Support of Dualism

In a number of Plato's works such as the Phaedo and the Republic, he lays out a framework based on several types of dualism. Dualism as a philosophical construct is both personally appealing, and has been constructive to my understanding of my roles as a scholar, citizen, and individual. I see two types of dualism functioning in differing but interconnected ways in regard to Law School. One type refers to Law school as an end in itself, which I will refer to as a Ð''property dualism'. The other refers to my presence in Law School, also as an end in itself, which I will identify as a Ð''substance dualism'.

Law School offers a Ð''property dualism' for me, in that it presents two related yet ontologically differentiated "properties" or predicates; academia and professional cultivation. Academia in Law school serves to build upon the theoretical foundation of politics that were developed in my undergraduate career. Though I developed a strong sense of how the law operates on this general theoretic level, as law is in fact practiced and since I am interested in how it is practiced, law school offers pedagogy for application of Law in the United States. Such an education might be available in graduate school, yet it is the more specific and pragmatically focused approach that I find especially appealing.

The second facet of the property dualism is that of professional cultivation. Professional cultivation has at its basis different principles in relation to attending Law School. Law school in this vein is design to prepare and to position one to offer future opportunities in the legal profession. Such positioning, though essential, is sometimes quite separated from the academic properties of the institution. By offering instruction on the skills required for legal practice, and the attainment of positions in the legal profession, I will be better equipped to function as a constructive member of professional society.

My very attendance in Law School is also an end, in which Law School itself fulfills, through what I have described as a Ð''substance dualism'. The first element to this paradigm is the Ð''substance' of my physical self. Placing myself in Law School fulfills my desire to accomplish, what I feel is the next plot twist in my personal narrative. Another element to this part