Sciences Vs. Humanities (Specifically Philosophy and Economics)

Student Lounge College Life
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<p>Ok i'd like to start by saying this is not a general humanities vs. sciences debate, it is very specific to me and my situation as a confused student.
I'm sorry, its a long post - but please try and bear with me and thank you for your patience.</p>

<p>My situation - i'm currently on a gap year, will be starting college fall 2007, so i have a lot of time to decide these things.</p>

<p>For the last two years of high school my focus has been completely on maths and science. I study in India where you're not allowed to mix and match subjects as you please - the subjects i chose were math, physics and chemistry.
I don't mean to sound boast-ful or arrogant in any way - but i am very good at them and think i have a natural aptitude for these subjects - especially math and physics. To back that up i took SAT Subject tests in these subjects and got 800 in Math level 2, 800 in Physics and 780 In chem.</p>

<p>Heres the problem - i don't really enjoy these subjects. I totally stopped liking math and physics over a year ago, and chem. i never liked to begin with.</p>

<p>At that point i considered pursuing economics at higher level and started with a bit of indipendant reading (i could not change my subjects at school), and i found it quite interesting. As i finished school and started with my gap year, i had a lot of time on my hands so i began to supplement my study of economics with philosophy.
I instantly fell in love with the subject, and over the past few months i have vastly improved my knowledge base in philosophy.
Currently i feel i would like to pursue philosophy and economics at college level (possibly a dual major or a major/minor combination) - i'm actually very interested in exploring the philosophy-economics harmony.
The only thing i have going against me is that i'm not a very good writer. this is a result of neglecting my writing skills throughout high school. So if i decide to pursue a major in this field, i''ll need to significantly up my writing skills.
I feel that i lack the ability required to write quality essays/papers etc.</p>

<p>One phenomenon that i've noticed (i shouldn't really be paying much attention to this, but can't help it) is that math / physics etc. courses are generally viewed as tougher by americans (college students, general public and employers alike).
So i think career wise - i'll have beter prospects if i pursue math/physics etc.
The course will also be much easier on me if i pursue these subjects as i find them much easier, and my poor writing skills will not hold me down.</p>

<p>But in my heart, i know that i would never be happy doing this, especially now that i know how much i love philosophy and have devoted so much time to studying it.
Will it be really hard to pick up a skill like writing? - i know its probably almost as hard as picking up math skills at the age of 18!</p>

<p>AAAAAAARRRGHHHH........
Thanks very much for your patience if you've read the whole thing.</p>

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<p>When you refer to poor writing skills, do you have trouble constructing basic essays that cover your points and flow together or are you refering to more advanced writing techniques? Philosophy papers "TEND" to be written in a more basic mold then say an english assignment. The style is much more too the point.</p>

<p>Also, many colleges find that a large proportion of their incoming freshman class's write extremely poorly and that is why many schools require students to take several writing seminars their freshman year. I don't think you will be too far behind the curve at most schools.</p>

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<p>Writing is easy to learn, however, it becomes difficult to write good material when one doesn't write much. Thus, the more you are exposed to it, the less of the problem you have writing flawless material.</p>

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<p>Philosophy is a respectable major, so don't be concerned about having trouble getting a job or getting into professional or graduate school. You will probably want to minor in Econ or double major (as I am). Mathematics, however, is still probably the most respectable and difficult major that you can take, but it is far better to study what interests you. It's interesting that you have similar interests to myself (Econ, math, phil). In my case, I've found several universities that have an Economics-Mathematics major (even split) and so I will double major in Philosophy and Econ-Math. You might consider that as well, or try majoring in one and minoring in the other.</p>

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<p>I agree with the above poster.</p>

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<p>I also burned out on math/sci in high school, but I've had some good classes in college that have renewed my interest. I would advise to keep your options open (choose a school that has good departments for all of the mentioned subjects).</p>

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<p>Study what you want and what you love. I'm a firm believer in not picking courses, majors or universities based on what kind of career they lead to. To me that's not the point. If you love Philosophy and Economics then give it a shot. They are respectable majors and in many job fields your specific major is not all that important. </p>

<p>I don't think writing is all that hard to pick up, but you will have to work at it. Writing is much more subjective and less clean-cut than a lot of other skills, but it is possible. You can take some remedial writing courses, work on essays, write in your spare time or maybe get a tutor. It is true that many freshman come into university not being able to write well (although many believe they can). I know in some of my classes there were some shocked students when their first college essays were handed back with very low grades.</p>

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<p>what are you career plans? If you want to go into finance or investment banking, then it is good to have an economics degree.</p>

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<p>yeah first off let us know what you want to do career wise. secondly, you should not worry at all about how people will perceive you if you take a non math/science degree. I'm from South Asia as well, and the mentality over there that Math/science is the be all and end all of educational pursuit and respectability is (for the most part) complete nonsense over here. You've found a subject field that interests you, go for it; your undergraduate years are the time for you to explore fields that interest you. You won't get a chance like this ever again, and you don't want to be regretting taking a course plan in college based on what you think people (or your relatives) may judge you for. </p>

<p>As for the writing, read lots of challenging books (go to the "Great Classics" sections of your local book store, and read them with a dictionary next to you. This will give you an idea of the different writing styles. Practice writing daily, and I think you will find a great deal of improvement. Hope this helps beta :P</p>

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<p>First of all, I think economics should be placed in there with math, physics, and chemistry, with regard to your problem. Economics is just as much about solving problem sets, modelling mathematically, etc., and just as little about writing huge papers, as math, physics, and chemistry are.</p>

<p>As for philosophy, I agree with White_Rabbit. If you are lacking in the <em>basic mechanics</em> of writing an essay, you will have a problem with philosophy. But if your writing is lacking only in <em>style</em>, then this shouldn't be a problem. Critical thinking is much more central to philosophy than advanced writing is.</p>

<p>As others have said, philosophy and economics are both respectable degrees, and the latter is especially marketable.</p>

<p>Lastly, I'd like to point out that, even in the sciences, you'll never know where good writing and commication skills will take you... (And in the humanities, you'll never know where mathematical skills will take you!) This is something you might just have to decide for yourself (analyzing the costs and benefits of it), but I think improving major weak spots is always a worthwhile endeavor, to prepare yourself for whatever may come down your road.</p>

<p>Edit: Oh, and by the way, I am apparently the third person to post in this thread who's interested in the great trio of economics, philosophy, and mathematics! Yay!</p>

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<p>Is philosophy really as respectable of a major as you guys all make it out to be?</p>

<p>I'm a prospective philosophy major, but I'm also really interested in political science. I think philosophy is better all-round education, but it seems like philosophy majors have trouble getting jobs. Some look down at philosophy as being an easy subject. I have my eyes set on law school, and want to do what's best for me as a person, but also for my career.</p>

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<p>thedoverdemon, it seems to me that among the general public, philosophy is probably the most misunderstood subject there is. Most people have never taken a class in philosophy and just assume that it's an easy major that you can BS your way through, sitting under trees and discussing the meaning of life.</p>

<p>In reality, of course, this is not the case; it's an extremely rigorous discipline, right up there with mathematics and physics in this regard. And I think people who actually matter tend to know this. If you're interested in law school and a legal career, a philosophy major is excellent preparation and will take you far, as you can see here:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.ivc.edu/econ/lsatscores.aspx%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.ivc.edu/econ/lsatscores.aspx&lt;/a>
<a href="http://www.wright.edu/%7Elinda.farmer/lsatpage.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.wright.edu/~linda.farmer/lsatpage.html&lt;/a>
<a href="http://www.sjsu.edu/philosophy/Resources/Pre-Law/Why/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.sjsu.edu/philosophy/Resources/Pre-Law/Why/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p>You should try to balance pure intellectual pursuit with practicality. The good thing about the american university system is that you can easily do both in four years. If you like philosophy and economics, you will easily be able to double major in them if you plan properly (unless you go to a school like Princeton). However, you should know that extensive experience in mathematics is necessary is you want to go to graduate school in economics.</p>

<p>
[quote]
First of all, I think economics should be placed in there with math, physics, and chemistry, with regard to your problem. Economics is just as much about solving problem sets, modelling mathematically, etc., and just as little about writing huge papers, as math, physics, and chemistry are.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Not at the undergraduate level.</p>

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<p>^ Can you explain what you meant when you said you can easily double major except in schools like princeton</p>

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<p>Majors generally require 10-12 courses (unless you do a BS or distinguished major), so double majoring should not be a challenge. Schools like Princeton don't allow for more than one major.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
In reality, of course, this is not the case; it's an extremely rigorous discipline, right up there with mathematics and physics in this regard.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>This is a bit of an overstatement for most undergraduate philosophy programs. Unlike math and physics, the difficulty of the subject is flexible. It all depends on how seriously you take the major. It can be as rigorous as physics or math if you choose to take challenging analytic courses. But I don't believe most undergraduate philosophy majors live up to this. At some schools, philosophy majors can get by with many courses in eastern or continental philosophy (closer to the "sitting under a tree and discussing the meaning of life" method).</p>

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<p>
[quote]
I study in India

[/quote]
</p>

<p>
[quote]
i love philosophy and have devoted so much time to studying it

[/quote]
</p>

<p>........ ;)</p>

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<p>janel89, yeah, true. And even analytic philosophy isn't always "right up there with math and physics." But you get my point; people tend to misunderstand philosophy.</p>

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<p>Economics is a social science . . . </p>

<p>Write write write write write. You can greatly improve your writing if you write a ton, preferably after reading a style book or two (like Style by Williams) and under the guidance of a solid writer (preferably a philosophy professor or advanced philospohy student). You might try posting on some philospohy message boards to improve your writing. This way, you will informally and naturally develop the ability to respond with the written word.</p>

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<p>^ Thanks, that seems like an excellent idea. I do visit philosophy forums online, but don't actively participate.
I'll also look into some style books.</p>