Can Star Trek's non-violent utopia happen?

updated 4:28 p.m. ET May 7, 2009

Tricorders and transporters are cool, but the most radical invention on "Star Trek" may have been its vision of a peaceful humanity.

Sure, humans are always getting into fights on the show's original and spin-off series, but generally with other, less "enlightened" alien species. Earth in the "Star Trek" universe is an egalitarian, utopian planet that has long ago shrugged off the habit of war.

People in Star Trek's vision of the 23rd century use their time and talents to explore the universe, create art and probe the mysteries of science.

Sounds nice, huh?

While some have dismissed this aspect of the show as its most fanciful element, psychologists and political scientists say it might not be so unrealistic.

"I do think humans might someday reach more peaceful coexistence if we don't destroy the planet first, though I doubt it will be utopia," said Dennis Fox, emeritus professor of legal studies and psychology at the University of Illinois at Springfield. "If utopia does come, it won't be because human nature changes, or because some governmental authority or alien race forces it upon us, but because we manage to create new social structures more conducive to satisfying human needs and values."

Is violence human nature?
Human nature is compatible with a peaceful existence, Fox and other psychologists say.

An international group of 20 scientists convened in Seville, Spain, in 1986 by the Spanish National Commission for UNESCO came to the same conclusion.

"Just as 'wars begin in the minds of men,' peace also begins in our minds. The same species who invented war is capable of inventing peace," the group wrote in its Seville Statement on Violence.

Not everyone agrees, though. Some scientists say aggression is a fundamental human trait built into us by thousands of years of evolution.

A 2008 study published in the journal Psychopharmacology found that when mice display aggression, their brains are rewarded with dopamine, a pleasure-inducing neurotransmitter. The findings are thought to extend to humans.

"We learned from these experiments that an individual will intentionally seek out an aggressive encounter solely because they experience a rewarding sensation from it," said study leader Craig Kennedy, professor of pediatrics at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee.

Maybe both peace and violence are part of human nature, some say.

"Humans are wired with great potentials for altruism, caring and compassion but also for destructive competition and for killing," said Marc Pilisuk, a psychologist at Saybrook Graduate School and Research Center in San Francisco.

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