Socratic Dialectic and Humility by Christopher

Socratic Dialectic and Humility by Christopher - May 2013 Scholarship Essay

I am a part of an Honors curriculum that participates in Socratic style learning at a Liberal Arts University. This program is essentially a Great Books program in which students and faculty alike read primary texts and subsequently discuss the texts and any life-questions that the text directly involves. The program, at my University specifically, splits the span of time into six classes (The World of Polis and Covenant, The World of Caesar and Christ, The World of Christendom and Islam, The World of Humanism and Reform, The World of Reason and Revolt, and The World of Despair and Hope) in which we read texts from that period and discuss relevant questions. I just completed the fourth class, The World of Humanism and Reform, in which we read and discussed texts surrounding the Era of Reform in the Church. One day in particular, we were discussing Calvin's Institute's. My professor had asked us to come to class prepared with Calvin's arguments dissected. He admitted afterword that the feat was not expected to be attained by any in the class, yet it was an assignment that he saw fit to test our cognitive and analytical capabilities. At any rate, we arrived to class on this particular afternoon and began discussing what Calvin said about God's providence. Needless to say, it was a thorough and difficult conversation. What is important, however, is that as class was dismissed and we were making our way out of the classroom, my professor pulled me aside and expressed to me how surprised he was that I handled the conversation so well. He said that he was thrilled to watch my approach to the conversation since I was quick to admit when I was wrong and willing to listen to and entertain others' thoughts on the topic. So it is this memory that is my favorite for it was a professor, established in his field, expressed to me gratitude for my efforts in the classroom.