Calculus as a philosophy major at UChicago?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Chicago ✅
1

Hi all,
I am looking to be a philosophy major at UChicago. After I get my 4-year degree, I plan on applying to law school.

I am not that good at math and would not enjoy taking calculus, however, I want to add rigor to my schedule to increase my chances of getting accepted to UChicago.

Thoughts?

Thank you!

2

Yes, you should take calculus for an app to uchicago.

3

Seconded. And fwiw, a lot of analytic philo isn’t as far from math as you might think: [symbolic logic](Introduction to Symbolic Logic)…

4

Of course, the LSAT has its logic puzzles, and some laws are written to require careful logical interpretation of the conditions in which they apply.

5

Yes, you should take calculus.

6

I’ve long thought that every engineer should take classes in language and either literature or the arts, and it should not be possible to gets philosophy degree without a math class that requires proofs.

But calculus will do for starts.

7

@50N40W : I agree with that - the philosophy major needing to take a math as a requirement for their degree. Math and philosophy make a strong duo; they compliment each other.

8

As a now graduate student in philosophy, having done a triple subject undergrad in politics (lots of analytic/math work), philosophy and psychology and then completed a law degree, I personally don’t think calculus is useful and I don’t think a math class with proofs is helpful at all.

Personally, I took AP calc in my Jr. year of high school and then never went near another formal math class ever again. Formal logic requires an understanding of abstract reasoning, but I do not think that Calc provides a good grounding in this particular type of abstract reasoning. Philosophy students tend to perform the best on the LSAT (though math students also perform very well).

I don’t think that a philosophy major should have to take math - as someone who does legal philosophy, there is absolutely nothing I could use math for, certainly not calculus.

This isn’t to say that math cannot be helpful to a philosophy major. This is particularly true in relation to which area of philosophy you intend to study. For example, a philosopher of mind typically has an excellent understanding of psychology and statistics, the latter being of paramount importance in understanding psychological data.