Socrates & the fox. Clem Sunter
of parents was beyond my control, as was my date of birth. But what has been within my control since then has been to use my strengths instinctively to cover for my weaknesses. I am small and therefore vulnerable, but I am agile and have keen senses. I know my limitations, I know the risks, but I also grab opportunities as they arise. I can adapt to the changes in the environment, and, man, have there been some big changes recently! As far as I know, you’re the first person to have ventured into this grove. You have to accept change, and change with it. Call it foxiness that keeps me alive, call it cunning intelligence, but here I am and my wife has kids on the way.
SOCRATES: I wish I could echo your upbeat approach. My destiny line has been different from yours. I was born into a fairly well-to-do family and had a conventional upbringing in Athens. As you rightly say, I had no choice but to be an Athenian which, to begin with, was the most marvellous thing to be, since Athens used to be the leading city on Earth. I got married and had three children, but then my world was turned upside down when my nation went to war with its neighbour, Sparta. I joined the army as an infantryman, or ‘hoplite’ as we call it, and served in several campaigns. Basically I went with the flow until I realised how futile the war was and how corrupt our society had become. Then I started asking questions and gathered a set of young followers around me with whom to debate these questions. I’ve never written anything down, but the questions I ask have got to the ears of the ruling authorities and have made them very angry. I am about to be put on trial and I feel a sense of impending doom. But then it was my choice. I was in control.
FOX: So is there anything you would change about yourself now? In that respect, you have wider choices than me because my occupation in the animal kingdom will forever remain the same. All I can do is move to another place.
SOCRATES: Don’t be so humble, because that was going to be my second question: No, I would never contemplate moving out of the field of philosophy or change where I live. But it is the question that logically follows the first one. Having traced your destiny line from start to present, where should you go to now? But then the third question has to be: “Who is for you, who is against you and who is neutral?” In seeking to clarify the direction you wish to take, you have to return to the principle of being part of an interconnected system.
FOX: So you have to weigh up your friends and enemies and those who can go either way before deciding on your next move? I like that, because in the animal kingdom you very quickly learn who is out to kill you and who isn’t. You avoid the places where the former may be and stick to potentially friendly territory.
SOCRATES: With human beings it’s more difficult to judge, for we have the quality of deceit. But nothing really happens unless you have a few or many people on your side and you find ways around those whom you have identified as obstructing you. This makes the fourth question easy to ask: “What are the rules of the animal kingdom and how do they differ from those governing human society?”
FOX: Well, I can only speak for my world. The rule is simple and all-encompassing: you do lunch, or be lunch. Straight competition. Survival of the fittest.
SOCRATES: In our world, that rule exists too in commerce and war. Nonetheless, I have spent all my philosophical hours on enquiring about another set of rules that should co-exist with the rule of competition. These relate to morality and goodness, but everybody has a different idea about what they are. I doubt whether we will ever reach agreement, but the quest must continue.
FOX: Having acknowledged that each of us in our own way is an element of a complex system, and that we should have knowledge of the other participants and the rules that apply to all of us, there is one more thing. Life can surprise you and it is better to be aware of the surprises in advance, or have a very fast reaction time if they really do come out of the blue. Don’t you agree?
SOCRATES: Of course; and that leads me to my fifth question: “What are the uncertainties that can radically change your destiny line?” Because, make no mistake, the majority of factors making up the future environment around you are uncertain and beyond your control. What you are does not determine what you will be. In my case, I have no power over the court that is going to sit in judgment on my future, and I have to be prepared for all eventualities. On a broader front, the defeat by Sparta came as a big surprise to most Athenian citizens since they believed that they were the most advanced society in the world with the greatest military might. They have reacted badly because defeat was unthinkable. But there again, they might bounce back if defeat has taught them to be more ‘foxy’ about the future. Which naturally leads on to my next question, which is one of the hardest to answer: “Where is your destiny line going to lead you? What are the possibilities? What are the consequences?”
FOX: My possibilities are to take my wife and travel north, south, east or west after this conversation. Each path will contain its own string of events and consequences, which will become part of my destiny line. And you?
SOCRATES: That depends on the outcome of the trial. I could be found not guilty of any crime and continue to debate the issues that intrigue me. I could spend the rest of my life in prison. I could be put to death. Three scenarios for which there will be one outcome, but I must be prepared for all three. Now in light of the fact that you ought to move on soon, we need to get to the crux of the matter. What are we going to take away from our conversation and do? For as we both know, actions speak more loudly than words.
FOX: Ah! You are rushing ahead in the conversation. As I said earlier, my whole destiny line to date has involved a growing understanding of my strengths and weaknesses. So the seventh question should be: “What are your strengths and weaknesses and where are your immediate opportunities and threats?” Unless you tackle this question, talk of possible action is academic, with due apology to you as a philosopher. Yes, I agree that what you are does not automatically determine what you will be or what you can be, but it sure as hell has an influence over your next move.
SOCRATES: I told you at the outset that I thought you were smart. You are! Well, my strength is that I have an enquiring mind, and I guess my weakness is that I do not suffer fools gladly. My opportunity is to leave a legacy of the importance of not accepting things at face value; and the threat is imminent death.
FOX: Well put. Which neatly dovetails into my next – and if I’ve counted correctly the eighth – question: “What options do you have?” I’ve outlined mine, which are pretty simple and relate to the part of the forest I want to sleep in tonight.
SOCRATES: Hmm, I could escape before the trial starts and come along with you. But that would damage my legacy. I could reconsider my public stand on the war and the way Athens is governed, but that would also damage my legacy. I can stand trial and stick to my principles, in which event I’ve already laid out the future possibilities.
FOX: So now we come to your question: “Which option are you going to exercise and turn into action?” Personally I’ve decided to head north and take my chances there.
SOCRATES: This dialogue has been delightful because it has clarified my mind. Of course, I will exercise the last option and take my chances in court.
FOX: Well, dear friend, best of luck. It is time to part.
SOCRATES: Not before the final and tenth question. Remember, at the very beginning you thought that I was going to ask about the meaning of existence. Now we have discussed the past, the present and the future, we must return to this issue with the extra knowledge we have gained. “What for you is the meaning of life?”
FOX: I suppose it has to do with the reproduction of my species. That is my legacy. I have to protect my wife and children so that someday in some far distant country my several times great-grandchildren will carry on the foxy tradition.
SOCRATES: Yes, that is the meaning of life for me too. But I also want my idea of enquiry to persist in the minds of future generations.
FOX: In all probability, that will happen if you suffer the worst of all possible fates. Premature death will ensure eternal life for your idea.
SOCRATES: Your final remark, my dear friend, is – whether you intended it or not – a Socratic outcome. You are a ‘seer’ in the true meaning of the word. Not only do you see things more quickly than other