Arrested Development and Philosophy_ They've Made a Huge Mistake - Kristopher G. Phillips [4]
NOTE
1. Who would have guessed that a philosophy education could be used to edit a book on the Bluths?
PART ONE
FAMILY FIRST
Chapter 1
IS THE EXAMINED LIFE A HUGE MISTAKE?
Happiness, Self-Knowledge, and the Bluths
Jason Southworth and Ruth Tallman
Ignorance is bliss—or is it? While you hear that little nugget of folk wisdom fairly often, some people desire the truth regardless of the repercussions. On the side of ignorance, George Michael decides not to tell Maeby that she’s adopted (she’s really not) because he thinks she is happier believing she is her parents’ biological child.1 Michael chooses not to tell George Michael that he slept with his ethics teacher (after George Michael professed his love for Ms. Barely), because George Michael is happier not knowing.2 Yet, on the side of truth, George Sr. escapes from a Mexican prison only to go home to verify his wife’s relationship with his brother.3 So what makes us happier, ignorance or knowledge?
For centuries, analrapists and philosophers have come down on the side of knowledge. I mean, we philosophers really need to know the truth (about everything!); we need to know so badly that we even need you to need to know. If you don’t, we’re unhappy. On the other side of the debate is. . . basically everyone else. Sure, when we’re feeling uncharitable we’ll point to the MR. Fs and “moron jocks” (Steve Holt (!)) who prefer ignorance, but when we’re being fair, philosophers will admit that there are plenty of smart people who seem to think we’re wrong about self-knowledge being the key to happiness. Since there are no smart people on television, let’s take the Bluths as our guides in reconsidering whether ignorance really is bliss.
The Life of Arrested Development Is Not Worth Living
Plato (428/427 bce–348/347 bce) is the most famous proponent of the view that self-awareness is the hallmark of a happy person. In his account of the trial and death of his mentor, Socrates (c. 469 bce–399 bce), Plato depicts a man who thought pursuing the truth about himself, others, and the world was the most important thing anybody could ever do—indeed, that it was worth dying for (would any member of the Bluth family do that?). Socrates spent his life trying to convince those around him to reflect on their lives and on their values, and to think critically about the kinds of people they were. This comes through clearly in his rebuke of the accusers at his trial: “Are you not ashamed that you give your attention to acquiring as much money as possible, and similarly with reputation and honour, and give no attention or thought to truth and understanding and the perfection of your soul?”4
Socrates’s actions made him an enemy of many in Athens (no one likes to be told they’re behaving badly). Despite the lack of support, and outright hostility of many, Socrates continued to reflect on his own life and urged others to do the same, saying, “Examining both myself and others is really the very best thing that a man can do, and that life without this sort of examination is not worth living.”5 Eventually, the people of Athens had enough and gave Socrates a choice—stop with the philosophy or face the death penalty. If this seems like an awfully strict punishment, you might not realize just how obnoxious Socrates could be.
Facing death, he had this to say: “You are mistaken, my friend, if you think that a man who is worth anything ought to spend his time weighing up the prospects of life and death. He has only one thing to consider in performing any action; that is, whether he is acting justly or unjustly, like a good man or a bad one.”6 Socrates would say that Gob’s worries about the next illusion, Lindsay’s worries about finding a suitable partner in adultery, and Tobias’s fears of being nude all fail to consider what is really important. Our crucial concern should always come down to one question: Am I being moral?
Socrates