Story highlights "Star Trek" actor Leonard Nimoy died Friday at age 83

Andy Lau: Nearly every episode had a moral lesson or dilemma

Andy Lau is an associate professor of engineering at Penn State College of Engineering. The views expressed are his own.

(CNN) Around 2002, I was browsing in a used book store in Pittsburgh, and there it was: "The Ethics of Star Trek" by Judith Barad and Ed Robertson. Coincidentally, I was working at that time on integrating ethics into engineering education at Penn State University. I immediately bought the book, and after reading it through, realized that it could be the basis for an engaging course for our first-year engineering students. I first offered the course, The Ethics of Star Trek, in the fall of 2003 -- and I've been teaching it ever since.

My children grew up watching the shows that followed the original series, which continued the tradition established by "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry of tackling current events like war, genocide and pollution. It was good family entertainment that also prompted reflection on issues of the day. And it was this exploration of both space and the issues of the day that inspired me to try to apply these moral lessons to students.

First there was the friendship between Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, and Dr. McCoy, aka Bones. Plato described the human soul as composed of three aspects: spirit, reason and emotion. Internally, we each strive to balance these three forces. If we manage to do this well, we become a more virtuous person and attain a fourth virtue: justice. By placing Kirk (spirit), Spock (reason) and Bones (emotion) into challenging situations, we get to observe this interplay of these forces, and we get to hear them say what would otherwise be an internal dialogue.

Why is Spock so critical here? Because Vulcans worship logic and rationality. Even though he's half human, he suppresses his emotions. It's no surprise that he is the science officer, since science is founded on rationality. Mr. Spock, then, can be trusted to give reasoned scientific analysis in any situation, uninfluenced by emotion or spirit. And since they wouldn't even be in space without science, Spock may be the most important character for the success of the adventure.

So, how was all this applied in a classroom?

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