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Students hit the ground running this morning on the One-Week California Great Books Program. Having slept well after yesterday’s section games — and with the promise of Euclid demonstrations now on the horizon — the programmers poured over their geometrical propositions at breakfast while enjoying scrambled eggs, toast, and steaming bowls of oatmeal and hot cups of coffee. 

Their proposition-preparation also continued back in the residence halls, and many students gathered in front of common-room blackboards to get some last-minute review time in before class. 

When 9:30 am arrived, it was time for the students to put their knowledge to the test on the chalkboards. The hard work that they put in this morning really paid off, and the group faced the challenge with ease. Those who presented the first props were pleased with their well-executed demonstrations, and their sectionmates showered them with words of praise. 

Students presented propositions , , and from Book I of Euclid’s Elements, explaining how to construct an equilateral triangle with circles, how to place a line equal to another given straight line at a given extremity, and how to cut off from two unequal straight lines a line equal to the lesser line. “Euclid is more philosophical and abstract than my high school geometry class.” Joey D. commented. “I really like that aspect of it.” 

Energized by a job well done, students split off to rest back in their rooms, attend mid-morning Mass, or relax outside in the sunshine before enjoying a tasty lunch in St. Joseph Commons. They continued to relish in the success of the morning over a savory meal of orange chicken stir-fry, steamed jasmine rice, Asian salad, and naan. 

Then it was off to the final class of the day: a discussion on Plato’s Euthyphro. In this ancient dialogue, the famous philosopher Socrates and his new acquaintance, Euthyphro, meet outside a courthouse. Socrates is accused of impiety to the gods, and Euthyphro is in the process of prosecuting his own father. These circumstances prompt the pair to enter into an exchange on the nature of piety, and Euthyphro is unable to come up with a convincing definition of “virtue.” 

Following the class, programmers still wrestled with some questions that Plato leaves unresolved: What does it mean to call something “pious?” Is something pious because it is pleasing to the gods, or is something pleasing to the gods because it is pious?

Left to ponder these questions, students exited class, ready for all that the rest of Tuesday will bring. Come back to the Summer Program Blog on Wednesday morning to hear about all of Tuesday’s recreation time activities, as well as the night’s dance practice and dorm parties!

More photos from the High School Summer Program

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