What does a man who owns a gas station in the middle-of-nowhere Texas stand to lose with the flip of a coin? Is Death’s call inevitable or does chance determine whether he lives? The line, “You’ve been putting it up your whole life, you just didn’t know it,” has profound implications when we consider what we do and why we do it. The humanist knows he is putting up everything every day of his/her life and this life has purpose.
The man at the gas station deserves no better than a coin toss because he has forgotten the gift of life. He has failed in the one true philosophical principle that Socrates taught us and that it, “The Unexamined Life is Not Worth Living.” Philosophy is not about hair-splitting over pointless arguments about nothing. It is an endeavor of the mind to explore the uncharted areas of life where humanity can grow and thrive. The man in the gas station has one choice left—to live or die. Yet in reality, he has no choice. Death will find him, whether the coin says heads or tails. All he has to do is do what he’s been doing his whole life, and his ‘friendo’ will take care of the rest.