Philosophies Under the Sea! -Payton Hunt H01

The three most well-known residents of Bikini Bottom can be compared to three well-known philosophers. In, SpongeBob SquarePants and Philosophy: Soaking Up Secrets Under the Sea!, Joseph J. Foy compares SpongeBob SquarePants to Aristotle, Patrick Star to John Stuart Mill, and Squidward Tentacles to Arthur Schopenhauer.

SpongeBob and Aristotle:

Like Aristotle, SpongeBob believes that happiness is the purpose of life. No matter what kind of day he is having, you will always find SpongeBob with a smile on his face. For example, in the episode, “Dying for Pie,” SpongeBob claims, “If I were to die in some fiery explosion due to the carelessness of a friend…well, that would be okay.” This expresses SpongeBob’s contentment with life, and his overall happiness.

Aristotle believes that we can only be truly happy if we practice being virtuous. A virtue is a trait or quality that is deemed to be morally good and is valued as a foundation of principle and good moral being. An example of virtue is being kind, and SpongeBob always extends kindness to others, even his arch nemesis Plankton, and his grumpy next-door neighbor Squidward.

Patrick Star and John Stuart Mill:

Like SpongeBob, Patrick always pursues after happiness. In the episode, “Patrick Smart Pants,” Patrick falls off a cliff into a coral field, and the top of his head falls off. The coral resembles his head, and he attaches what he thinks is his head, but is actually just a piece of coral. This event turns Patrick into a genius, and he begins to pursue intelligence and refined thinking rather than the childish fun he had with his friend SpongeBob. Towards the end of the episode, he realizes that he no longer enjoys being a genius, and he runs experiments to try to find out how he can achieve happiness. He and SpongeBob return to the coral field and they find Patrick's real head. Patrick loses his intelligence, but he finds his happiness.

John Stuart Mill describes pleasure as hedonistic or utilitarian. The utilitarian view states, “actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness; wrong as they tend to promote the opposite of happiness.” The hedonistic view states, “By happiness is intended pleasure and the absence of pain; by unhappiness, pain and the privation of pleasure.” Foy believes that Patrick best fits into the utilitarian view of pleasure because he believed that intelligence would not allow him to experience happiness.

Squidward Tentacles and Arthur Schopenhauer:

            Unlike his happy go lucky neighbors, Squidward Tentacles finds the worst quality in everything except for himself. Squidward is narcissist who fills his home with self-portraits and believes that he is the best artist and clarinet player in Bikini Bottom. In his book, Joseph J. Foy claims that Arthur Schopenhauer is the Squidward of philosophy. Like Squidward, Schopenhauer puts a strong emphasis on art and pessimism.

In his work, The World as Will and Representation, Schopenhauer represents his belief in the inability to be satisfied. He claims, “Even with the use of reason, human beings can in no way alter the degree of misery we experience; indeed, reason only magnifies the degree to which we suffer. Thus all the ordinary pursuits of mankind are not only fruitless but also illusory insofar as they are oriented toward satisfying an insatiable, blind will.” Squidward’s pessimism blocks his from achieving the happiness that his neighbors possess. The only thing that seems to make Squidward happy is his love of art.

In, SpongeBob SquarePants and Philosophy: Soaking Up Secrets Under the Sea!, Foy mentions that Schopenhauer views art as a way to, “temporarily escape the miserable existence that life is” (p.36). Squidward is dissatisfied with his life in Bikini Bottom, but art is the one thing that always puts a smile on his face. Art represents Schopenhauer and Squidward’s ideal way of achieving temporary satisfaction in an unsatisfactory world.

Quiz:

1. Which philosopher does Joseph J. Foy compare SpongeBob SquarePants to?

2. Aristotle believes we can only be truly happy by doing what?

3. Which philosopher is Patrick Star compared to?

4. How does John Stuart Mill categorize pleasure? Which view does Patrick best fit according to Foy?

5. Who is the Squidward of philosophy?

6. How do Schopenhauer and Squidward, "temporarily escape the miserable existence that life is"? 

Discussion Questions:

1. Do you view pleasure using the hedonistic approach, utilitarian approach, or neither? 

2. Do you view yourself as a pessimist? Does your pessimism prevent you from being happy like Squidward? 

3. Is it possible for humans to become completely content with their lives?