Great Hearts Monte Vista Student Story: Why Philosophy?

One Great Hearts scholar was asked the question, “Why should you study philosophy in high school?” Read the honest and thoughtful response from Great Hearts Monte Vista Class of 2023 graduate, Abigail Cole:

Throughout sophomore year, I strongly disliked all philosophical texts because they were dense and difficult and seemingly unworthy of my time. I treasured reading literary novels such as Crime and Punishment, Pride and Prejudice, and Frankenstein, immersing myself in the storylines and characters. But grappling with philosophical texts such as Locke’s Second Treatise on Government and Rousseau’s Discourse on the Origin of Inequality only felt monotonous and infinitely long.

With junior year approaching, the syllabus confirmed the worst: more philosophy. I felt like Callicles from Plato’s Gorgias, who told Socrates that “It’s not shameful to practice philosophy while you’re a boy, but when you still do it after you’ve grown older and become a man, the thing gets to be ridiculous…” I was only sixteen and philosophy was already ridiculous! Studying philosophy wasn’t going to be able to help me to achieve the goals I was striving for. How was I supposed to use it towards a practical degree and career choice I wanted to seek after high school?

But something changed in the spring of junior year. At last, the dreaded time to read philosophy arrived. My Humane Letters teacher, Mr. Walker, assigned Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics for homework and I groaned. However, Mr. Walker encouraged me to approach the text we were about to conquer with an open mind and new perspective.

That evening, I opened the book, read the first paragraph, and was hooked. Aristotle’s very first page is about how everyone seeks the highest good, and the text delves into how virtue and friendship are a means to get to this highest good; happiness. I read with a new excitement for what the text had to offer because I now realized that I could use the things I learned from it to change my way of thinking and broaden my understanding of true virtue and friendship. I found so many ways to implement the things I was reading into my daily life; from learning about complete friendship and how to strengthen my current friendships, to understanding what it meant to live a good life and practice virtue. The text reminded me of what was most important in my life, and how these things make me happy. I returned to class with a newfound excitement to begin discussing these concepts (which is saying a lot for me at 8:50 in the morning).

The Great Hearts curriculum is truly beautiful and meaningful for just that reason. Our education is not simply memorizing a math equation or learning a list of facts in Biology, but learning the how and why behind each new piece of knowledge that we receive throughout the day and having the wonderful opportunity to explore and discuss this in a comfortable environment among your peers and teachers. A life without the ability to wonder, striving for beauty and excellence, is worthless. Socrates explains this when he responds to Callicles’ former accusation, saying: “Let someone despise you as a fool and throw dirt on you, if he likes. And, yes, by Zeus, confidently let him deal you that demeaning blow. Nothing terrible will happen to you if you really are an admirable and good man, one who practices excellence.” This understanding of the importance of the pursuit of knowledge and excellence is something that cannot be found anywhere other than Great Hearts, and it is why I am very grateful for the wonderful privilege that I have to receive this flourishing education.

When looking over my numerous years at Great Hearts, I have concluded that I can move beyond my agreement with Callicles’ opinion on philosophy, and instead use my newfound understanding of the beauty of philosophy to experience the remainder of my Great Hearts years to the fullest.

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