Is this Ok or Garbage? near zero Hour Plz hlp
Posted: Mon Jan 04, 2010 4:39 pm
Often I am asked the questions of what my possible reasoning for taking Middle Eastern Studies and philosophy was and how the two areas could possibly relate to my desired profession of law. Admittedly, at first I had a weak explanation of how my interests were related, my choices seemed even to me to be random manifestations of my interests. My studies in college not only taught me about external ideas I previously had no knowledge of, but also about my own innate desire to understand the humanity we are all inextricably apart of.
My original reason for choosing a Middle Eastern Studies major was an attempt to break away from a remarkably strong Eurocentric view of history and society I had been studying nearly all my academic life. My initial decision to pursue Philosophy was a result of my deep and ever persisting penchant for questioning reasons and things around me my parents discovered early that “Because I said so.” was never an adequate answer in my book; I wanted to know why something was good or why it was bad. Only later did I realize that a single underlying thread ran through each of my interests. I was interested in how and why humanity functioned; what were the rules it followed.
I began to reflect on my choices and interests during a freshman study abroad program in Morocco. The other American students and I were given the semi-jocular moniker of “the 9/11 kids” by our Moroccan friends in reference to a surge of American interest in the Muslim World. I was afraid my desire to learn about the Arab World might have been an illusion of interest resulting from social and academic trendiness. However, through my visit to a world I had once seen as exotic and mysterious, and continued work in academic courses, I saw my actions were based less on an unwitting social trend and more on a deep and unifying intellectual pursuit.
I have become accustomed to catching the puzzled looks when I mention my Philosophy degree. What does stroking one’s beard and pondering what the nature of “truth” have to do with complicated legal issues, man-made precedent and codes of behavior? I first saw the skill set philosophy taught me in action during my time interning at the Hackensack courthouse as a judicial intern. While there was no glory in summarizing court motions nor in looking up precedent for the judge, I was able to look through documents as I did in my undergrad courses, winnowing the main argument and the evidence from peripheral appeals to emotion and subsidiary arguments unrelated to the points of the motion. This ability proved to be critical in the family division, especially after I was needed to take on the bulk of the previous Law Clerks duties following his hiatus to study for and take the Bar exam.
Aside from these practical skills that I have gained during my tenure in college, I am certain that my interests in these academic pursuits are more than tangentially related to both the ability to practice law and the interest in its practice. I came to the conclusion that philosophy was essentially a universal anthropological subject in that it takes even the most basic of human assumptions and questions just how solid and tenable they really are. Middle Eastern Studies proved to be a more direct study of the norms beliefs and practices of society and allowed me to see the pitfalls of exoticizing the unfamiliar and has helped me do my best to avoid mistaking custom for first nature.
I always knew however, that philosophy, while intellectually fulfilling, did not have everything I wanted in a personal career. It was the application of Locke, Hobbes, Rousseau, Rawls, and Dworkin, that drew me to law. Careful and reasonable thought could in fact bring real and lasting change to society. I want to apply my abilities to areas I have been studying my entire life: people and society. My college career was based off of my passion for learning and seeing from a new perspective; I plan on continuing this practice throughout law school and my professional career. Much like my classes in Middle Eastern studies, my courses in philosophy contained a certain anthropological aspect. “To make the strange familiar and the familiar strange”. I have always been in the business of challenging my own assumptions. I have augmented my view of the world both socially and logically more times than I can remember, but always with good reason. These are the motivations that pushed me to study a non-European language in a Non-European country; to work as a judicial intern and to act on the desire to practice law, which I see as a bridge between philosophy and its real world application.
My original reason for choosing a Middle Eastern Studies major was an attempt to break away from a remarkably strong Eurocentric view of history and society I had been studying nearly all my academic life. My initial decision to pursue Philosophy was a result of my deep and ever persisting penchant for questioning reasons and things around me my parents discovered early that “Because I said so.” was never an adequate answer in my book; I wanted to know why something was good or why it was bad. Only later did I realize that a single underlying thread ran through each of my interests. I was interested in how and why humanity functioned; what were the rules it followed.
I began to reflect on my choices and interests during a freshman study abroad program in Morocco. The other American students and I were given the semi-jocular moniker of “the 9/11 kids” by our Moroccan friends in reference to a surge of American interest in the Muslim World. I was afraid my desire to learn about the Arab World might have been an illusion of interest resulting from social and academic trendiness. However, through my visit to a world I had once seen as exotic and mysterious, and continued work in academic courses, I saw my actions were based less on an unwitting social trend and more on a deep and unifying intellectual pursuit.
I have become accustomed to catching the puzzled looks when I mention my Philosophy degree. What does stroking one’s beard and pondering what the nature of “truth” have to do with complicated legal issues, man-made precedent and codes of behavior? I first saw the skill set philosophy taught me in action during my time interning at the Hackensack courthouse as a judicial intern. While there was no glory in summarizing court motions nor in looking up precedent for the judge, I was able to look through documents as I did in my undergrad courses, winnowing the main argument and the evidence from peripheral appeals to emotion and subsidiary arguments unrelated to the points of the motion. This ability proved to be critical in the family division, especially after I was needed to take on the bulk of the previous Law Clerks duties following his hiatus to study for and take the Bar exam.
Aside from these practical skills that I have gained during my tenure in college, I am certain that my interests in these academic pursuits are more than tangentially related to both the ability to practice law and the interest in its practice. I came to the conclusion that philosophy was essentially a universal anthropological subject in that it takes even the most basic of human assumptions and questions just how solid and tenable they really are. Middle Eastern Studies proved to be a more direct study of the norms beliefs and practices of society and allowed me to see the pitfalls of exoticizing the unfamiliar and has helped me do my best to avoid mistaking custom for first nature.
I always knew however, that philosophy, while intellectually fulfilling, did not have everything I wanted in a personal career. It was the application of Locke, Hobbes, Rousseau, Rawls, and Dworkin, that drew me to law. Careful and reasonable thought could in fact bring real and lasting change to society. I want to apply my abilities to areas I have been studying my entire life: people and society. My college career was based off of my passion for learning and seeing from a new perspective; I plan on continuing this practice throughout law school and my professional career. Much like my classes in Middle Eastern studies, my courses in philosophy contained a certain anthropological aspect. “To make the strange familiar and the familiar strange”. I have always been in the business of challenging my own assumptions. I have augmented my view of the world both socially and logically more times than I can remember, but always with good reason. These are the motivations that pushed me to study a non-European language in a Non-European country; to work as a judicial intern and to act on the desire to practice law, which I see as a bridge between philosophy and its real world application.