Philosopher or Philosorapter?

In a New York Times opinion piece titled, "What Is a Philosopher?" Simon Critchley discusses Socrates' tale of when Thales:

"was looking so intently at the stars that he fell into a well. Some witty Thracian servant girl is said to have made a joke at Thales' expense — that in his eagerness to know what went on in the sky he was unaware of the things in front of him and at his feet. Socrates adds, in Seth Benardete's translation, 'The same jest suffices for all those who engage in philosophy.'

What is a philosopher, then? The answer is clear: a laughing stock, an absent-minded buffoon, the butt of countless jokes...the one who is silly."

In thinking of the most interesting people I know, I would say the majority are also the most "silly." These are the professors from who I have learned, or desired to learn from, many of my closest friends who I spend hours talking to without a dull moment, and mentors who offer a different, more laughable (yet very serious) view of the world.

However, for the aspiring lawyers who follow this blog:

"Socrates introduces the 'digression' by making a distinction between the philosopher and the lawyer, or what Benardete nicely renders as the 'pettifogger.' The lawyer is compelled to present a case in court and time is of the essence. In Greek legal proceedings, a strictly limited amount of time was allotted for the presentation of cases. Time was measured with a water clock or clepsydra, which literally steals time, as in the Greek kleptes, a thief or embezzler. The pettifogger, the jury, and by implication the whole society, live with the constant pressure of time...By contrast, we might say, the philosopher is the person who has time or who takes time...Pushing this a little further, we might say that to philosophize is to take your time, even when you have no time, when time is constantly pressing at your back."

The latter statement, I think, is something that we should all strive for - to allow ourselves the time to philosophize, to be silly, to think outside the box.