Yesterday on Netflix I stumbled upon a 2022 Spanish teen drama entitled “Merlí: Sapere Aude“. The original use of the phrase Sapere aude appears in the First Book of Letters (20 BC) by the Roman poet Horace: “Dimidium facti, qui coepit, habet; sapere aude, incipe” He who has begun is half done; dare to know; begin! The phrase is the moral to a story in which a fool waits for a stream to cease flowing before attempting to cross it.
What immediately attracted me to the series was the study of philosophy at university, not a normal choice yet one I had made when 18 years of age at Glendon Hall, Toronto. The grip of the show was assured when the philosophy teacher in the film acknowledged frankly that the best the student of philosophy can hope for is to become a professor of philosophy. Almost 60 years ago it was for me as well an abrupt clarity which – much I am sure to my father’s relief – inspired me to get a trade; and, thus I pursued a Doctor of Law at Dalhousie University, Halifax.
My attention to the drama was sustained by the obvious effort of the script writers to invoke the students to think clearly for themselves, to break free from self-imposed immaturity and tradition, to seek understanding through their own intellect. It was an unmistakeable call for intellectual bravery, challenging people to question, think independently and form their own opinions rather than relying on others. There were parenthetically – though most certainly by design – equally conspicuous attacks upon the American Republican politician Donald J. Trump. The corruption ensured the vitality of the drama as current and applicable.
Often the only comment old people make of the young is their bad driving habits. Otherwise all else is dismissed as, “What is to become of them!” While I agree young people are often offensive drivers, I accept however a more profitable regard for where they are going. Some themes – such as those related to marriage and sexuality – are disturbing for old people; but in many other respects the changing “philosophy” of the young is welcome, more all-inclusive, less isolating, more charitable.
A further corollary of the series is its identification of the importance of stimulating our youth to think clearly and generously. It is a duty not to be ignored. Very often parents attach both themselves and their children to identical bulwarks of cultural meaning without examining the details. It was a confrontation (and an illumination) I similarly addressed for the first time at law school when I took a brief course in comparative law.
Comparative law is the study of differences and similarities between the law and legal systems of different countries. More specifically, it involves the study of the different legal systems (or “families”) in existence around the world, including common law, civil law, socialist law, Canon law, Jewish Law, Islamic law, Hindu law and Chinese law. It includes the description and analysis of foreign legal systems, even where no explicit comparison is undertaken. The importance of comparative law has increased enormously in the present age of internationalism and economic globalization.
It is no longer uncommon to imagine that the entire globe may one day be governed by a “family” of laws which are universally the same – as, in my opinion, they already are in many respects. The excision of racial and religious prerogatives from a legal system goes far to broaden inclusion and clarity. But this may be a hope distantly expressed in the Star Wars film of another era yet unreached.
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