No Time to Waste

Mondays were never my favorite day of the week. The momentary relaxation I enjoyed over the weekend has now quickly evaporated by the commencement of the second week of the course.

Crowds of Summer college students, faculty members, and summer sports teams swarmed throughout the RPCC cafeteria this morning. The relatively fast-paced lines for each breakfast station were now overrun by multitudes of people, making the lines stretch across the room. I did not want to prolong my stay at RPCC by grudgingly waiting to grab fresh-cooked pancakes or to reach one of the two waffle makers. Instead, I quickly procured a small bowl of Honey Graham cracker cereal and then began the showery walk to class with Jenna.

Due to the Fourth of July holiday this week, Professor Kramnick began class by informing us what the adjusted schedule will be.

Professor Kramnick going over the week's agenda 

To make sure the entire week's course material will be covered, himself and the three TA's decided to condense two days of John Locke lectures into a three-hour long one today. It was a definite challenge to remain in the same sedentary position for this long, but at least the subject matter was interesting. After providing a concise historical background of British 17th century, Professor Kramnick delved into the political theories of the father of modern Liberalism: John Locke. In his pamphlet the Second Treatise of Government, Locke asserts that in the state of nature, man is naturally entitled to life, liberty, and property and the government's primary function is to protect these natural rights. Locke's emphasis of the individual and promotion of hard work and self sufficiency not only undermines the ideas of Plato, Augustine, and Aquinas, but it is contemporary with the modern democratic policies of American society. As further mentioned in our discussion sections, the individuals forsake their liberties and gain protection for their property through approved consent to create a government.

Going back to the rest of this week's agenda, the Preliminary Exam is scheduled for Wednesday. Our TAs handed us sample exams to have an idea as to what we should study for. I cannot help but feel nervous about the test because of its significant impact on our final grades. After revising my Plato essay, studying will be top priority for the next 48 hours.