From Socrates to Stock

Socrates is a model for all philosophers, not only because he pursued the truth through rational argumentation, but because he did so uncompromisingly, even at the cost of his life.  And he was executed, not by religious authorities and not by a dictator, but by democratic, egalitarian, purportedly tolerant Athens.  This would lead his student Plato to warn us, in the Republic, that the unruly passions spawned by egalitarianism are by no means the friends of reason and philosophy.  Woke politics and cancel culture provide the latest confirmation of this thesis.

Prof. Kathleen Stock has for some time now been under siege from the spiritual heirs of Socrates’ persecutors.  She is a feminist and no conservative, but she has dared through rational analysis and argumentation to defend the proposition that the difference between the sexes is objectively real rather than a mere social construct, most recently in her book Material Girls.  Until about twenty minutes ago no one would have thought this controversial, but for the cultural revolutionaries seeking to take over our institutions, it merits hemlock.  The fanatics are now trying to get her fired, though so far her university is standing by her.

A number of UK philosophers have signed a letter of solidarity with her university in its determination to uphold her academic freedom.  They have done so not because they all agree with her, but because they have not forgotten what philosophy is.  It makes demands on our wills as well as our intellects, and in particular requires courage no less than wisdom.  Prof. Stock has exhibited both, and for that she deserves the respect and support of all true philosophers, whether they share her views or not.