Double the Lecture, Double the Fun. Midterms on the Other Hand...

The first half of my day (before lunch) was just an average day. I went through my usual routine and soon found myself in Prof. K’s lecture hall. Today’s topic was John Locke. Locke’s (also known as America’s philosopher) main tenets were individualism, the state of nature and the acquisition of private property. The lecture was split into two sections. We were supposed to have one yesterday, but since we didn’t have class we had to do a double lecture today. I really enjoyed today’s lecture because I did not understand Locke the first or the second times around. Now I completely understand Locke thanks to Prof. K and Simon. I would have to say (now that I understand him) Locke is the philosopher that I most agree with because of his views on private property and the purpose of the government.

Between the lectures, we had a guest speaker. Nelson Roth, Cornell’s defense attorney, came to speak to us about corruption of forensic science and cops that commit perjury. He showed us how fingerprints are lifted and told us how they are used to find suspects of crimes. He also told us of experiences he had with a cop who committed thirty-four cases of perjury. The cop was seen as a hero because he convicted a lot of suspects based on the evidence that he planted at the scenes of crimes. He spoke about how perjury ruins the reputations of cops. He also brought up the moral implications and legitimacy of deadly force, but he integrated opinions of my classmates into the discussion so that made it more interesting.

The rest of the day has been spent studying for tomorrow’s mid-term exam. I think we have been studying for too long because I have enjoyed typing this blog way too much. Anyway, I have to go back to studying five different philosophers and some of their significant quotes we dig out of the text in the reader. Wish me luck on the prelim. I’m signing off for now.