Deadliest Philosopher : Midterm Project by Logan Whiles - H01

            So, here’s my idea for my midterm project. It’s a three-part spin off, in the form of blog posting, of the television show Deadliest Warrior. I’ll call it Deadliest Philosopher. I’ll follow the format of the show by listing off attributes of two philosophers and then put them head to head in a philosophical battle at the end to determine which philosopher had the sturdiest ideas, obviously in my own opinion. This philosophical battle may come as a debate on a subject, a look at how each philosopher may handle the same situation, or anything sort of environment I come up with that is tailored appropriately to the subject matter and the specialties of the competitors.

Socrates vs. Anne Phillips

(Deep Logic vs. Ethics)

           

            Firstly, let’s look at each subject’s accomplishments and credibility. Anne Phillips is a Professor of Political and Gender Theory at the LSE Gender Institute of which she is Director of, and is also the Graham Wallace Professor of Political Science in the Department of Government. She also co-won the American Political Science Association's Victoria Schuck Award for Best Book on Women and Politics published in 1991. In addition, she has published a number of books and articles, usually concerning equality rights and/or multiculturalism. Socrates, as we all know, is very accomplished intellectually. However, he may not be entirely real, so that does hurt his credibility a bit. But, I don’t think Plato was smart enough to come up with a Socrates to put in his books and there are many other accounts of his existence and inquisitiveness (apparently, Little History made it seem that way), so I’m going to assume he and his philosophy were entirely existent. Socrates was also a Professor, in a certain sense, and his name has lived on for over 2,000 years.

Anne Phillips strives for our generation to understand each other in terms of culture across the globe. She wants people to look outside their comfort zones to live harmoniously with others, while at the same time understanding that “monoculturalism is inequitable, it’s oppressive, it’s coercive.” She doesn’t want the action of understanding to become the action of everyone molding into the same culture. She also is strongly opposed to social actions that cause harm to people and actions that treat certain groups, especially women, unfairly or inferiorly.

            Socrates had a simpler goal, question everything to understand our mental boundaries and the truth of our nature.

Here is the showdown:

Setting – Fifth-Century Athens (an Athens that speaks modern English, by the way)

Anne Phillips awakens on a stone slab with an aching back and confused mind. She has as little of an idea of how she got there as Socrates has of how a strangely dressed woman appeared in his guest bedroom. They remain calm, but completely disoriented…

Anne: I have no idea where I am.

Socrates: Then I will show you.

The pair step outside, and walk through the streets of Athens…

Anne: I’ve only seen this place in paintings before. It’s very nice but why are those people in chains? Do you and your people not recognize that injustice?

Socrates: Who are you to claim the knowledge of justice?

Anne: Everyone knows the difference between right and wrong.

Socrates: Everyone?

Anne: Yes…

Socrates: Suppose a man had committed a crime and his actions were being judged. Would you feel confident that a jury of children could sentence him appropriately, since apparently everyone, including a child, knows the difference between right and wrong?

Anne: Well, no. Perhaps not everyone knows the difference, only adults of able mind. I should have been clearer.

Socrates: I agree. Now, what is the difference between an adult and a child?

Anne: A child has experienced so little. He is without an able mind when it comes to judgment.

Socrates: How does one acquire an able mind?

Anne: A child tends to develop one after maturity through experience and proper guidance.

Socrates: Your statement is as flimsy as the twig of an olive tree. Were we not once children, and do you not still have many years yet to live? You telling an old man that you possess an able mind is the same as a child telling a middle-aged adult that he possesses an able mind. My point is that we will always have more to learn, in fact, we practically know nothing. And you imply that you are capable of knowing the difference between right and wrong, even though you’ve only experienced it for a mere 60 years.

             Anne may go on to argue that Socrates is practically defending slavery, which hardly anyone in the world would agree with. But Socrates does make sense with his ability to question things that society thinks they know. In my opinion, Socrates deserves the win as the better philosopher; he is humble and intellectually exploratory. But in terms of practicality, however, Anne Phillips might have the upper hand. Whether she is right or wrong in condemning inequality, we may never know. But she does seem to take more strides in the direction of making change, while Socrates only opens the mind.

Winner : Socrates

Now, for your enjoyment, a clip of the show to watch if you have the time.

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/PPOJyV81kjc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPOJyV81kjc

Works Referenced

Warburton, Nigel. A Little History of Philosophy. New Haven: Yale University Press

            2011. Print.

Edmonds, David, and Nigel Warburton. Philosophy Bites. New York: Oxford

            University Press Inc. 2012. Print.

http://www2.lse.ac.uk/genderInstitute/whosWho/profiles/aPhillips.aspx