Meet Tony. He's my student. He's about my age, and he's in San Quentin State Prison. When Tony was 16 years old, one day, one moment, "It was mom's gun. Just flash it, scare the guy. He's a punk. He took some money; we'll take his money. That'll teach him. Then last minute, I'm thinking, 'Can't do this. This is wrong.' My buddy says, 'C'mon, let's do this.' I say, 'Let's do this.'" And those three words, Tony's going to remember, because the next thing he knows, he hears the pop. There's the punk on the ground, puddle of blood. And that's felony murder -- 25 to life, parole at 50 if you're lucky, and Tony's not feeling very lucky.
Kilalanin natin si Tony. Mag-aaral ko siya. Kasing edad ko siya, at siya ay nasa San Quentin State Prison. Nang si Tony ay labing-anim na taong gulang, isang araw, sa isang kisapmata, "Kasalanan ito ng baril ni inay. Ilabas mo lang, bilang panakot. Maangas eh. Kumuha siya ng pera; kukunin din natin ang pera niya. Tuturuan natin siya ng leksyon. At sa mga huling sandali, sumagi sa isip ko, 'Hindi ko 'to pwedeng gawin. Mali ito.' Sabi ng utol ko, 'Tara na, gawin na natin 'to'. Sumagot ako, 'Gawin na natin.'" At ang tatlong salitang iyon, hindi malilimutan ni Tony, dahil sa isang iglap, nakarinig siya ng isang putok. Nakahandusay sa sahig ang mama, dumanak ang dugo. 'Yon ay mabigat na krimen -- 25 hanggang habambuhay, parole sa edad na 50 kung suswertehin, at hindi maramdaman ni Tony ang sinasabing suwerte.
So when we meet in my philosophy class in his prison and I say, "In this class, we will discuss the foundations of ethics," Tony interrupts me. "What are you going to teach me about right and wrong? I know what is wrong. I have done wrong. I am told every day, by every face I see, every wall I face, that I am wrong. If I ever get out of here, there will always be a mark by my name. I'm a convict; I am branded 'wrong.' What are you going to tell me about right and wrong?"
Kaya noong kami'y nagkita sa aking klase sa pilosopiya sa loob ng kanyang bilangguan at sinabi ko, "Sa klaseng ito, tatalakayin natin ang pundasyon ng etika," Sumabat si Tony. "Anong ituturo mo sakin tungkol sa tama at mali? Alam ko kung ano ang mali. Nakagawa ako ng mali. Pinapaalala sa akin araw-araw, ng bawat mukhang makikita, bawat pader, ako ay mali. Kung makaalis man ako dito, may dungis na sa aking pangalan. Isa akong convict; hinatulang 'nagkamali.' Anong ituturo mo sakin tungkol sa tama at mali?"
So I say to Tony, "Sorry, but it's worse than you think. You think you know right and wrong? Then can you tell me what wrong is? No, don't just give me an example. I want to know about wrongness itself, the idea of wrong. What is that idea? What makes something wrong? How do we know that it's wrong? Maybe you and I disagree. Maybe one of us is wrong about the wrong. Maybe it's you, maybe it's me -- but we're not here to trade opinions; everyone's got an opinion. We are here for knowledge. Our enemy is thoughtlessness. This is philosophy."
Sinabi ko kay Tony, "Patawad, ngunit mas malala ito kaysa sa inaasahan mo. Sa tingin mo alam mo kung ano ang tama at mali? Sige, kaya mo bang sabihin kung ano ang mali? Huwag mo akong bigyan ng halimbawa. Gusto kong malaman ang pagiging mali, ang konsepto ng mali. Ano ba ang konseptong 'yon? Ano ang nagpapamali sa isang bagay? Paano natin nalalaman na ito ay mali? Marahil ikaw at ako ay hindi magkasundo. Marahil ang isa sa atin ay mali sa inaakala nating mali. Marahil ikaw, marahil ako -- pero hindi ito ang panahon ng kuro-kuro; lahat ay may kuro-kuro. Andito tayo para sa karunungan. Ang kaaway natin ay ang kawalang-laman ng isip. Ganito ang pilosopiya."
And something changes for Tony. "Could be I'm wrong. I'm tired of being wrong. I want to know what is wrong. I want to know what I know." What Tony sees in that moment is the project of philosophy, the project that begins in wonder -- what Kant called "admiration and awe at the starry sky above and the moral law within." What can creatures like us know of such things? It is the project that always takes us back to the condition of existence -- what Heidegger called "the always already there." It is the project of questioning what we believe and why we believe it -- what Socrates called "the examined life." Socrates, a man wise enough to know that he knows nothing. Socrates died in prison, his philosophy intact.
At may nagbago kay Tony. "Maaring mali ako. Pagod na ako sa pagiging mali. Gusto kong malaman kung ano ang mali. Gusto kong alamin ang aking nalalaman." Ang nakita ni Tony sa sandaling iyon ay ang layunin ng pilosopiya, ang layuning nagsisimula sa pagkamangha -- na tinawag ni Kant na pagkahumaling at paghanga sa mga bituin sa langit at sa batas moral sa kalooban natin." Ano nga ba ang alam natin sa ganitong mga bagay? Ito ang layuning hinuhugot ang kakanyahan ng buhay -- na tinawag ni Heidegger bilang "ang bagay na palaging nariwan." Ito ang layuning pagtatanong sa pinaniniwalaan natin at kung bakit natin ito pinaniniwalaan -- na tinawag ni Sokrates bilang "ang buhay na siniyasat." Si Sokrates, napakatalino upang malaman na wala siyang alam. Namatay si Sokrates sa loob ng kulungan, buo ang paniniwala.
So Tony starts doing his homework. He learns his whys and wherefores, his causes and correlations, his logic, his fallacies. Turns out, Tony's got the philosophy muscle. His body is in prison, but his mind is free. Tony learns about the ontologically promiscuous, the epistemologically anxious, the ethically dubious, the metaphysically ridiculous. That's Plato, Descartes, Nietzsche and Bill Clinton.
Kaya sinimulan ni Tony ang kanyang takdang-aralin. Natutunan niya ang kanyang mga bakit at mga dahilan, mga sanhi at mga ugnayan ang lohika, at kasinungalingan. Nagkataon, si Tony pala ay may dugong pilosopo. Nasa bilangguan ang kanyang katawan, ngunit malaya ang kanyang kaisipan. Natutunan ni Tony ang mga bagay na "ontologically promiscuous," "epistemologically anxious," "ethically dubious," at "metaphysically ridiculous." 'Yan sila Plato, Descartes, Nietzsche at Bill Clinton.
So when he gives me his final paper, in which he argues that the categorical imperative is perhaps too uncompromising to deal with the conflict that affects our everyday and challenges me to tell him whether therefore we are condemned to moral failure, I say, "I don't know. Let us think about that." Because in that moment, there's no mark by Tony's name; it's just the two of us standing there. It is not professor and convict, it is just two minds ready to do philosophy. And I say to Tony, "Let's do this."
Kaya nang iniabot niya ang kanyang panghuling proyekto, kung saan iginiit niya na ang "categorical imperative" ay napakahirap baguhin upang solusyunan ang pang-araw-araw na suliranin at hinamon ako upang sabihin sa kanya na wala tayong magagawa kundi ang magkamali, sabi ko, "Hindi ko alam. Pag-isipan natin 'yan." Dahil sa pagkakataong iyon, walang dungis ang pangalan ni Tony; kaming dalawa lang ang nakatayo doon. Hindi bilang guro at bilanggo, kundi dalawang utak na handang mamilosopo. At sinabi ko kay Tony, "Gawin natin 'to."
Thank you.
Salamat.
(Applause)
(Palakpakan)