Conversation With A Student

The following is a short conversation with an online Masters student who is the mother of 6 with all her kids still at home.

From: Monticello College Student – MA in Natural Law

Subject: Readings

Date: June 24, 2016 12:02:07 PM MDT

To: Doctor Brooks <sb@monticellocollege.org>

Found an accountability partner which is huge. Still only got 9ish hrs this last week but that’s a great improvement over the abysmal 3 weeks prior.

Trying to go back and really understand Strauss and that darn book puts me to sleep within MINUTES of picking it up. So frustrating. Maybe I’ll try again after we finish Aristotle.

Class today was good. I liked the discussion. I’m concerned that I’ve become familiar with the works but don’t have anything of my own to say. Does that make sense? Trying to think about what I could write to add to the great conversation as it were, and just facing a blank wall.

Looking forward to digging into Ethics again.

From: Doctor Brooks <sb@monticellocollege.org>

Subject: Readings

Date: June 24, 2016 14:07:07 PM MDT

To: Monticello College Student – MA in Natural Law 

Let’s be realistic. Every single author in the great books spent decades if not a lifetime developing the ideas we are reading.

Is it even possible that we could have something to contribute after only a few hundred hours maybe even a couple years of study?

I would suggest that right now is not the time for contribution to the great ideas but a time to thoroughly understand and find ways to apply the truth to our lives from these life changing concepts.

But anyone can say that they are applying these truths to their lives… that’s a Sunday school answer.

The real test is are you actually doing the application. It is in the doing, it is in the applying of the truth that you will then come to new understanding and actual contribution.

From: Monticello College Student – MA in Natural Law

Subject: Readings

Date: June 25, 2016 10:02:07 AM MDT

To: Doctor Brooks <sb@monticellocollege.org>

I see your point. Will I be like Isthmene or Antigone? Am I blinded by desire for power/prestige/control (Eteocles) or do I seek for justice/equality/to keep my word (Polynices)?

Do I pride myself in the knowledge I’ve gained such that I am closed off to learning and understanding more (Euthyphro) or do I recognize that to be truly wise I must acknowledge how little I know (Socrates)?

How do I use the examples from the readings to evaluate and improve my own life and current trajectory?

Thanks for helping me gain some clarity and perspective.

Readings referred to in this post:

Antigone, Sophocles

Seventh Letter, Plato

Crito, Plato

Apology, Plato