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Humour

Campsite Ethics

James Leech on the dilemmas of being a campsite philosopher.

(The story so far: four philosophers on a walking holiday in the Lake District arrive very late at a campsite having got very lost. Next morning they realise that they can get away without paying the campsite fee. Should they sneak off as quickly as possible and save themselves the money for future pleasures or should they seek out the owner and pay their dues? Moral dilemma or open-and-shut case?)

John Stuart Mill unzipped the green door and stepped, blurry eyed into the clammy, wet morning. Plato and Aristotle already had their tent down and were devouring small cakes for breakfast. It was an unfeasibly early hour and no-one else was stirring on the huge camp site.

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