3 Why Study Philosophy?
You won’t read a great deal of work by actual philosophers in this course (though you’ll start with Plato, maybe the most famous Western philosopher of all). But you will see philosophy in action, and learn how it helps us
- to identify questions and issues,
- to think clearly about those questions and issues, and
- to analyze our reasons for what we and others think.
The point of all of this is to become able to revise what we think in order better to track truth (or to know when we can’t).
Historically many of what are now thought of as separate disciplines originated in philosophy — psychology, physics, biology, linguistics, and many others. (That’s why the highest degree in these fields is a “Ph.D.” — that stands for Doctorate of Philosophy.) Philosophy remains an inherently interdisciplinary field, and students who major in it often do a double major in other department as well. They find philosophy helps them think broadly, critically, and imaginatively in ways that complement the approaches and content they learn in other areas.
Because of the skills developed through the study of philosophy, which you’ll get a taste of here, philosophy majors and minors do well in law, business, ministry, graduate school, and more. Healthcare and business professions are often eager these days for well-rounded students with a liberal arts background.
Here’s a piece that speaks to the value of philosophy as a background to business:
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/05/why-philosophy-majors-rule_n_4891404.html
Here’s another by a psychiatrist at Harvard Medical School on how his philosophy background has helped him:
For some proof that philosophy is actually a good route to financial well-being, check this out:
http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/info-Degrees_that_Pay_you_Back-sort.html
And a short analysis piece looking at the same data set:
