<p>I have a few questions for you. Where/What are you studying? Is it what you expected? Do you enjoy the studies beyond the intro classes? Why did you pick this major? What would you like to do once you graduate?</p>
<p>I'm just looking for input, as I am considering a degree in both Philosophy and Education. Thanks in advance!</p>
<p>I'm a self-loathing philosophy major. During my first semester I took an amazing class covering recent philosophers ranging from Kierkegaard to Heidegger to Whitehead. The class solidified my interest in philosophy, but it created the anxiety that I might not be able to quite study it to the same extent with another professor. And it's true; my other classes have not been quite the same. I feel that initially, studies in philosophy depend greatly upon professor. Once you have established some solid ground though you can begin to tackle more challenging studies by yourself. And it's a delightful experience (depending who you read though) when you can understand a philosopher and ultimately their world. Nietzsche will have you believe that philosophers don't actually seek the true, they actually try to creat it. They build systems out of their own prejudices and then try to creat the world in their image for others to follow. I think it's true, but it's a glorious thing to see the world in some of the ways philosophers portray it. I picked the major because it's both challening and rewarding. It's also a major that encourages constant interaction with your professor and greatly enhances your ability to think and write (the cliche shibboleths often thrown around on "why philosophy" sites). There's not much you can do with a philosophy degree, however, as the degree itself is quite self-indulgent. You can go to grad school and it apparently prepares a student quite well for law and med school, but other than that you are screwed-college websites will have you think otherwise. If you don't want to pursue graduate studies in philosophy or go to medical or law school, then I would recommend that you take another major as complements many others quite nicely. Education and philosophy is not a bad mix. In fact my school has a special combined degree of public policy and philosophy. I hope I was of some help.</p>
<p>Philosophy degree is pretty much meaningless, as the students of philosophy will soon find out that philosophy is pretty much dead. Depends on your school, your philosophical viewpoint is going to divide either into continental or analytical. The former seeks phenomenological understanding of the world, while the latter is basically designed for self-loathing mathematicians.<br>
I'm a French studies minor, and I don't give a crap to my school's analytical philosophy department. hahahahah</p>
<p>I disagree on your portrait of analytical philosophy. "Analytical philosophy" is often used as a catch phrase for all non-continental philosophy. It includes formal logic and some other stuff that mathematicians might find quite entertaining, but it is a LOT more than that.</p>
<p>My advice: don't expect to major in philosophy until after you have taken at least one class in it.</p>
<p>i'm questioning whether these philosophy classes i'm taking are really about understanding what other philosophers are saying, or trying to do your own thinking. i guess you should learn what others have thought in the past, before trying to come up with your own philosophy. but since the texts are different from what i usually see, it is very difficult, and it seems that the people who understand them are either really good readers, or have taken many philosophy classes, or have a lot of time on their hands to dissect these texts. and our tests seem to be like book reports, just writing what philosophers say and which philosopher thinks what. it's not hard understanding what they're saying, but getting there is pretty difficult. but then again, i don't really understand most things i read anyway, unless it's straightforward like history.</p>
<p>Philosophy tests? I didn't know they exist. We basically just write papers...on our own philosophy and on other's (sometimes both).</p>
<p>yep... i've gotten tests and midterms in all of the classes i've taken in philosophy so far (3, and it won't stop there). i do find the tests pointless as i really just memorize everything.. i've had multiple choice and short essay questions, which are just memorizing class notes. i'd prefer to just write papers, as i do like writing philosophy papers. but they can't expect me to remember off hand what all these philosophers said and think. i remember the important ones, but not everything sticks.</p>
<p>Yes, I think any multiple-choice test would be arbitrary and pointless...and would generally go against everything that philosophy is about. I could understand if you wanted you to idenfity passages (the philosopher, time period) and then elucidate and maybe expound open the message the philosopher was trying to convey. Even that though is somewhat presumptuous in assuming that the body of knowledge that is philosophy is something that should be memerized offhand and regurgitated instead of interpreted and toyed with.</p>
<p>no... the tests are asking about content... what this philosopher said or what they think.... </p>
<p>is it really that bad career wise with a philosophy degree? i just thought that any liberal arts degree can give you the same career chances, but you should depend on your internships and work experience. i also heard grad school sees philosophy as a harder subject than other LACs and can see that you're able to tackle challenge. this past rhodes scholar majored in philosophy then went to graduate school in econ... but then he is a rhodes scholar.... </p>
<p>... are you saying that if i don't plan to go to grad school in philosophy, i shouldn't major in it? will it do anything if i consider other subjects later... like business or something? philosophy was actually a double major to creative writing... but since philosophy wasn't what i expected or can do much for me in the future, i think i might consider just taking classes i'm interested in, and get one major.</p>
<p>Excuse my last post, as it was plagued with typos (as a result of stopping and starting when my employer wasn't hovering over my computer screen). Yes, unfortunately most philosophy majors are quite unemployable. Employers tend to question what marketable skills you have, as apparently understanding modality and classical quantifiers has no "real-world" applications. Your college philosophy website will likely rave about how philosophy majors develop a more open-minded approach to life and subsequently business matters...but ultimately what does that really mean? And acquiring a job in academia is even more of a challenge (see Leiter and the Philosophical Gourmet). If you don't want to pursue philosophy at a graduate level and you actually want a job after graduation (oh, what it is to have ambitions) then I would recommend that you double major. Philosophy compliments quite a few subjects rather nicely: Mathematics, Computer Science, Physics, the Classics, Linguistics, etc. Have you ever considered a minor in philosophy? If you are truly interested it might be worth looking into.</p>
<p>Did the Rhodes Scholar have a background in econ at all?</p>
<p>To give more background on myself: I have taken Intro to Philosophy. I am going to take more classes before I decide my major. I realize what I would be getting myself into.</p>
<p>On one hand I would love to be a Professor, Philosophy or otherwise. But then on the other I think that I should major in something where I could teach with my degree, or not if it doesn't work out. </p>
<p>Also lately I have been thinking that I might rather study Philosophy on my own. While I love most of it, occasionally certain topics will put me to sleep. This leads me to think that the things I find interesting, I could do my own research on. Any views on this?</p>
<p>It is too late, and I'm not sure if I make much sense. You guys are very helpful, thank you all.</p>
<p>but philosophy majors only have trouble initially finding a job right? (as do any other liberal arts majors). but it seems like once they can find a company, they are in pretty good positions to advance. i personally don't think any specific liberal arts major are worse in job opportunities than another liberal arts major on the general work (not very specific things like acting, etc.) </p>
<p>qwilde, what are some of the skills you got from philosophy classes? </p>
<p>a few things i got (and this is coming from me, not college websites) are: learning to use lots of examples when talking about something, use reasoning to make a decision, learned to be more objective and to look at the actual thing before trying to assume or interpret, learned to be more specific when talking about something. i can easily see those as good skills employers could use. i'm sure down the road somewhere, unless you haven't worked at all, people won't turn down your application just because of your major. it's weird, but sometimes i think philosophy majors are trying to drive people away from it... which is strange. </p>
<p>i'm not sure about the rhodes scholar... i don't know anything about him as he was around in the 60s or 70s (i keep trying to remember looking him up but i kept forgetting his name... but i have heard of philosophy majors working at programming or getting an entry level job at an accounting firm. </p>
<p>is there a reason philosophy majors seem to try and drive people away from learning philosophy? i'm sure philosophy isn't as bad or good as other liberal arts majors career-wise, yet people in those majors wouldn't try and drive people away. i find it strange and i'm curious.</p>
<p>4321234, Philosophy majors are usually worse off than other liberal arts majors when it comes to finding jobs. Psychology for example, while a higher education is normally required, is pretty good when looking for a job. Other social sciences such as economics have fantastic career opportunities. A music education major pretty much has guaranteed job placement as a band director. English majors may become editors, teachers, etc. My point is that Philosophers usually get stuck with desk jobs that they would never imagine having.</p>
<p>it just looks like there's no specific career path for advanced philosophy besides teaching. but, just because those other majors can lead to a more specific career track does not mean it is guaranteed for those majors. just because an english major *can be an editor, doesn't mean that every english major will have that chance, as it is competitive and usually doesn't work out that way. so where would those "other" english majors go if they can't get an editing job and doesn't want to be a teacher? </p>
<p>"A music education major pretty much has guaranteed job placement as a band director."</p>
<p>i would be careful with "guarantee"... i never think anything is guaranteed anymore. </p>
<p>just because those majors seem to be able to lead to a more specific career track doesn't mean they always will. i just think philosophy is a good major to prep you for other more advanced subjects.</p>
<p>I think philosophy majors are more prepared for the job market compared to other liberal arts majors, as they learn skills that cover a variety of fields (they have the logical and quantitive aptitude of a mathematician, the writing skills of an English major, etc.) but that doesn't necessarily translate into higher rate of employability. Only in a perfect world are people hired directly as a result of their ability.</p>
<p>I think they are probably more prepared, as qwilde said, but they almost always get jobs that have nothing to do with Philosophy itself. I can't tell you how many times I have seen Philosophy grads go into a more lucrative profession such as CS. Other Liberal Arts majors have more of a chance of doing something that has to do with their major, most likely making them happier.</p>
<p>^okay, now i see your point, which i do agree. it is pretty difficult to practice philosophy on a professional level, more so than the other majors. it's a really difficult field to go into at the high level, and i totally see why. but then you have people like me who aren't intending to go toward philosophy at the high level. i'm more interested in trying to collect skills that will do me good in the future, as what i want to do doesn't really require a specific major (i'm not so interested into going into business, engineering, or science). i think having philosophy as a major can give me good skills that could help in other professions. but then, i guess you can also argue that other majors can give you the similiar skills and open more doors. but i don't know... i do like philosophy, i like philosophers and studying them, but i can't imagine myself as a professional philosopher.</p>
<p>Excuse the poor analogy, but it's the only one I can think of at the moment. I think majoring in philosophy as opposed to other LA majors is somewhat like attending a bad law school. Once you receive your J.D. you are not going to be guaranteed prestigious and lucrative jobs like students who graduated from Harvard or Yale surely would, but as time progresses you can climb the corporate ladder as after a few years your skills as a lawyer matter more than the law school you graduated from. Philosophy, as a major, may not open many doors at first, but the skills acquired studying philosophy certainly will over a lifetime.</p>