It's a tricky balance - to, at the same time, acknowledge that all species are different...but that in spite of that, they also might share a lot with our own species. There's danger, and even arrogance, in assuming that everybody shares the same wants and needs as you yourself do. But there's also danger and arrogance in assuming that because someone is different, he is completely different. The problem is that it's all too easy to move from "different" to "inferior."
Thinking that a race isn't Human-with-a-capital-H has oftentimes led humans to think that that humans of another race are less than human. It's happened on Earth many times and it's been done by people of many different races. By the 23rd century, humans no longer think that about other humans...but with aliens, if/when they come along? That's going to take a lot of work.
Major ethical considerations aside ::jumps down from lecturn::, Trek isn't really about aliens, anyway, despite all those foreheads. It's about humanity, and the story of a lonely man, a man set apart from everybody else, who falls in love is a very human story, even if it involves sentient goo, to use GodBen's vivid prose. So from the standpoint of Trek writers, Odo has to have at least some of the same characteristics as humans because if he didn't, we wouldn't be able to relate to him.
But as for an in-universe explanation, I do think that the idea that just about every species has some kind of need to...to...belong, to be connected on some emotional level (however you define emotion) with another person/other people is at least a viable theory. Call it an evolutionary imperative, call it whatever you want, it is at least a reasonable possibility. Odo's species clearly does - that's what the great link is, after all, though on a much larger scale than one little love affair.
Thinking that a race isn't Human-with-a-capital-H has oftentimes led humans to think that that humans of another race are less than human. It's happened on Earth many times and it's been done by people of many different races. By the 23rd century, humans no longer think that about other humans...but with aliens, if/when they come along? That's going to take a lot of work.
Major ethical considerations aside ::jumps down from lecturn::, Trek isn't really about aliens, anyway, despite all those foreheads. It's about humanity, and the story of a lonely man, a man set apart from everybody else, who falls in love is a very human story, even if it involves sentient goo, to use GodBen's vivid prose. So from the standpoint of Trek writers, Odo has to have at least some of the same characteristics as humans because if he didn't, we wouldn't be able to relate to him.
But as for an in-universe explanation, I do think that the idea that just about every species has some kind of need to...to...belong, to be connected on some emotional level (however you define emotion) with another person/other people is at least a viable theory. Call it an evolutionary imperative, call it whatever you want, it is at least a reasonable possibility. Odo's species clearly does - that's what the great link is, after all, though on a much larger scale than one little love affair.
