"You see, we're all savages, more or less. We're supposed to be civilized and cultured – to know all about poetry and philosophy and art and science, and so on; but how many of us know even the meanings of these names? (to Miss Hill) What do you know of poetry? (to Mrs Hill) What do you know of science? (Indicating Freddy) What does he know of art or science or anything else? What the devil do you imagine I know of philosophy?
This passage concretes the author’s claim that all people are essentially equal. For example, Eliza transforms from a flower girl into an aristocrat; in much the same fashion, Higgins is raised as an aristocrat but has the manners of the lower class. Shaw emphasizes this point by the use of “we.” By using “we” instead of “I”, Higgins equivaltes himself to Miss Hill, Mrs Hill, and Freddy – and the rest of society. Furthermore, Higgins overuses rhetorical questioning to reiterate his claims, not only by introducing question after question but also by addressing different people. This passage also undermines the importance of socially defined intelligence, encompassing superficial knowledge of science, art, and philosophy.
Society tells us that certain people have to "know" certain things or act in certain ways. The upper classes should know about philosophy, art, and science, but it is revealed that perhaps not all of them do. It is also very possible that someone of a lower class knows something about philosophy. However, they may have less opportunity to learn about it and this is how these generalizations are formed. We see in Eliza's father's interactions with Mr. Higgins that they get along well and her father is capable of associating himself and getting along with people of higher class standing.
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