"So, are you going to drop out?" Value Theory Lad asked me the other day. It was sort of out of the blue, but it came shortly after a pronounced bout of internal What-Am-I-Doing-Here anxiety, so I figured Value Theory Lad was just being perspicacious. Perhaps it is something they learn in Value Theory.*
"I don't know," I replied glumly. "Maybe." Then I realized he'd been joking. Now he looked a little distressed.
"It's just," I went on, "what am I doing here? Philosophy? Where did that come from? I have no real reason to think I'm any good at it, and I'll never find a job, and there is no philosophical logic nowadays ... sometimes I think I'm just here because I couldn't think of anything better to do, and that's a terrible reason."
"Maybe it's not," Value Theory Lad replied. "Maybe if there's nothing else you'd rather be doing, that just shows it's what you're meant to do. I mean, that's what they say about musicians - you don't become a musician because you want to; you become a musician because there's nothing else you can do. Or political leaders - you don't want to elect a leader who really wants to be a leader, who has that as their life's goal."
I was unconvinced.
"Anyway," said Value Theory Lad, "The last two fellowship students before you both dropped out and now one of them is teaching yoga. So you should hang in there for awhile or the fellowship committee will really get discouraged."
*Note to non-philosophers: Value Theory is a branch of philosophy which includes Ethics and Aesthetics. More information about Value Theory can be found on the internet.
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4 comments:
Yoga Instructor: now, there's a fate that falls into the doom category. Just think of the things you'd have to say as you lead your charges into shava-asana.
Stick to philosophy. It just makes sense.
Ethics and asthetics... Hmmmm. How about Law School? Most people (but not me) would say that profession could certainly use more of both.
Sorry. Don't mean to frighten you.
Charmingly, TCA continues to think that Ethics and Legal Ethics are somehow related. Of course, if they were, I would not be an expert in the latter.
In any event, I would prefer you stay out of law school for the time being.
Are you suggesting that I go to law school or that Value Theory Lad does? Because I couldn't be less interested in law school (for the thousandth time) and I'm not really in a position to tell VTL how to live his life.
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