Thomas Jefferson believed education was necessary for self-government to exist, especially in the necessity to express opinion through voting (http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00131729709335239?journalCode=utef20). Knowledge does not only express opinions but also plays a role in forming a good citizen, one who is informed and moral. Education from youth teaches morals and ethics of a society that we grow up to maintain and develop. An educated society can create a more satisfied society as knowledge sates human's natural tendency of curiosity.

This statement allows us to ponder the questions brought up in: What's Next for UVA?(http://uvamagazine.org/articles/whats_next_for_u.va). It makes me wonder whether it would be in the founders' intent to allow the development of a cyberspace of online classes available for students? So much emphasis is placed upon the historical value of Charlottesville; however, I believe that the need to adapt the old foundations into a modern world of technology and engineering is so important. I think the founders' understood that technology would revolutionize the education world and specified the sciences to be most open to change for future educators in its nature of change. With today's rate of technology and knowledge development, to not integrate further technology to coursework and research facilities would be undermining the incoming generations' talents.

History largely encompasses all the basics and foundations of current day science and society. However, we typically leave out history in the race to further human progress in the area of STEM. Science in a large part is about the technicalities, but I often find myself, especially progressing in the future, contemplating the philosophies of medical science. Learning the "history & explanations" is mighty important since science is made of theories but nothing is every 100% concrete, notably seen in how many different beliefs from previous science papers are struck down as wrong. Hippocrates, also known as the father of anatomy, wrote many writings that have become the foundations to everyday science, such as the co-affection theory or the four humours. However, belief in such things is dependent on personal viewpoint as everything can be argued from opposing sides and medical science has heated debates within it as to what procedures or theories are the most accurate or the best alternatives. I can believe that in the co-affection theory that everything in the body is linked and that any sickness or harm in one part of the body will flow and affect another area of the body, but others can argue the other side. The necessity of learning medical science history further pushes medical and pre-medical students into understanding the severity of their roles and philosophize the best approaches into their specialized field, especially in our current, continuously evolving medical field where it is easy to be caught up in the discoveries but not know what is truth and what is false in them. Hippocrates' theories of co-affection can be found in translations of Epidemics and the four humours in De Humoribus. Texts from historically important medical figures display an understanding of authors' thinking and pattern of understanding and analyzing of different medical conditions.

This statement brings to mind the idea of growth vs. fixed mindset that man's mind should be developed into one that continues to grow and gain knowledge rather than staying within the human nature of staying static. The use of the metaphor of the chimaera brings a image of an amazing monsterous entity that represents the physicality of the mind to morph and change depending on how we learn and change from this gain of knowledge. The second part of this statement is even more interesting as it reminds me of passages of Latin text from Epistulae Morales Ad Lucilium by Seneca. It states that true happiness lies in the completion of knowledge/wisdom. However, there is no way of learning everything and having complete knowledge by the end of one's lifetime. Thus, the text says that being in the process of completing that knowledge/fulfilling that wisdom also makes one happier than a person that does not try to gain wisdom. The last half of the sentence makes me believe that the searching for of knowledge within this institution will give basis to hope of a happier, wiser life than that of the previous generations.