Two of the greatest men in recorded history were lawyers – Abraham Lincoln and Mahatma Gandhi. It is supposed to be a noble profession and yet I think that the worst thing you can do to yourself is to start thinking like a lawyer.
It is a necessary profession. As long as civilization endures, we are going to need lawyers. As long as private property and disputes amongst citizens are there, we cannot do without them.
Legal training will give you powerful tools which can be used for good or for evil. And unless you combine idealism and self-knowledge with the power that legal training imparts you will do more harm than mischief.
If you – my reader – are a lawyer or studying law then I will strongly urge you to read the following link. I came across this 2 page PDF on the Princeton University website and it is excellent:
So some lawyers are forces for good, we cannot do without them and it is (in theory) a noble profession. Then why am I saying that you shouldn’t learn to think like one.
Why is it that lawyers do so much harm? They do so much harm – in fact – that the French philosopher Montaigne and the father of western philosophy, Plato, specifically warned against them. Below is a quote from Montaigne essay On Experience:
King Ferdinand, sending colonies to the Indies, wisely provided that they should not carry along with them any students of jurisprudence, for fear lest suits should get footing in that new world, as being a science in its own nature, breeder of altercation and division; judging with Plato, “that lawyers and physicians are bad institutions of a country.”
And this is what Isaiah from the Bible says:
No one enters suit justly; no one goes to law honestly; they rely on empty pleas, they speak lies, they conceive mischief and give birth to iniquity.
Jesus warned his followers against publicans. I think he would have done well to include lawyers also as people to guard against.
My next-door neighbour once told me that in order to live peacefully and happily you would do well to have as little as possible to do with doctors, the police and lawyers. And she is in politics, an intelligent woman who knows and has seen the world.
So what is my main grouse against thinking like a lawyer?
The main grouse I have is that unless you are idealistic and have intellectual integrity you can blur the distinction between right and wrong. And this is enough in itself to cause insanity. Being criminally insane means that you do not know this difference and/or cannot understand the consequences of your actions.
Intellectual integrity and self-knowledge will save you from this disaster. You need to know your motives and not make excuses for yourself. If you spend your time justifying yourself to yourself and others people you will be going down the slippery slope to a ruined life.
I am speaking from experience. I know what it is like to live in a dream world and be out of touch with reality. Accept the testimony of a person with a mental ailment.
So what do I suggest as an alternative?
Learn to think like a philosopher. Take an interest in philosophy and ethics. Be a lover of wisdom. Know yourself. As Sun Tzu said:
If you know yourself and know the enemy you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.
But I am not suggesting an alternative profession. The main advantage of being a good lawyer is that it pays well. Philosophers are not so lucky.
But having lived for more than 50 years and having had the experiences that I have had I think that it is better to be a broke philosopher than to be a well-paid cynical lawyer who has chosen to forget the difference between right from wrong.
I’ll end here. Please let me have your comments and explore this site for more articles that may interest you. Feedback from my readers keeps me going.
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