NOTES 57
must observe and analyse contradiction in the social structure and civil order far ahead of time of other professionals, for it is only the philosopher who is equipped to act before others follow to resolve the contradiction. In this philosophical endeavour, then, a philospher's loyalty does not rest in seeking security and continuation of an established order, since all laws are subject to change.
II
It has often been said about Socrates, the great radical-activist philosopher, that he was an upholder of the authority of Law as ultimate, "because he refused to escape from his death-cell and accepted punishment by the law he defied. This interpretation of Socrates's action is questionable. It seems that he was aware of historical significance of his persecution and wished a defiant confrontation with tLe decadent, hence ruthless oppressive socio-political structure. He was, then, quite an aged man ; he specifically told the Jury that if they did not let him die a naturaljdeatb, history will condemn the State, and the youth will draw inspiration from his martyrdom. He knew that even if he escaped, he would eventually be caught and murdered along with his supporters. And his assassination on escape would > have become more justifiable. I wonder if any historian of the Greek philosophy has ever pondered the hypothesis :
What a Socrates could have done in his death-cell when offered a chance to escape, if he were 20, 30, or 40 years of age ? Certainly, the matter is only of conjecture. But I do not find any example of a young activist philosopher who accepted guillotine because of his love for the law of Authority. Perhaps, Jesus can be cited as an exception who was below 40 when hanged with due legal process. But then j he too did not climb the cross willingly, and he was never offered a chance i to escape. He, too, had seen the significance of his martyrdom for his movement. He did not^ ask his disciples to surrender to that JIigh authority of the Law. And he was aware that the movement was infil- ^ trated by the FBI agents of that time.
Ill
We cannot be certain, then, why the most professional philosophers do not take part in socio-political issues as Socrates did. Perhaps, it is their conception of philosophy or it may be their sense of uncertainty, Bertrand Russell once remarked that for the learning of every virtue tEere fs'an appropriate discipline, and for the learning of suspended judgement the best discipline is philosophy. But then, Russell also had a dream of hell which he described :
There is a peculiarly painful chamber inhabited solely by philosophers who have refuted Hume, These philosophers, though in Hell, have not learned wisdom. They continue to be governed by their animal propensity toward induction. But every time that