At about the same time Pirsig was writing Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance, there was a TV series titled, "Star Trek".  I can't imagine many people alive who haven't heard, "Beam Me Up, Scotty!" and the names Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock.  Mr. Spock, if you recall, was part "Vulcan".

Some people who wrote episodes for the series "Star Trek" created a fictional planet named "Vulcan", and one of the Vulcans was named "Surak".  Before I delve into who Surak "was", please remember that as far as we know at this date and time:  (a) there is no known planet Vulcan (or the like); thus (b) there are no "Vulcans"; thus (c) there is no "Surak"; and (d) there are no Vulcan "artifacts".  It's all fiction, ok?  We both know this, right?  Stay with me now.  Don't beam up just yet.

And for the record, please be aware that I have never attended a Star Trek convention, and I do not own Star Trek uniforms nor "paraphenalia".  I am not making fun of people that do attend conventions, own uniforms et al; on the contrary, I respect those people for their devotion and intensity.  While I am a fan of the Star Trek series, the only manner to which it is referred in this document is in a "reference basis".  I'm trying to objectively look at Surak, the Vulcans, and Star Trek in the role(s) of scientists:  logicians; cultural anthropologists; and rational-thinking types.

Since there are no Vulcans, why write a book about values based on a non-existent race of beings and title it after some non-existent guy?  A good question.  The answer is a bit "wordy":

I believe by studying the problems and issues posed by this fictional race of beings and the manner in which the authors of the Star Trek series wrote the script for how these fictional beings chose to manage their lives gives us an entirely new way to view ourselves, how we relate to others, what we define as mutual respect, and in short helps us all understand how to co-exist in a more harmonious way.

And yes, we can still laugh and cry and we'll still be Human, and no, you don't have to wear pointed ears or angled eyebrows - unless you really feel strongly about it, in which case I say, "Go For It".

The Logic Of Surak and the fictional Vulcan paradigm, as created and refined by the various Star Trek authors over a period of more than 35 years, differ in one respect:  The Star Trek authors chose the Vulcan ideal as the complete control of all emotion by each individual Vulcan; I, on the other hand, choose to use the Vulcan ideal to control all negative emotions, while continuing to experience the positive emotions in a Human manner.  Controlling all emotions is unreasonable for Humans.  If we were to adhere to the Vulcan paradigm then we must sacrifice positive emotions like love, joy, ecstasy, nirvana, bliss, et al.  Can Humans continue to feel their positive emotions while learning how to process the negative ones without experiencing them?  I believe so.  If that were to happen, Humans could literally transform their lives into no-downside, all-upside ideal lives.  Imagine a world where no one feels self-loathing, abused, alienated or ridiculed; where no one feels any negative emotions but where everyone can feel happiness.  Does this sound like "pie-in-the-sky" thinking?  Read on before you judge my work.  It may put the anti-depressant people out of business.

As the various Star Trek writers have depicted them, the Vulcans originated from a planet named Vulcan and had a colony on their moon, named Vulcanis.  The Vulcans were originally a savage people, with a history perhaps more savage than Earth's, but when teetering on mutual annihilation the Vulcans backed away and gradually adoped logic to deal with their differences and end their conflict(s).  This led them to become a logical people, who practiced logical and rational thought.  They experienced emotion as Humans do (perhaps in an even more intense manner than Humans), but learned to control their emotional reactions due to training in logic, reason and clarity, the culmination of which was the "Kolinahr".  The student attempting to "reach" Kolinahr was verified by a "Master" after thorough and rigorous examination and testing that the disciple has become adept in the control of all emotions, for the benefit of rational thought, logic, reason and clarity.  The Vulcans recognized that no one can suppress emotions, but they can be controlled.  For Vulcans, all emotions were to be controlled, with the sole exception of adult males once every seven years when they must mate (due to chemical changes in their bodies).  This exception has no bearing on this document, and will not be further discussed herein.

Mate as often as you'd like, but first, please finish reading this document.