Honor

{{disambiguation|the ''Star Trek: Starfleet Corps of Engineers'' eBook|Honor (eBook)}}
The definition of '''honor''' varied widely between [[culture]]s, as did the importance placed upon it. Honor was normally synonymous with dignity and referred to the upholding of one's values. The [[Klingon]]s were notorious for the emphasis they placed on honor.

This may have been a more abstract way of viewing honor. But, as notions of honor were often very subjective, putting emphasis on clear objects (i.e., victory) made the Klingons able to deduce the honorable conduct (i.e., means used to achieve victory).

The {{dis|Tosk|species}} had a high belief in their honor, preventing them from breaking their [[oath of silence]] and accept a possibility such as [[political asylum]]. ({{DS9|Captive Pursuit}})

Although [[Vulcan]]s suppressed [[emotion]]s, they nevertheless had a sense of honor. ({{ENT|The Andorian Incident}}) In [[2152]], [[T'Pol]], explaining to {{Captain}} why she was sent by the [[Vulcan High Command]] to capture a criminal who escaped her during her time as an [[agent]] with the [[Ministry of Security]], stated that they considered it a matter of honor. Archer found this to be a very Vulcan attitude. ({{ENT|The Seventh}})

== Klingon honor ==
Honor was one of the most important components of [[Klingon philosophy]], as their social order depended on an inviolable honor-[[shame]] dynamic . However, it was significantly different from most other cultures' definition of the word. For example, [[Worf]] once said, "''Nothing is more honorable than victory.''" From this point of view, using a [[cloak]]ed [[ship]] to ambush enemies could be considered honorable if it achieved victory. ({{DS9|The Way of the Warrior}}; {{DIS|The Vulcan Hello}})

The notion of honor seemed to be highly relative and open to debate. Each and every Klingon could possibly have his own interpretation of what consisted of an honorable means to achieve an end. Even more, some decisions were [[paradox]]ical because two different views of honor were in contradiction. For instance, Worf indicated that it was necessary to challenge [[Gowron]]'s leadership (because he was presumably acting in a dishonorable way), while [[General]] [[Martok]] was convinced that it was dishonorable to challenge the leader of the [[Klingon Empire]] in the middle of a [[war]]. In another case, while [[Doctor]] [[Antaak]]'s deception in claiming to have stabilized [[Augment]] [[DNA]], allowing the creation of Klingon Augments, when he and [[Phlox]] had merely cured the [[Klingon augment virus|augment virus]] might be seen by some as dishonorable, Antaak himself believed that, given the millions of lives this cure would save, his near-certain [[execution]], if caught, would be as honorable a [[death]] as a doctor could have. ({{DS9|Tacking Into the Wind}}; {{ENT|Divergence}}) Hence, dishonor was sometimes a concept which compelled Klingons to action.

Out of all [[race]]s the Klingons had encountered, the [[Romulan]]s were widely considered by them to be the most dishonorable; Worf especially [[hate]]d them and considered them dishonorable due to an attack they had committed on [[Khitomer]] and the death of [[Mogh|his father]]. However, he later admitted that they were capable of fighting with honor, when they assisted the {{USS|Enterprise|NCC-1701-E|-E}} in defeating [[Shinzon]]'s ship, the ''[[Scimitar]]''. ({{TNG|The Neutral Zone}}; {{film|10}}) Klingon opinion on the [[Federation]] was widely variable and changed with [[time]], though they were deeply impressed by the sacrifice made by the [[crew]] of the {{USS|Enterprise|NCC-1701-C|-C}}, which was destroyed when attempting to defend a Klingon [[outpost]] at [[Narendra III]]. ({{TNG|Yesterday's Enterprise}}) When tensions reached a high in [[2372]], Gowron claimed that the Federation did not care for honor, though his opinion changed [[2373|the following year]] when [[Benjamin Sisko]]'s team infiltrated [[Ty'Gokor]] to [[assassination|assassinate]] {{dis|Martok|Changeling|a Changeling}} at very high personal risk, leading to a [[ceasefire]] between the two sides. ({{DS9|The Way of the Warrior|Apocalypse Rising}})

Other races considered dishonorable, by at least some Klingons, include the [[Breen]], ({{DS9|'Til Death Do Us Part}}) the [[Ferengi]], ({{DS9|The House of Quark}}) and the [[Jem'Hadar]]. ({{DS9|Soldiers of the Empire}}) On the other hand, the Jem'Hadar did understand the concept of honor, with some even respecting it. The [[Vorta]], however, considered it barbaric. ({{DS9|By Inferno's Light}}) In contrast, the Klingon [[soldier]] [[Leskit]] claimed to respect the [[Cardassian]]s as he felt they fought for their people and followed a code, "just like we do." ({{DS9|Soldiers of the Empire}})

Despite honor being a huge part of Klingon culture and society, there have been known cases of Klingons acting dishonorably. [[D'Ghor]] sought to take over the [[House of Kozak]] but did so by attacking the House's [[money|financial]] assets, as he did not wish to destroy it through openly challenging it; [[Grilka]] was openly disgusted by the very idea of this, and Gowron later [[discommendation|discommended]] him for his actions. ({{DS9|The House of Quark}}) While explaining the hierarchy on Klingon ships, [[Jadzia Dax]] mentioned that cowardice was among the conditions under which a subordinate could challenge a superior; [[Miles O'Brien]] was surprised at the very idea of Klingons showing cowardice, though Dax stated, "''It's been known to happen.''" ({{DS9|Soldiers of the Empire}})

== See also ==
* [[Code of honor]]

== External link ==
* {{wikipedia}}

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[[Category:Culture]]