episode_0024

“Ugh. Actually, I’ve been really upset that the students have been captivated by the playwright called Phantom.”

Professor Prunel shook his shoulders, wiping away the tears that were welling up in his eyes.

“I thought he was a fool who corrupted the souls of young people and led them away from a pure way of life. He led students to worthless and unwholesome pleasures while turning their eyes away from what they should truly learn.”

Then he held up the so that everyone could see it and solemnly shouted:

“But a book he wrote himself. This dialogue lifted my soul to a higher level. Oh, I finally realized. Phantom was not just a great writer, but a great sage. He was a true intellectual of this era.”

Awareness of one’s own ignorance and a thirst for correct wisdom.

The quest for objective essence and truth that everyone can universally agree on.

The pursuit of virtue, which is more important than wealth, status, and fame, and which even death cannot stop.

Professor Prunel spoke with emotion as he recited, one by one, all the views that established Socrates as a great philosopher.

“So, all of this month’s assignments and quizzes will be replaced with reading this dialogue and writing a book report. As a proud Brontë cadet, please diligently interpret the profound intellect of Socrates and the phantom who created him.”

“Dialogue? The Phantom writer wrote a book?”

“Crazy? Running straight to the bookstore as soon as class ends.”

“Wow, is it true that I have to change my schedule today? Wasn’t it already sold out when I went to the bookstore?”

Students prepare to compete to buy the book as soon as they hear news of Phantom’s publication.

Even among close friends, the fierce battle of wits is reminiscent of a battlefield on the day of course registration.

Professor Prunel, who was looking around the atmosphere, suddenly made a bold declaration.

“Hey, class is canceled! Today’s class is canceled! So everyone, go buy Phantom’s dialogue log! It’s much better to read the dialogue log once than to study political history 100 times!”

… … Is that something a professor of political history should say?

Regardless of my dismay, when the announcement was made that classes would be canceled, the students rushed to their seats.

“Get out of the way! I’m coming first!”

“Don’t push me, you punk!”

“Wow! It’s grabbing the hair?!”

Students running outside in a rush, screaming.

During that gap, Morris and I also somehow managed to escape Professor Prunel’s classroom.

That was the day when the was distributed to all the Academy cadets and the reading report based on it was submitted to Professor Prunel.

“What the heck?!”

I got a C- for the assignment because I didn’t make enough effort to understand the genius of the author of .

As expected, Morris took home an A+.

No, I am the author myself. How can I understand genius and have self-esteem?

“Eww, Tess-hyung-!!”

Even during cosplay competitions! What on earth is going on in the world!

A drama written by the great writer Phantom himself, .

It sold like hotcakes in every bookstore across the capital.

A dialogue that is easier to read than other philosophical books thanks to Plato’s literary talent.

Adding Phantom’s meticulous review and adaptation to it greatly increases readability and fun.

Of course, not everyone recognized the true value of from the beginning.

When first read, readers were bound to tilt their heads because of its unique philosophical difficulty.

… … But the Leslie drama is a book and a play at the same time.

[Great priestess of Delphi. Is there anyone in Athens wiser than Socrates?]

[No. There is no one in Athens who is truly wiser than Socrates.]

The buyers naturally divided up their roles and began to demonstrate the contents of themselves.

Some sit on the sofa at home, some face each other, and some gather in a cafe.

I took turns experiencing the lives of philosophers, almost like a psychodrama for psychotherapy.

And in the process, people’s thoughts began to deepen.

Socrates visits the so-called wise men of Athens and tests their wisdom.

People were becoming increasingly fascinated by the old philosopher, who seemed to only nitpick.

“Is there no one wiser than Socrates?”

“At first I just laughed it off, but what exactly does this mean?”

“How strange. Is it such a great wisdom to simply know that you don’t know?”

The knowledge of ignorance that Socrates has consistently argued for.

This is by no means to say that humans are stupid and ignorant.

On the contrary, it was closer to a stimulus that encouraged the listener’s metacognitive ability.

A paradox or aporia (ἀπορία) that occurs through repeated questions and answers and leads to self-contradiction.

Because that was the absolute prerequisite and soil for obtaining true knowledge.

[Dear citizens of Athens, the unexamined life is truly a life not worth living.]

Socrates called himself the back of the beast called Athens.

The speech that awakens the power of thought has a unique name: midwifery.

The rational ability that humans are born with to seek truth.

I believed it was my mission to annoy and harass others so that they would become aware of this.

And that sense of mission was working in a medieval world that was completely different from the ancient Greece where Socrates lived.

[After the execution, a punishment heavier than the one I received awaits you.]

[If you think you can stop a life of immorality by killing someone, you are very mistaken.]

[Because a good life comes from mastering yourself, not suppressing others.]

An old, bald philosopher who is willing to die for his beliefs.

The shock of his act of perfecting philosophy by willingly drinking poison was almost sensational.

People were greatly impressed by the life of a philosopher who took good care of his soul and cultivated himself.

When he finally came to his end, everyone felt an indescribable emotion.

[Take care of your soul. Communicate with your soul. That is the beginning of the rational self.]

And that emotion soon led to a wave of intelligence that wanted to personally emulate the teachings of Socrates.

A philosophy that paradoxically stagnated in development because it was a fantasy world where the existence of God had been proven.

The gears of thought that had stopped rusting slowly rolled along with a drop of oil.

An academic discipline that had been unable to shine in the shadow of theology has finally begun to emerge.

“The virtue that Socrates spoke of. Does it come from nature or from learning?”

“Does true goodness come from the nature of human beings? Or is it bestowed by the gods?”

“What are the universal values that humans should pursue?”

The seeds of thought gather and gather to form a giant flower petal.

From the beginning, what Socrates wanted was simply to have people ‘philosophize directly’.

And the drama of the Legere was performing that function well enough.

Thanks to , more and more people have joined the search for universal truth.

By expanding the discussion of right and wrong, we have laid the foundation for a world that will develop further.

Literally, Phantom unleashed a philosophical craze on this world.

… … But behind this craze, there was also an unexpected ‘side effect’ to Phantom.

“Ah, as expected, this is the dialogue of the Phantom writer. The more I chew on it, the more the taste changes. Thanks to the wisdom of Socrates, I feel like the depths of my heart are being purified?”

“Right? It wasn’t for nothing that I was recommended as a candidate for the Warrior of the Pen. I definitely don’t regret the reputation of being a great writer.”

A tribute to an Academy student who performed a reggae drama with a friend in his dorm room.

As he slams the book cover shut, his friend also gives him a thumbs up in agreement.

The cadet, who had been pouring his tea while enjoying the afterglow of his thoughts for a moment, suddenly opened his mouth.

“But, to borrow the expression from the dialogue, isn’t that what the Phantom writer is after all? A person who demonstrates ‘excellence’ that no one can match in the field of playwriting.”

“Yeah, of course. Who else but Phantom could dare to boast of being excellent at writing plays? Honestly, wouldn’t it be blasphemous to call the author of Phantom a god of creation?”

“Yeah. But you know. If there are objective and universal values in the world, then there must be objectively superior or inferior differences in the products of someone’s excellence, right?”

“Yeah. I guess so. But why?”

“If that’s really true, aren’t you curious?”

The academy cadet smiles slyly as he looks at his friend who is nodding his head.

Then he suddenly got up from where he was sitting and gave his friend a friendly shoulder rub.

“Of all the Phantom scripts of all time, which one is objectively the most valuable?”

Philosophy, by its very nature, tends to give rise to arbitrary interpretations by those who learn it.

Socrates’ ideology of seeking objective truth was distorted in a somewhat strange direction.

As I was discussing the concept of universal validity in a clumsy manner, my instinct to judge the superiority of things suddenly came alive.

And the cadets weren’t the only ones caught up in that fucking instinct.

“The objectively best work? Ah, that’s it. Isn’t that right, my wise and wonderful friend?”

“Hehehe, right? That’s exactly what I’m thinking right now, right?”

“Hey, we’re best friends after all! We can communicate telepathically without even speaking! So when we count to three, we speak at the same time?”

“One, two, three!”

“Admiral Lee!”

“Julius Caesar!”

“… … Huh?”

“… … Huh?”

Two friends stare blankly at each other at their different answers.

The two of them, who had been keeping their distance from each other and looking at each other with displeasure, began to argue.

“Hey! Phantom’s greatest masterpiece is Julius Caesar, how is it Admiral Lee? Where is there a work that deals with the rise and fall of a man as precisely as Julius Caesar?”

“What are you saying? Of course, Admiral Lee is objectively better! This is a masterpiece that tragically melts the nobility of loyalty that does not break even in the face of injustice!”

“Honestly, Admiral Lee is so unrealistically noble! On the other hand, Caesar is a realistic character with human charm. Can’t you see the vivid observation of the Phantom writer’s human psychology reflected in this?”

“To express a theme, you have to know how to use unrealistic elements appropriately! Rather, thanks to that romantic expressiveness, you can convey the message to the audience much more intuitively and clearly!”

It was just then.

Rattling!

“Why are you guys so noisy? What are you guys arguing about?”

At that moment, the student’s roommate, who had just finished attending the lecture, opened the door and returned.

When he made a trembling expression while looking at the blushing faces of the other, the two friends, thinking this was the moment, quickly requested support fire.

“Hey, Johannes! You must have read the dialogues, so let me ask you! If we can objectively rank the superiority of values, which of the Phantom works is the best in a universally valid sense?”

“What do you have to ask? Of course it’s Admiral Lee! Whether it’s in terms of creativity or entertainment, it’s a perfect play, right?”

“Damn, Julius Caesar! When approached from a humanistic perspective, there are few narratives that give as much high-level impression as Caesar?”

“Admiral Lee!”

“Julius Caesar!”

“… … What are you two talking about?”

The two friends start fighting again without even waiting for their roommate’s response.

My roommate, who had been looking at me with a bewildered expression, touched the frame of his glasses and chimed in.

“Honestly, isn’t Exodus the best work objectively? The author Phantom wrote it and was nominated for the Warrior of the Pen? Where do the works that didn’t even have similar records compare?”

“Hah?!”

“Huh!?”

… … The war to determine superiority thus deteriorated from a fierce two-way battle into an even tighter three-way battle.

Since ancient times, the best specialty of a jerk has been the act of taking the teachings of adults and twisting them as one pleases.

Didn’t the thoughts of Jesus, Buddha, and Confucius, who are called the four greatest saints of the world, follow a similar path?

Jesus’ agape was distorted and Protestant Christianity was born.

The idea of full possession was born through a misinterpretation of the emptiness of Shakyamuni.

Just as the Confucian Taliban was born by distorting Confucius’s doctrine of cause and effect.

In this world, extreme philanderers who distorted the beliefs of Socrates were born.

Meanwhile, at the same time.

An old laboratory covered in dust.

“… … The wisdom of knowing nothing!”

A flask filled with boiling medicine and stacks of research documents.

An old man was muttering as he closed the right in front of him.

His true identity is a veteran alchemist belonging to the Alchemy Guild.

He was a seasoned man who had grown old, raised numerous disciples, and achieved some impressive feats.