Philosophy and new worldview Forum

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Brasskncks

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Philosophy and new worldview

Post by Brasskncks » Mon Sep 07, 2020 12:13 am

I chose to write a PS that is centered around a major change in my life. This change is not something that you would expect such as the loss of a loved one. I began studying western philosophy in class years ago and have since derived a certain view of the world that has led me to my purpose. On top of this, I visited Jeruselum during the summer and began to see an overlap between my worldview and Christian teachings. I understand that this is quite mainstream (Jordan Peterson, Ben Shapiro) but it is a pivotal realization in my life. Thus, it is also something that I am particularly passionate about and can see manifest in my day-to-day life. For context, I was very pessimistic and I would constantly find myself asking: "what is the point of this". My social life was dwindling away as I became more distanced and secluded. I had no structure in my life, had no long term goals, and no vision for my future. Fast forward two years and I have done a complete 180. I don't need to go into detail about me now (think fun, career-driven, and athletic extrovert). I want to write about the progress of this change and how I changed for the better as a person. I also plan on tying in (at the very end) how law school will help advance me in pursuit of my career goals.

I am having trouble structuring this. Should I place emphasis on philosophical teachings and how that in tandem with my religious beliefs shaped me? How many personal anecdotes would be appropriate for a PS like this? I would appreciate any input/feedback on what I provided. Also, sorry for the long post. Thanks

dvlthndr

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Re: Philosophy and new worldview

Post by dvlthndr » Mon Sep 07, 2020 4:04 am

An effective essay basically does three things: (1) reflects your personality and makes you sound interesting; (2) explains why you want to go to law school; and (3) demonstrates that you are a semi-competent writer.

You can do that with your proposed topic. Essays about your personal beliefs/faith are fine, provided you can do it tastefully and tie it back to why you want to go to law school. But I would be cautious about name dropping pundits/personalities (e.g., mentioning Peterson/Shapiro would be a distraction at best).

How you want to structure/frame it is a matter of personal choice. I'm not sure what you mean by "how many" anecdotes to use. Personal anecdotes are fine, and can be a great way of talking up your positive qualities without just rehashing your resume. But two pages is not a lot of space. You can use little 1-2 sentence vignettes to illustrate your points (e.g., as part of a more linear narrative), but I doubt you can really flesh out multiple anecdotes.

If you are stuck, I suggest picking couple books with law school application essays and skimming them. The books are largely interchangeable, but some of them have a little analysis at the end about what was good/bad in each one. At minimum, it might give you some ideas for different ways to frame things.

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