Damon Horowitz: Philosophy in prison

Translator: Alba Porrúa Reviewer: Adrián Levices Casal

Meet Tony. He's my student.

Este é Tony. É alumno meu.

He's about my age,

Ten a miña idade

and he's in San Quentin State Prison.

e está na prisión estatal de San Quentin.

When Tony was 16 years old,

Cando Tony tiña 16 anos,

one day, one moment,

un día, un momento,

"It was mom's gun.

"Era a pistola de mamá.

Just flash it, scare the guy. He's a punk.

Ensínaa, asustao. É un vándalo.

He took some money; we'll take his money. That'll teach him.

Colleu algo de diñeiro. Collerémoslle os cartos. Para que aprenda.

Then last minute, I'm thinking, 'Can't do this. This is wrong.'

Entón, no último minuto, penso: "Non podo facer isto. Isto está mal".

My buddy says, 'C'mon, let's do this.'

O meu amigo dime: "Veña, ímolo facer".

I say, 'Let's do this.'"

Eu digo: "Fagámolo".

And those three words, Tony's going to remember,

E Tony ha recordar esas tres palabras

because the next thing he knows, he hears the pop.

porque o seguinte que sabe é que escoita o disparo.

There's the punk on the ground, puddle of blood.

O vándalo está no chan, un regueiro de sangue.

And that's felony murder --

Un homicidio...

25 to life, parole at 50 if you're lucky,

De 25 anos a perpetua, condicional aos 50 se tes sorte.

and Tony's not feeling very lucky.

E Tony non é moi afortunado.

So when we meet in my philosophy class in his prison

Coñecímonos na miña clase de filosofía no seu cárcere

and I say, "In this class, we will discuss the foundations of ethics,"

presenteime: "Nesta clase, falaremos dos fundamentos da ética".

Tony interrupts me.

Tony interrómpeme.

"What are you going to teach me about right and wrong?

"Que me vas ensinar ti sobre o ben e o mal?"

I know what is wrong. I have done wrong.

Eu sei que é o mal. Eu fixen o mal.

I am told every day,

Dinmo todos os días,

by every face I see, every wall I face, that I am wrong.

en cada cara que vexo, cada muro que encontro, que fixen mal.

If I ever get out of here, there will always be a mark by my name.

Se algún día saio de aquí, sempre terei unha marca no meu nome.

I'm a convict; I am branded 'wrong.'

Son un recluso. Teño a etiqueta de malo.

What are you going to tell me about right and wrong?"

Que me vas contar sobre o ben e o mal?"

So I say to Tony,

E dígolle a Tony:

"Sorry, but it's worse than you think.

"Perdoa, pero é peor do que pensas.

You think you know right and wrong?

Pensas que coñeces o ben e o mal?

Then can you tell me what wrong is?

Entón, pódesme dicir que é o mal?

No, don't just give me an example.

Non te limites a darme un exemplo.

I want to know about wrongness itself, the idea of wrong.

Quero coñecer a maldade en si, a idea de mal.

What is that idea?

Cal é esa idea?

What makes something wrong?

Que é o que fai que algo sexa malo?

How do we know that it's wrong? Maybe you and I disagree.

Como sabemos que é malo? Se cadra non estamos de acordo.

Maybe one of us is wrong about the wrong.

Se cadra un de nós equivócase sobre o mal.

Maybe it's you, maybe it's me -- but we're not here to trade opinions;

Se cadra ti, se cadra eu... pero non estamos aquí para trocar opinións;

everyone's got an opinion.

todos temos unha opinión.

We are here for knowledge.

Estamos aquí para coñecer.

Our enemy is thoughtlessness. This is philosophy."

O noso inimigo é a irreflexión. Isto é filosofía".

And something changes for Tony.

E algo muda para Tony.

"Could be I'm wrong. I'm tired of being wrong.

"Pode ser que me equivoque. Estou farto de equivocarme.

I want to know what is wrong.

Quero saber o que está mal.

I want to know what I know."

Quero saber o que sei".

What Tony sees in that moment is the project of philosophy,

O que Tony ve nese momento é o proxecto da filosofía,

the project that begins in wonder --

o proxecto que comeza preguntándose

what Kant called "admiration and awe

o que Kant chamou "admiración e veneración

at the starry sky above and the moral law within."

ao ceo estrelado sobre min e a lei moral dentro de min".

What can creatures like us know of such things?

Que poden saber criaturas coma nós sobor estas cousas?

It is the project that always takes us back to the condition of existence --

É o proxecto que sempre nos retorna á condición de existencia...

what Heidegger called "the always already there."

o que Heidegger chamou "sempre xa".

It is the project of questioning what we believe and why we believe it --

É o proxecto de cuestionarse qué cremos e por qué o cremos...

what Socrates called "the examined life."

o que Sócrates chamou "a vida examinada".

Socrates, a man wise enough to know that he knows nothing.

Sócrates, un home sabio dabondo para saber que non sabe nada.

Socrates died in prison,

Sócrates morreu en prisión,

his philosophy intact.

a súa filosofía segue intacta.

So Tony starts doing his homework.

Tony comeza a facer os deberes.

He learns his whys and wherefores, his causes and correlations,

Aprende todos os detalles, as súas causas e correlacións,

his logic, his fallacies.

a súa lóxica e a súas falacias.

Turns out, Tony's got the philosophy muscle.

Resulta que Tony ten o músculo da filosofía.

His body is in prison, but his mind is free.

O seu corpo está no cárcere, pero a súa mente é libre.

Tony learns about the ontologically promiscuous,

Tony aprende o ontoloxicamente promiscuo,

the epistemologically anxious,

o epistemoloxicamente ansioso,

the ethically dubious, the metaphysically ridiculous.

o eticamente dubidoso e o metafisicamente ridículo.

That's Plato, Descartes, Nietzsche

É dicir, Platón, Descartes, Nietzsche

and Bill Clinton.

e Joel Clinton.

So when he gives me his final paper,

Cando me dá a súa redacción final,

in which he argues that the categorical imperative

na que argumenta que o imperativo categórico

is perhaps too uncompromising

quizáis sexa demasiado inflexible

to deal with the conflict that affects our everyday

para tratar co conflicto que afecta o noso día a día

and challenges me to tell him

e desafíame a contarlle

whether therefore we are condemned to moral failure,

se entón estamos condenados ao fracaso moral,

I say, "I don't know.

eu dígolle: "Non o sei.

Let us think about that."

Pensemos niso".

Because in that moment, there's no mark by Tony's name;

Porque nese momento, non hai marca no nome de Tony;

it's just the two of us standing there.

só somos ámbolos dous.

It is not professor and convict,

Non somos profesor e presidiario,

it is just two minds ready to do philosophy.

só somos dúas mentes listas para filosofar.

And I say to Tony,

E dígolle a Tony:

"Let's do this."

"Fagámolo".

Thank you.

Grazas.

(Applause)

(Aplausos)