Originally published: . Volume 9, No. 3. Source pages: 2.
The First Duty by Times publisher, J. Nelson
The Oscars are out and our movie reviewer Dr. Burstein has leaped ahead once again and reviewed the Best Movie, The Shape of Water. See his clever review on page 14.
I hardly noticed the Oscars this year. Besides Darkest Hour, Dunkirk, and Blade Runner, I’ve seen none of winners. Archimedes and I have almost given up trying to find good movies.
So when I want to watch something really good, I watch Star Trek reruns. I found a scene recently in Next Generation where a gruff Captain Picard is mentoring young Wesley Crusher, asking him, “Have you read that book I gave you?” Wesley hems and haws and says, “I just don’t have much time. And William James isn’t going to be on the Starfleet entrance exam.”
“The important things never will be,” Picard says, and continues to say, “Anyone can learn the mechanics of piloting a starship.” Study philosophy, art and history––“and all this might mean something.”
The father-son exchanges between the two are often poignant but perhaps the most famous one for fans comes from the well-loved episode, “The First Duty.”
Wesley is now a cadet at the Starfleet Academy and becomes a member of an elite flying squad. The squad, led by a charismatic senior cadet, decides to perform a spectacular but prohibited and very dangerous maneuver at the Academy’s graduation.
The flying team’s attempt to grab glory goes horribly wrong and one of the young flyers is killed. An investigation ensues and the remaining cadets agree to cover up.
The story is a common one. Roddenberry probably didn't call the plot points “identity threat” or “group think” or “boundary rigidity,” but it is all there.
Wesley attempts a lie by omission, but Captain Picard figures out the ruse and confronts Wesley. The scene is as meaningful and as beautifully acted as any from Shakespeare.
Picard, the archetypical warrior-king, sets out the moral principle and it rings like a bell.
“The first duty of every Starfleet officer is to the truth,” Picard tells Wesley. “Whether it is scientific truth, or historical truth, or personal truth. It is the guiding principle on which Starfleet is based. And if you can’t stand up and tell the truth about what happened, you don’t deserve to wear the Starfleet uniform.”
Even for those who aren’t fans of Star Trek, the scene is worth watching (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xefh7W1nVo4)
There are many roles those of us in the psychological and behavioral sciences community take on in our hope to be of use to the larger society. Some of us focus on helping, perhaps as psychotherapists, counselors, or coaches. Some of us focus on teaching and education. Some of us focus on research. Some of us do a little bit of everything.
One of the societal roles a psychologist can take up is that of scientist-practitioner. In 2009 APA president James Bray asked, “Where have all the psychologists gone?” I think he was referring to the scientist-practitioner, the person LSU professor Ed Timmons once described in this way: “You should be able to pick a psychologist up by the ear and drop them in anywhere.”
For the psychologist who is a scientist-practitioner it is about truth. It can't be about politics, or group identification, or emotions, or perception. It isn’t about altruism or interpersonal harmony or even cooperation. It is hard to lead by this principle, especially these days, because we are each of us embedded in our social context, with our group identities, and our fast-think brains.
But for those psychologists, who are scientist-practitioners, truth is the first duty. As ragged, complicated, or as incomplete as it is, truth and its application, is our first duty.
Then we go to whatever is second.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.