Gamechangers: IDIC—Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations

IDIC: Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations, the motto of the Vulcan Science Academy, and one of the tenets of the Vulcan philosopher Surak (who’s something between Buddha and Jesus to the Vulcans, but heavy on the Buddha side of the equation).  IDIC to me is brilliant because it isn’t so much about cultural or ethical pluralism or relatively, but more about the sheer, massive diversity in the universe.  It is the universe, the physical, the biological, the astronomical, the chemical that is infinitely diverse.  (Or, perhaps, that we hope is infinitely diverse—though one could say of the Star Trek universe with all of its forays into multiple universes, etc., that the IDIC has in fact been demonstrated to be an accurate statement about reality.)  It is this ontological reality and diversity—all of the physics, the biology, the astronomy, the chemistry--that gives rise to all different races and beings that populate the universe.  And there are certainly different ways of existing—carbon-based life isn’t the only way to go.  But the ontological reality grounds the claims of the IDIC and keeps it from being superficial.

I remember going to the Carnegie Museum of Natural History not too long ago and looking at all the dinosaurs, some of the stuff they have from before the time of dinosaurs, and the more contemporary (relatively speaking) ice age exhibit.  My feelings were of intense relief and gratitude and eventually joy.   I was really happy and quite thrilled to death that the earth had once, both in the distant past and in the not-so-distant past, been entirely different than it is today.  One of the most important tenets of Christian theology is the contingency of the world.  The world does not have to exist.  The world does not have to exist the way it currently exists.  We don't know what really does exist in all the vast-flung regions of interstellar space, and we don't know what has existed in the past, and we don't know what has existed in the future, and this is good.  Belief in contingency creates the spirit of exploration.  God created the universe out of his own fullness and infinite creativity, and we can't guess what will be in the universe anymore we can guess the life and character of God aside from his revelation of it to us.  If there’s infinite diversity in infinite combinations, it exists as created mirror of God’s own plentitude.  (It’s all in Aquinas, folks.)  

That's why I love the IDIC.  I think it's hopeful and I think it's true, and I think keeping a firm grip on the contingency of all things is one of the ways (and one of the best ways for me personally) to keep a firm on wonder, and thence, gratitude.  In a different way, I also love the kind of pluralism I see in Trek, and especially in DS9 because it seeks to be true to that diversity, and if Christianity isn't the answer, that's not a terrible way to go.

DS9 showcases this more than the other series because that series--more than any other one--is genuinely interested in religion and faith and not giving pat answers and explanations to the mysteries thereof.  But in that series, we see the Bajoran faith depicted more than any other.  They believe in the Prophets, their own celestial guardians, who occasionally send them messengers and help in various forms through the Orbs.  In other words, DS9 takes for granted that the Prophets exist and there is some part of Bajoran religion that is genuinely true.  In the first few episodes its fairly obvious that there's some scorn from the mostly secular Federation about the notion that these "wormhole aliens" might actually be of genuine religious significance.  Throughout the series, it seems somewhat unlikely that the Prophets desire to be worshiped, but genuinely true that they are beings not quite limited by the temporal order who are genuinely interested in helping and intervening in Bajoran life.  Not too bad.  They aren't all-powerful, but they are certainly beneficent.

But the Bajoran way isn't the only way.  The Ferengi "Divine Treasury" (Ferengi heaven) is an object of real concern and apparently a real object, as is the Klingon Sto-vo-kor.  Worf, a Klingon, is unable to grieve the death of his wife Jadzia (even though she's Trill, not Klingon) because she was murdered and thus unable to enter Sto-vo-kor.  In a 7th season story arc Worf is assisted by three non-Klingons to help complete a quest to get Jadzia into Sto-vo-kor.  And the characters all risk their lives to do it, either out of their own personal faith (as in Worf's case), or out of loyalty and love for Worf or Jadzia.

Many of the human characters spend their time puzzling at or shaking their heads at the faiths of their non-human companions, but the series itself takes that faith seriously.  Faith requires real effort and sacrifice and has real demands on people's lives.  The differences in cultures often causes problems wherein characters have to decide whether to be true to their own tradition, or their personal code of honor, or do what seems "sensible" to other characters.  Oftentimes there are clashes between civilizations, and oftentimes friendships, but the civilizations do not surrender either their diversity or their integrity to form that friendship (though it is sometimes a question whether cross-species friendship implies a loss of cultural or personal identity).  There are many hard decisions and sometimes characters (especially Worf or other Klingon characters) do things that human beings would find repellent.  One could say of the pluralism is Star Trek--"There is more than one right way, but any good way is difficult to find, and many people choose bad paths regardless of their culture's philosophy."  In other words, there may be cultural pluralism and some degree of cultural relativism, but there's not moral relativism and "anything goes" is not a feasible answer to any problem.

I need to wrap this up.  But I suppose what I would like to say is that I wish politicians and teenagers alike would think about this kind of pluralism as they try to juggle multiculturalism in the public life.  Everyone needs a tradition to help guide them to discover how to be a person of integrity, even if we decide that there are multiple ways to reach that integrity or that there are things that good people can decide to disagree on.  But to have no tradition, to have no guide, to have no reference point, to have no real deep abiding notion of integrity, humanity, or honor is just disastrous for everyone and creates a polis which is incapable of doing what is difficult in order to do what is right.  If I were going to fight any idea in the public sphere right now, I would put all my energies into fighting the notion that it is easy to do what is right, to create something good, and to solve any problems that concern whole communities.