I was reading this article in the Times the other day about a scientist who was working on his PhD in evolutionary biology and almost done with his thesis. The catch? This guy was a fundie Christian who didn't believe in evolution, but rather that the world was created in the exact way described in the bible. Colleagues and other scientists felt this was a huge dillemma- should you be allowed to practice a science that you don't believe in?
Oddly enough, I identified with this man. While I find many aspects of fundamentalist Christianity a tad grating (ha) I totally understand how it feels to be disenchanted by a practical science's underlying value system, but still desire to learn it as a tool to assist you with your beliefs.
Lets face it. Its bullshit that people need to hire lawyers to solve their problems. Its ridiculous that the law is written in such confusing and arbitrarily convuluted language that ordinary people can't understand their rights or laws that are meant to protect them. And its insane that to pay for law school you need to either be born rich or crazy. But who does it help to stay out of the field and let it be a one-sided conversation?
That fundie guy uses the education he has recieved in science to (attempt to) dismantle its core assumptions and prove that his view of the world is correct. If I can do something analagous with my law degree, without convincing myself along the way that my core assumptions about humanity were wrong, then I will consider this lawschool thing a success.
