Critchley talks about philosophers as a sort of anarchic force in society. Those that seek to destroy the status quo by their systematic non-conformance to its norms. We see here disruptive figures who might seem eccentric – as the story of Thales and his silly fall into the well suggests– and even alien compared to the usual personalities we are accustomed to. Their thoughts, words, and actions are unsettling especially for those of us who have spent our whole lives finding comfort in the traditions of society. Most people, including myself, have been conditioned to abide by certain rules that we forget - or we aren't even aware - that everything we have come to know and love is in fact shaped by powerful institutions that have risen – time and time again – from the ashes of history. The victors of it, in fact, as the cliché goes. With this in mind I think it is safe to ponder that what we were taught – what we are being taught – is not absolute. It’s certainly not objective and therefore should be taken with a grain of salt. This notion is frightening to most of us, perhaps because it has been given the label of “Marxist” by friends and foes alike. A term that immediately translates into rugged men in the mountains with dangerous arms and even more dangerous ideas coming to wreak havoc on the peaceful, God-fearing, towns that we happily reside in. How different are these philosophers from them? They preach the same idea of revolution after all – going against the status quo in whatever way can still be seen as a revolutionary. Wouldn’t it be better to just keep these seditious men from preaching their insidious ideas to the innocent citizens of society?
The idea of change will forever be frightening to mankind. We are the same animals who chose to put up huts – and eventually castles and skyscrapers – to settle in while the rest of the so-called beasts hunted from place to place in their fight for survival. But change is a fact of life that we are subject to, no matter how much we resist. It's just that it has become part our nature to seek stability in all things, a sort of constant reassurance that no leopard would to prey on us. A beautiful house, a nice car, a loving family. Things that fall under the American dream – a dream a lot more universal than they think - those are what we aspire for. And while all of that is fine and dandy there is, believe it or not, a danger in this comfort we find in them. We are so deeply caught up in the pursuit of society’s ideal life that we don’t see anything wrong with the society itself. After all playing by its rules will help us achieve these goals so why rebel against them. We are so unaware of the flaws and injustices in our society that we feel so uneasy when someone tries to point them out. When some gadfly pricks us in the ass and tells us there’s something wrong with it we scream “that's unpatriotic! that’s communist! that’s treason!” The things we repeat to ourselves in response to our cognitive dissonance. But the fact of matter is…well that is right. The treason part at least. These philosophers are treacherous to the sacred cows of society. They are the ones who betray the established orders so that we could be enlightened about what’s really happening in the world. So that we can distance ourselves, even for a while, and look at society as an outsider would do, as these philosophers actually do. It is quite difficult to see a picture when our eyes are intensely glued to it.
The idea that philosophy seeks to spread anarchy in society is a misconstrued one. It is not so much about destroying the status quo but pointing out how it is so unyieldingly solid. That, to us, it seems as if it is an immovable giant. A giant that ironically enough we cannot even see . A giant that we must obey. Philosophers are the mosquitoes of the world. The little pests who seek to spread the contagious and fatal disease of critical thinking and questioning. They are the nuisance in society that try to pester the "gentle" giants. The swarm that attacks the elephants so that we may be reminded that it is just another animal. An animal, just like us, who are subject to errors and slaves to change.
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