Distress call about container for philosopher (8)
I believe the answer is:
socrates
'for philosopher' is the definition.
(Socrates is an example)
'distress call about container' is the wordplay.
'distress call' becomes 'SOS' (SOS distress signal).
'about' indicates putting letters inside.
'container' becomes 'crate' (crate is a type of container).
'sos' enclosing 'crate' is 'SOCRATES'.
(Other definitions for socrates that I've seen before include "2 [PHILOSOPHER]" , "Legendary footballer" , "Philosophical Greek" , "Man philosophically questioning" , "Wise guy" .)