April 01, 2005 - 3:52 p.m. Last night I attended a lecture on "Implicit Moral Knowledge" and about how the ancient and medieval philosophers understood "learning" as revealing what the soul already knew. (Which is exactly what I've been talking about for years now, thank you; apparently I'm not the only one.) Anyway, my honors professor was there because the lecturer was a noted St. Thomas Aquinas scholar, and we are studying Aquinas in honors. So Professor Fuller and I were making small talk before the lecture, and he gave me a little compliment (a complimentula? for you Latin scholars) on how I was doing well in the class and keeping up with the great ideas of Aquinas, how I was willing to discuss and that I had a firm grasp on what I was discussing. And I held that little compliment in my hand because it meant much more to me than my professor could have imagined. For me it meant, yes, you belong here, and yes, you are good at learning. He's a quiet man, not one to hand out compliments without meaning them, so I treasure this. ...before & after...