Why did you decide to study philosophy?

What type of career goals do you think you'll have in the future?

I keep hearing from people who are studying philosophy that they want to drop out. This just seems sad. Maybe they weren't cut for it but still I wonder. What's not to like? I do know there's lot's of readings, analysis, thinking, etc... but I don't think I would mind that. What do you think could be the issue?  Lazy people?

Thanks.

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I would love to study philosophy but there's not much to do with it....

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It's a cycle of philospher teachers teach philosophy so that their students end up teaching philosophy.

Minors in philosophy aren't half-bad from what I've heard, though majoring in it gives you almost no job market.

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"Who are you?" Sophie asked.
She received no response to this either, but felt a momentary
confusion as to whether it was she or her reflection who asked
the question.

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Quote: from greatescape11 at 3:58 pm on Nov. 3, 2008

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I would love to study philosophy but there's not much to do with it....

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It's a cycle of philospher teachers teach philosophy so that their students end up teaching philosophy.

Minors in philosophy aren't half-bad from what I've heard, though majoring in it gives you almost no job market.

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Yeah but I'm thinking that a Psychology major with a Philosophy minor kind of screams "All I really want to do is sit on top of a hill and think about life.  Screw work."

But yeah...I could see it being useful in a few fields.

probably because theyre lower level and most people who take them have no clue how to think

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join this group only if youre a mod

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Minors in philosophy aren't half-bad from what I've heard, though majoring in it gives you almost no job market.

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My mom works for JP Morgan Chase (one of the few banks that hasn't bit the dust, woo) and has hired people with Medieval Studies majors just because she needs people who can think in ways Business majors can't or simply aren't used to.

There's hope for my Philosophy majoring ass yet. If that doesn't work, I'll just fall back on my Music and German double minor by...

oh god im fucked

I am now 7 weeks into the course and love it. My two philosophy units are Introduction to Philosophy (just did the for and against existence of God stuff and now moving on to moral philosophy and Kant), Classic Readings (just studied Plato and his Socratic dialogues and now doing Aristotle's Categories), and my history unit is Early Modern Studies (Europe 1400ish to 1750)

I choose to do philosophy because its a sort of hobby for me. I love the way it makes such mundane things suddenly become interesting. Also the subject gives me a fantastic sense of well being. Its as if everything in life has developed an extra dimension.

I disagree when people say that it is harder to get a job with a philosophy degree. What about the other seemingly worthless ones like media studies, drama and history? Surely anyone with the determination to study these subjects, doing endless writing and research for 3 years will look good to an employer in many trades. The problem solving skills of a philosopher always looks good on a CV. Not to mention the verbal skills in arguing.

Post edited at 12:54 pm on Nov. 4, 2008 by julian

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"I feel a bit lightheaded; maybe you should drive. . . ."

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Just keep in mind: God help you if you want a PhD so that you can teach.

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Why?

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"Hey, that's not very nice, Mayor--
just because a person's gay doesn't mean he's a fag!"
-Stan

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Quote: from TheOtherHorseman at 4:37 am on Nov. 4, 2008

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Just keep in mind: God help you if you want a PhD so that you can teach.

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Why?

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It is kind of the wrong reason to get a PhD.  You should get a PhD because you want to be a lifelong student in a subject that you want to devote your life to.  Teaching is something that goes along with this of course, but there is much more involved to obtaining a PhD than merely a desire to teach.

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"I feel a bit lightheaded; maybe you should drive. . . ."

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Quote: from Wilder at 4:35 pm on Nov. 4, 2008

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Quote: from TheOtherHorseman at 4:37 am on Nov. 4, 2008

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Just keep in mind: God help you if you want a PhD so that you can teach.

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 Why?

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It is kind of the wrong reason to get a PhD. You should get a PhD because you want to be a lifelong student in a subject that you want to devote your life to. Teaching is something that goes along with this of course, but there is much more involved to obtaining a PhD than merely a desire to teach.

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You know people that want to teach on a college level but don't want to be lifelong students in the subjects that they will devote their lives to studying and teaching?

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"Hey, that's not very nice, Mayor--
just because a person's gay doesn't mean he's a fag!"
-Stan