“All wish to possess great knowledge, but few, comparatively speaking, are willing to pay the price.”
– Juvenal
- HOLY SELFISHNESS
In this article, I offer a perspective aimed at advancing the individual student while uplifting the collective student body. I accomplish this by advocating for the simple act of sharing knowledge. The principles used within this article derive from Friedrich Nietzsche’s Thus Spoke Zarathustra.
As the saying begins, “all wish to possess great knowledge.” The use of the word “possess” implies that knowledge is an object. One can see this to be true within the context of corporation law. A trade secret is not a tangible object, however it can be collected and shared between individuals, therefore objectifying it. Collection of any object exclusively for one’s own personal profit or pleasure without the regard of others is considered to be selfish. For example, a student who takes one too many slices of pizza during a lunch meeting, without regard to others, is correctly labeled as selfish.
As law students, we all naturally wish to possess a great wealth of knowledge. The accumulation and output of such knowledge determines our ranking among our peers and access to certain career placement opportunities. Naturally, this will create a campus predicated upon competitiveness and secrecy. Placed into this environment, the law student, lover of knowledge, accumulates his wealth in a desperate attempt to create a better future for himself. However, since this accumulation is only for himself, it is still selfish. To sanctify this selfishness, the law student will have to adopt the gift-giving virtue. This is the price he must be willing to pay once coming into possession of a great wealth of knowledge. That student is now building himself up so that he can have something of value to give to others. Filling his cup so it naturally overflows into the lives of others. Thus, transforming his selfishness into a holy selfishness, sanctified by the act of giving.
- THE GIFT-GIVING VIRTUE
The gift-giving virtue is the highest virtue one can have. The gift-giving virtue is like gold. Gold in itself is uncommon and useless, as it does not provide nourishment, shelter, or healing. Despite this, it always gives of itself because it shines, endures, and offers beauty without needing anything in return. Virtue is similarly useless as it cannot be measured by ordinary standards of social utility. It serves no use in a world governed by power, profit, and convenience. It also doesn’t exist as a tool for achieving any other values or goals. Most actions are done for the sake of something else: you study to get your degree, work to earn money, exercise to be healthy. But, the generosity within the gift-giving virtue isn’t a step towards something else. Ontologically, it exists purely for itself and gives of itself without needing anything in return.
A law student who volunteers to help a classmate understand complex material or job opportunities, not for extra credit or resume-building, but simply to support their peer, embodies the gift-giving virtue. This can be in the form of re-explaining a certain topic of difficulty, sharing outline material, or pointing them towards the right direction of where help may be found (see Student Academic Services, BC Law Academic Success Program, BC Law Career Services, & Boston Lawyers Group).
Some may wonder what benefit this would offer to the giver, especially in a context like law school, which revolves not only around acquiring knowledge but also being rigorously tested upon a curve. Rest assured, as rooted within holy selfishness and the gift-giving virtue is the principle of learning by teaching. A practice that benefits both the giver and receiver. In the 1980s, French teacher Jean-Pol Martin pioneered this method in Germany, finding that when students taught sections of the curriculum to their peers, they gained deeper understanding, greater confidence, and improved communication skills. In a 2009 Stanford experiment, students told that they were teaching a virtual character learned significantly more than those simply studying for themselves. The greatest gains appeared among the lowest-performing students. These students performed at the same level as the highest achievers in the control group. Moreover, follow-up studies replicating this experiment demonstrate that teaching others improves learning more effectively than other memory techniques such as retrieval practice and concept mapping.
As students, we already voluntarily (or involuntarily) participate in the Socratic method during our class sessions. The learning by teaching principle is at the heart of the Socratic method. Students and professors learn from one another through dialogue potent in inquiries made to stimulate critical thinking. Now, we’re simply removing the walls of our classrooms. They only serve as barriers to the campus I envision for us. Doing this allows for students to freely teach and be taught by one another with no limitations. We are repaying our professors badly if we remain nothing but pupils. It’s our responsibility to venture out and gain confidence in ourselves on our own.
- A CYCLE OF OVERCOMING
Intertwining the two principles of holy selfishness and the gift-giving virtue is a responsibility that each individual has to ensure that the knowledge they’ve gained remains rooted in the place where it was discovered: upon Boston College Law School’s campus. What does this look like? For students, it means recognizing that the knowledge they gain likely will come from lectures, textbooks, outlines, or other resources that were given to them by another or stumbled upon on their own. These materials were created by previous lovers of knowledge and graciously passed down to us, the next generation. No law student was born knowing the full parameters of Civil Procedure (Contact me for Civil Procedure resources & see Barbri 1L Mastery Course). So, upperclassmen, look to mentor those below you. Be their overman.
Each of us law students will enter blind and lame into the professional world of law. This world is under continuous construction and awaits our arrival to aid in its creation. For those who await us—whether you may be a lawyer, judge, paralegal, and/or any other legal professional—you too have a responsibility to assist in the ushering of our arrival. Any form of mentorship or guidance will assist greatly (see Black Alumni Network & 2025 Alumni Board). Even a few words of significance about your past may suffice in some instances. I’m confident the same was done for you.
In essence, a cycle is now created, in which each year students overcome the last. In each era of students, more individuals experience personal growth, gain access to opportunity, and discover their true selves. We can have confidence that this cycle will continue, because it relies on the nuanced relationship between each person’s individual effort and their contribution to the collective.
Staniel Brutis is a rising third-year student at BC Law. Contact him at brutis@bc.edu.
BC Law: Impact 