Klingon philosophy is most notably a warrior's philosophy. A Klingon's moral goal is the achievement of honor, mostly through battle. This is comparible to the Earth-based martial philosophy of such countries as China, India and Japan, although with significant differences. Klingons also have a complex religious philosophy upon which their martial philosophy is based. The most notable contributer to this system was Kahless himself. The Klingon oath of 'sacrifice, strength, duty' displays the three primary qualities that are valued above all else within Klingon warrior society.
Background
Writer Ronald D. Moore, who has defined much of Klingon culture, commented:
- Theirs is not an egalitarian society based on certain guaranteed freedoms and notions of justice. They have a ritualistic, almost hidebound culture that values notions of honor and tradition above almost everything else. I doubt that "social progress" is valued by them very much, if at all.
- This is a race where the House you are born into has more influence over your destiny than the merits of you as an individual. This a planet that not only embraces war, but employs it to seek out strange new worlds and [conquer] them. This is a system of justice that allows a son to be tried for the crimes of his parents. This is a world ruled by a group of families that fight amongst themselves for glory and power. This is a culture that elevates personal duels and assassination to legitimate options for resolving conflict. This is not an enlightened race of people. [1]
Moore later elaborated:
- The Mistress of a Great House wields considerable power and influence in Klingon society as I currently see it. The fact that she is not the titular Head does not mean that she does not make most, if not all, the decisions regarding the running of that House and how it functions internally. It probably varies from family to family and depends more on the individuals involved than it does on strictly observed codes of behavior. As Dax pointed out in "Soldiers of the Empire", the Klingons are as diverse a people as any other. Some Klingons take ritual and tradition far more seriously than others, just as some take the very concept of honor far more seriously than others. While we've seen female warriors many times, I also think there's nothing wrong with women who may not choose to be warriors in the literal sense. (Just as there was nothing wrong with the man who chose to become a Klingon "lawyer" in "Rules of Engagement.")
- I think that there's an unfortunate tendency to apply contemporary notions of American sexual equality to this ancient (and oh yeah, fictional) race. They have a long and complicated backstory that probably does not replicate our own history of male/female relations. They do have different notions than we do for the "roles" of men and women in society, but using terms like "co-dependency" confuses the issue and implies a similarity with today's culture that does not exist. As I've said many times, the Klingons hold many values that are at odds with contemporary norms: expansion by conquest, blood feuds, subjugation of enemies, rule by oligarchy, condemnation of children for their parents' sins, exaltation of a warrior cult, etc. It only makes sense that their take on male-female relations is less "enlightened" than ours.
- My belief is that woman are greatly valued, honored, and respected as equals in Klingon society even if it doesn't seem that way at first blush. If you had to apply a contemporary concept to their culture it would be something like "separate but equal" (this is an admittedly imperfect analogy, since the concept as usually applied stems from Brown v. Board of Education and dealt with racial issues). The Klingons see men and women as having certain separate roles in their culture, but probably view them as equivalent.
- For instance, while a man may lead a Great House and serve on the High Council, I don't think that this *political* power is seen by the Klingons as intrinsically superior to the *social* power wielded by a Mistress of a House who may approve or disapprove all marriages, decide who's having children and how they will be raised, and in general have the last say on all matters related to the internal operations of the House and family. Klingon family affiliations are considered paramount in their society, so it only makes sense that someone charged with running a House should be considered at least as important as the person charged with making political decisions for the Empire. This is in stark contrast to our own culture which has traditionally given men power over both the political and the social aspects of society until very recently. [2]
- I think in fairness, I should point out that the Klingons were exceeding sexist when they were created. In "The Trouble with Tribbles", Koloth says something to the effect that Klingon vessels don't have certain... ah, luxuries, and then makes the hourglass shape of a woman with his hands -- implying that not only don't Klingon ships have women on them, but that the boys can't wait to get their hands on a few for, er... liberty. In fact, there were no women seen in TOS at all until Mara's appearance in "Day of the Dove" and it was implied that she was only there because she was Kang's wife. Given the established backstory, I think it's even perfectly understandable that more than a hint of male dominance has crept into the way their culture has been portrayed over the years. Some of the overt sexism can be rectified and some will have to be written off as part of their cultural history. [3]
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