Ultimate Justice (32 page)

“I hear the philosopher,” Dave said as he put down a tray with burgers, fries and coffee. Bandi felt hungry. Dave placed a towering heap of bap, meat, cheese and trimmings in front of him.

“Wow! All that! It's twice as big as yours.”

“I know my limits,” smiled Dave. “Dive into the chips too. Now then, what's this you're saying about thinking?”

“He's just explaining that he sits and thinks while his brother and sister play football,” explained Abby.

“Go on,” urged her father.

“Well,” said Bandi tentatively, wondering how he was going to get his mouth around his food, “so many people take stuff for granted. But I reckon you can't. Life is such a fantastic thing, and being able to think about it like we do is so incredible too. How come such unlikely beings as us exist? Like, Kakko gets excited about the most up-to-date technology that makes engines go, but I think that the
people
who can work all that out are even more wonderful. I mean, a tractor engine can do just one thing but my mum can do so many different things. And she's wise too. She knows how to teach, and she's got this enormous patience. And my dad, he's blind, but he can do all sorts of things and knows how to make unhappy people happy. And then we love each other. I mean, what is
that
all about? What is love and where does it come from? And then there is all this about our being sent to places just at the right time, and…” Bandi stopped, embarrassed. “Sorry, I am rabbiting on, aren't I?”

“No. Not at all,” stated Dave emphatically, “I'm intrigued.”

Abby had not taken a bite of her burger. She just sat staring at her new friend.

“And how does all this thinking compare to computers?” asked Dave.

“Computers? Well, they do things. People made them. They don't provide answers themselves – that needs people.”

“Would you rather think about why things are as they are, or study computers?”

“Both. I have to think about things, I guess. But it's important to do something useful isn't it?”

“And asking about the ‘why' of things is not useful?”

“Not like making things or working with computers.”

“Do you know what I think, Bandi? I think you have the makings of a good philosopher.”

“A philosopher? I don't know what that is.”

“Don't you do any philosophy at school?” asked Abby. “Plato and stuff?”

“No. How would he?” replied her father. “Plato and philosophy is from
Earth
. It's
our
history. If this young man comes from a different planet then he's unlikely to have heard of Plato and the history of philosophy. His planet will have its own thinkers.”

“I suppose so. I was forgetting that. Bandi kind of feels so like us.”

“In many ways he is of course. He's human – just not from Earth. And his father and grandmother are from right here in Persham. The translation is very sophisticated and we can get the impression that he knows what we know.”

“Until he gets in a mess with a McDonald's,” laughed Abby as she watched Bandi struggle with his food. “You are allowed to use
both
hands,” she explained, “but you're not supposed to take it apart.”

Bandi laughed too. “It tastes great. What's it made of?”

“Dead cow… cheese (that's milk that someone's messed about with) and bread. Oh, and that green thing is a slice of gherkin. You don't have to eat that if you don't want to.” Abby never ate the gherkin.

“This is a special treat for days out. It is not recommended as everyday food, you understand Bandi,” stated Dave.

“Tell me about, what did you call him, ‘Play' something.”

“Play? Oh, You mean
Plato
. Better ask Dad.”

“
You
can explain, Abby.”

“Nah. I'll get it wrong. Dad's the expert here.”

“I am no expert but I
have
been reading philosophy a bit longer than Abby,” Dave said. “Plato was a teacher who loved wisdom – that's what the word ‘philosophy' means. It's Greek, as was Plato. He lived about two and a half thousand years ago and founded a special school in a place called Academia just north of Athens. Here he taught the philosophy of his teacher Socrates and contributed lots of his own ideas too.”

“He told a story about a cave,” put in Abby. “Tell Bandi about the cave.”

“Well, it's really all about what is the
real
and what is only a
shadow
of the real. Plato was asking questions about ‘goodness', and ‘beauty' and ‘justice'. Somehow we recognise these things. We have an instinct for what is good and what is not. Likewise we seem to know what is beautiful and what is ugly, and what is right and what is wrong. It's like there's a template of them outside of us that is eternal and universal. We can try and tell ourselves differently, try and convince ourselves that
we
can decide on what is right or wrong, good or bad and so on. We can even bring up our children to believe bad is good, but it doesn't work. If we try and adapt good and bad, or right and wrong, to suit ourselves then the world gets into a mess. So to Plato it seemed there were
ideal forms
of goodness and justice and beauty – real goodness, justice and beauty – that exist outside of us, outside of the everyday world we live in – somewhere that is eternal and perfect. But where are they? It's not somewhere we can naturally see directly.”

“It's like, we can only see the shadow of justice or goodness. Plato's true ‘forms' is the ultimate stuff – the real stuff, the original,” contributed Abby.

“That's right. Ordinary people living ordinary lives don't see the originals – the forms – only their shadows. But Plato reckoned that using reason to find the forms was better than seeing them, because our eyes often deceive us. We can work out what the ideal world must be like from contemplating all the reflections or shadows of the ideal we encounter. In our everyday lives we only get clues to the nature of the true forms. But every new clue helps us to have a better understanding of the ideal.” Bandi nodded. He was listening intently and was with the argument so far.

“So this is where the cave Abby is talking about comes in. It's as if we live in a cave, and all we can see are shadows of the true ‘forms' outside the cave shown up by firelight on its back wall. Most of the people inside the cave don't realise that they are only seeing shadows. They are tied down and under servitude to their masters inside the cave and do not contemplate leaving it. But occasionally someone – a thinking someone, a budding philosopher who asks questions about ‘why' and ‘how' – will not be satisfied with the cave existence and will free him or herself and leave the cave and begin to explore the real world outside. When they see the true forms, they will see immediately what the cave is all about. If the person with this new and more complete knowledge then goes back into the cave and tries to explain to the others what they are missing, the cave dwellers may mostly choose to ignore the wise person or even think them mad, and some of the masters will even see them as subversive. In their world he or she is, ‘upsetting the settled order of things and sowing seeds of discontent among the people', they may say. They may even attempt to silence them, intimidate them, disappear them and perhaps kill them. (That happened to Plato's teacher and friend, Socrates.) But some will listen, struggle free and get to leave the cave and travel into the real world where they, too, can explore what true goodness, true justice and true beauty are.”

“…and that true goodness, justice and beauty is the same wherever you are in the universe?” asked Bandi.

“Exactly! The ‘forms', as Plato calls them, are universal and eternal.”

“So I can explore that truth even from Joh.”

“From anywhere in the universe (or beyond it) because it doesn't belong to any one culture, or religion or school of thought – and it is not limited by space and time.”

“I like that. This is philosophy?”

“Plato's philosophy. Since then, there have been some really great strides in exploring the ultimate questions of life. From Plato's pupil Aristotle onwards we have been considering different fields of philosophy. There is ‘
metaphysics'
with questions like, ‘Who am I?' and ‘Do I have a purpose?' Then we have ‘
epistemology'
– asking questions about knowledge such as, ‘Can I know that things actually exist outside my imagination?' and ‘How do I know I am real myself?' And ‘
logic'
: ‘Can I deduce the truth of one thing from others?' and so on…”

“You've kind of lost me now,” sighed Bandi.

“Dad, don't try to sum up two and half thousand years in, like, one breath!” pleaded Abby. “Bandi, you've really set him off now. He's into his ‘big words'. He'll not stop all day!” she laughed.

“But I do want to understand. I want to know more about these philosophers.”

“There are books. Many books. Come on, finish up the rest of those fries and drink your coffee and we'll go into Waterstones and we'll see what they have. I always like to start people on
Sophie's World
by Jostein Gaarder.”

***

They went back onto Cornmarket Street and Abby took Bandi's arm and they followed her father into Broad Street.

“See, I told you computing was boring,” she whispered. They were too close, her father overheard.

“Not for
everyone
, Abby. Don't make generalised statements. That is not good philosophy!”

“I am not generalising,” she retorted. “I just know Bandi.”

“After two days?”

“Yes!”

“I think Abby is right,” agreed Bandi, “I mean about the computing. I have been going for what I could do as a job rather than what I most enjoy doing.”

“As a matter of fact
I
think she is right too – from what I have heard from you. But I would rather emphasise the positive. You may enjoy
philosophy
– but that doesn't exclude you from enjoying
computing
as well. I am afraid my daughter is prejudiced. And, as a rule, it is impolite to tell someone that their chosen way of life is ‘boring'. To say something is ‘boring' is a very subjective statement. Only young people can sometimes get away with being quite so subjective because people make allowances. When she gets a bit older, our Abigail will find herself in hot water, I fear… ah, here we are, this is Waterstones.”

Bandi was just amazed by all the books. There were floors of them – he had no idea how many. The shelves seemed to go on for ever. How Dave managed to navigate around and find the philosophy section he had no idea. He passed his hand along a shelf and, hey presto, there it was –
Sophie's World.

“It tells the story of a fifteen-year-old who explores the history of philosophy. She begins by asking some of those ultimate questions we were discussing earlier, and her teacher very wisely explains in a very simple way how the philosophers through the ages came up with some answers – and, of course, the new questions those answers themselves raise. There are always new questions. I think you'll enjoy it. It will give me pleasure to get this for you.”

“Dad will pay -”

“I wouldn't hear of it. No. It's a present.”

“Wow. Thanks. This is great.” Bandi opened it up at the first page. “Oh dear, it's all in English.”

“Of course. What language would you like?”

“No Earthly one.”

“No. I guess not.”

“Nan would be able to read it, though. If she read it aloud it might translate – like we are doing now. And Dad and Nan had to learn Johian from nothing. They might even be able to translate it themselves. Mum's own language, Wanulkan, is completely different but she managed too. They're clever. I don't think I could do what they have done.”

“You could,” said Dave. “If you came to live here you would learn quickly enough. But philosophy has its own language in any case. It's quite an exact discipline. Properly understanding the words in the way the philosophers meant them is the key to grasping their concepts. Words in common use are not so exact in their meaning, and their common meanings today are sometimes different from what they used to be, so even people who speak English as their mother tongue have to spend time learning the vocabulary. That is often the hardest part for them because the common meaning of the word keeps getting in the way.”

“I know that,” said Abby. “It's like when Plato uses the word ‘form' or ‘ideal'. It's like a new language. Grandma says ‘ideal' reminds her of ‘Ideal Milk', which has nothing to do with philosophy.”

“Yes, Abby. It took you a bit to get that didn't it?”

“Not
so
long, Dad!” exclaimed Abby colouring.

“No. Not so long,” agreed Dave hastily, “but some people never cotton on at all and that's difficult for us. I mean us clergy and people who want to do some disciplined thinking. They can think we're being deliberately difficult. But don't get me on to that…”

“Dad got told off by the leader of the Ladies' Guild last year,” whispered Abby in a confidential tone, “for using big words, and he's still annoyed…”

“Abby!” It was her dad's turn to blush. “She wasn't willing to take the trouble to understand… I doubt
you
will have any problem, Bandi.”

“I want to learn. I want to learn more words. Words are so interesting. They go back into history and the way they change their meaning sometimes tells us something.”

“Hold old did you say you are?”

“Fourteen.”

“Fourteen and already an intellectual. Your years on Planet Joh must be longer than ours.”

“No. They are the universal standard years. Dad says they are based on the Earth One year. A year for us isn't related to anything to do with our planet. I get Dad to tell me about Earth sometimes. He never told me about philosophy though. There seem to be so many books!” said Bandi scanning the shelves.