Damon Horowitz: Philosophy in prison

Translator: Katarína Kondrótová Reviewer: Martin Francis Gilbert Máik

Meet Tony. He's my student.

Zoznámte sa s Tonym. Je to môj študent.

He's about my age,

Je približne v mojom veku,

and he's in San Quentin State Prison.

a je v štátnej väznici San Quentin.

When Tony was 16 years old,

Keď mal Tony 16

one day, one moment,

jedného dňa, v jeden moment,

"It was mom's gun.

"Bola to mamina zbraň.

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

Len ju rýchlo ukáž, vystraš toho chlapa. Je to chudák.

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

Zobral naše prachy, tak my vezmeme jeho. Nech sa poučí.

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

A v poslednej minúte si poviem, 'Toto nemôžem urobiť. Je to zlé.'

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

V to môj kamoš povedal, 'Poď, ideme do toho.'

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

Odvetím, 'Hej, ideme do toho.' "

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

Tieto slová si Tony zapamätá,

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

pretože ďalšia vec, ktorú začuje, je tresk.

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

Grázel leží na zemi v mláke krvi.

And that's felony murder --

To je ťažký zločin vraždy --

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

od 25 rokov po doživotie; prepustenie v 50-ke, ak máš šťastie,

and Tony's not feeling very lucky.

a Tony sa teda necíti zrovna šťastne.

So when we meet in my philosophy class in his prison

Keď sme sa teda stretli na hodine filozofie v tejto väznici

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

a ja som povedal, "Na dnešnej hodine si povieme niečo o základoch etiky,"

Tony interrupts me.

Tony ma prerušil.

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

"Čo chcete učiť o tom, čo je správne a čo nie?

I know what is wrong. I have done wrong.

Ja viem, čo je zlé. Urobil som niečo také.

I am told every day,

Hovoria mi to každý deň,

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

každá tvár, ktorú vidím, každá stena, pri ktorej stojím, všetko vraví, že som zlý.

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

Ak sa niekedy dostanem von, na mojom mene ostane stopa.

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

Som odsúdenec; som označený ako 'zlý.'

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

Čo ma teda chcete nauči o dobrom a zlom?"

So I say to Tony,

Odvetil som mu,

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

"Prepáč, obávam sa, že je to horšie, než si myslíš.

You think you know right and wrong?

Myslíš si, že poznáš zlo a dobro?

Then can you tell me what wrong is?

Že mi môžeš povedať, čo je zlé?

No, don't just give me an example.

Nie, nechcem počuť príklad.

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

Chcem vedieť o zle ako takom; chcem podstatu nesprávnosti.

What is that idea?

Čo je tá podstata?

What makes something wrong?

Čo činí niečo nesprávnym?

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

Ako vieme, že je to zlé? Možno by sme sa ty a ja nezhodli.

Maybe one of us is wrong about the wrong.

Je možné, že jeden z nás nemá pravdu o tom nesprávnom.

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

Možno si to ty, možno som to ja -- ale nie sme tu, aby sme si vymieňali názory;

everyone's got an opinion.

každý má nejaký názor.

We are here for knowledge.

Sme tu kvôli vedomostiam.

Our enemy is thoughtlessness. This is philosophy."

Naším nepriateľom je bezmyšlienkovitosť. Toto je filozofia."

And something changes for Tony.

Vtedy sa pre Tonyho niečo zmenilo.

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

"Možno nemám pravdu. Už som z toho unavený.

I want to know what is wrong.

Chcem vedieť, čo je zlé.

I want to know what I know."

Chcem vedieť, čo vlastne viem."

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

Tony v tom momente uvidel plán filozofie;

the project that begins in wonder --

plán, ktorý začína zázrakom --

what Kant called "admiration and awe

niečím, čo Kant popísal ako "obdiv a úžas

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

nad hviezdnou oblohou nad nami a morálnym právom v nej."

What can creatures like us know of such things?

Čo môžu bytosti ako my vedieť o niečom takom?

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

Je to plán, ktorý nás vždy dovedie späť ku podmienkam existencie --

what Heidegger called "the always already there."

to, čo Heidegger nazýval "tým, čo tam už je."

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

Je to plán otázok ohľadom toho, v čo veríme a prečo v to veríme --

what Socrates called "the examined life."

to, čo Sokrates popisoval ako "preskúmaný život."

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

Sokrates, muž, ktorý bol dostatočne múdry na to, aby vedel že nevie nič.

Socrates died in prison,

Sokrates umrel vo väzení,

his philosophy intact.

s neporušenou filozofiou.

So Tony starts doing his homework.

Tony teda začal pracovať na svojej domácej úlohe.

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

Rozmýšľal o svojom prečo a načo, svojich príčinách a spojitostiach,

his logic, his fallacies.

svojej logike, svojich mylných predstavách.

Turns out, Tony's got the philosophy muscle.

Vysvitlo, že Tony má talent na filozofiu.

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

Jeho telo je uväznené, no myseľ je voľná.

Tony learns about the ontologically promiscuous,

Tony sa učí o ontologickej rôznorodosti,

the epistemologically anxious,

gnozeologickej dychtivosti,

the ethically dubious, the metaphysically ridiculous.

etickej pochybnosti, metafyzikálnej komickosti.

That's Plato, Descartes, Nietzsche

Je to Platón, Descartes, Nietzsche

and Bill Clinton.

a Bill Clinton.

So when he gives me his final paper,

Keď mi odovzdal svoju prácu,

in which he argues that the categorical imperative

v ktorej obhajoval kategorický imperatív

is perhaps too uncompromising

ako zrejme príliš nekompromisný,

to deal with the conflict that affects our everyday

aby sa vysporiadal s konfliktmi, ktoré ovplyvňujú náš každodenný život,

and challenges me to tell him

a nabádal ma, aby som mu povedal,

whether therefore we are condemned to moral failure,

či sme tým pádom odsúdení k morálnemu zlyhaniu,

I say, "I don't know.

povedal som, "Neviem.

Let us think about that."

Porozmýšľajme o tom."

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

V tom momente pri Tonyho mene nebola nijaká značka;

it's just the two of us standing there.

boli sme tam len my dvaja.

It is not professor and convict,

Nie profesor a trestanec,

it is just two minds ready to do philosophy.

len dve mysle, pripravené na filozofovanie.

And I say to Tony,

Povedal som Tonymu,

"Let's do this."

"Poďme do toho."

Thank you.

Ďakujem vám.

(Applause)

(Potelsk)