You barely have time to contemplate this question when three people come running up. “, you are finally awake!” the tallest of them shouts. “What a relief. What should we do?”
“Brutus!” admonishes the short person. “At least ask about well-being!” Turning to you, the woman asks, “Are you hurt? Do you know where you are?”
Bewildered, you reply, “Aside from a headache that seems to be fading, I think I am fine. I think I am on the campus of Theoretic-ville College. But I don’t know what is going on, nor do I know who you are!”
“Well,” the woman replies, “My name is Cognita and this is Brutus and Perplexia. There aren’t that many of us left from our village. Like you, none of us remember what happened to the city or how and why we survived. What we do know is that we are fighting for survival. We need to rebuild our society. We are trying to figure out how to form our society, but it seems we have come to an impasse of wills!
“Impasse?” Brutus scoffs. “We would be fine if you would just agree to follow my lead. Might makes right! We should reform ourselves as a warrior clan and conquer all those who dare to tread on our ground. No need to debate or think. Let’s get moving!”
“Hold on, Brutus! That just doesn’t seem right.” counters Perplexia. “I don’t think brute force is the answer, but I don’t know what is. I’m perplexed!”
“Well, the answer to all of life’s dilemmas surely can be solved with simple logic,” says Cognita. “There must be a mathematical formula we can apply. Let’s think.”
“We’re wasting time!” shouts Brutus.
“Let me think!” screams Cognita.
“Stop the yelling!” yells Perplexia.
This is a nightmare, you think as the voices swirl around you. Surely brute force could not form a society. While logic was a sensible answer, you do not think that it alone would be enough to deal with the moral and ethical dilemmas that accompany forming a society. You intuitively know that the group needs a certain type of philosophical knowledge in order to embark on this journey of rebuilding. The problem is, for the life of you, you cannot seem to remember any of this knowledge. It is tickling at the back of your mind, but is just out of scratching reach. As you try to think and the others continue to shout, the sky is growing overcast. As darkness settles in, the small group quiets down and glumly looks at each other in despair.
