wills, and without their involvement.  And I wonder how ethical that is too ..................It happens via laws, wars, decisions made by our local and federal government, judicial decisions,etc.............I guess what I feel is that no matter what you do, you'll always please and offend somebody.  So you just can't win. :) ...........................Anyway, I thought most of the time Janeway was as ethical as any other Captain, even when I disagreed with her. :)

Hear hear! I agree. I would also like to make a comment, someone said earlier 'put yourself in her shoes' or something to that effect. If you were suddenly tossed across the galaxy how would you feel? Suddenly realizing that at best it will take you 70 years to get home. For me, after being away from home for a month I was about to go nuts. The Admiral Janeway had been in the Delta Quadrent for 22 years. A very long time. She had worked and struggled for 22 years staight to get her crew home, and everything started to fall apart on her. Tuvok went insane, Seven died, after Seven died Chakotay was never the same and then six years after they got home he died. In her mind the timeline she lived in wasn't right. Too many mistakes, and too many missed opportunities. She saw all of her flaws and where they had led them. She went back in time to correct her mistakes and make peoples lives better.

 

I think that that's what she was thinking about. She probably blamed everything that happend on herself.