New to Philosophy

It was 1999. I was in law school and sitting in front of the class. For the first time in many years, I was excited to learn something new. It was a class on philosophy. At first, the professor talked about the Socratic method. Hmm, that sounds interesting. Then, he lost me somewhere between Natural Law and Legal Positivism. I couldn't understand what he was saying.

Later that week in a bookshop, I acquired a clearer picture of philosophy when I found a used copy of Ayn Rand's book, Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology. Epistemology, I would learn, was the branch of philosophy concerned with the question, What is knowledge? After reading it from cover to cover, I went back to the bookshop to look for more. To my delight, I found copies of The Virtue of Selfishness and The Romantic Manifesto. Now, I have two more branches of philosophy covered—ethics and aesthetics. I was very excited with my newfound knowledge and Ayn Rand turned out to be a very good teacher.

  

One evening while the professor was in one of his Socratic moments, I was thinking about the uses of philosophy. I was absorbed in a line of thought, followed it to its logical conclusion, and that's when it happened. I had an epiphany. I literally jumped out of my seat and addressed the class about the power of knowing philosophy. I don't remember what I said, but apparently one of the statements was in the wrong form. One of my classmates made a big deal out of it and pointed it out. I didn't care. I now understand philosophy. I'll study logic later.

After that night, I found my voice. I could literally feel the urge to argue because for the first time in my life, I can actually follow an argument. Nobody can intimidate me from then on. A month before the finals, I withdrew all my subjects. I had enough learning that semester.

That was eight years ago. Now, I'm back—older, wiser and argumentative. Law school will be fun this time around.