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	Why Major In Philosophy? Is Philosophy the Right Major for You? What Can You Do With a Major in Philosophy?

	Why Major In Philosophy? If you are thinking about majoring in philosophy, you will naturally have a number of specific questions as well as some more general concerns that are harder to formulate. The choice of a major is a difficult problem, perhaps one of the most difficult you will face in your undergraduate years. The information provided here will not provide a quick and easy solution, but we hope it will give you the kind of information you need in order to make a carefully considered decision. Philosophy majors learn two different but closely related kinds of things. First of all, one learns how some of mankind’s greatest and most profound thinkers have tried to answer certain basic and perennial questions. Among these are questions about morality, about our knowledge of the world, about the existence of God, about the relation between mind and body, and about the conditions of a just society. These quite general questions and the answers to them that have been advanced represent some of the most important themes in the history of our civilization. Acquaintance with this material is a necessary component of a balanced liberal education. A philosophy major, however, does more than simply learn the views held by various philosophers. For in attaining a grasp of those views he or she must extract the principal points from complex material, evaluate the soundness of the arguments involved and, most important of all, justify his or her own position on any given topic. Writing papers, an integral part of almost any philosophy class, requires the ability to express one's thoughts in a lucid and concise fashion and to defend them cogently. These components of a philosophical training enable the philosophy major to develop sophisticated skills that are valuable in almost any field in which one might work, from business through law to highly technical scientific fields, including medicine. Two of the benefits of a balanced liberal education are to provide you with knowledge and skills that will last a lifetime, and the aspects of philosophy we have mentioned do have exactly those benefits. Is Philosophy the Right Major for You? Many students wonder if they will find philosophy a stimulating and rewarding field in which to major. The best guide here is your experience in philosophy courses you have already taken. Nearly everyone who does philosophy is attracted by the challenge of grappling with issues that have stimulated the greatest thinkers of every age. But the source of this attraction differs. Some see philosophy primarily as a way of arriving at certain fundamental truths about mankind and the world in which we live. For such people, the overriding motivation in doing philosophy is to find the correct answers to such questions as "What makes one action right and another wrong?, "Does God exist?", "Can we be certain about anything beyond our own existence?", and "Are people just complicated physical systems of the same kind as other animals or computers?" Others are more attracted by the process of "doing philosophy" itself. For these people, the very act of analyzing a difficult problem is the main source of pleasure. The history of philosophy is seen as a storehouse of intellectual puzzles to which the philosopher can apply her analytical and dialectical skills. The exercise of these skills is inherently satisfying even if it does not ultimately lead to a unique correct solution of the problem being considered. You might also bear in mind the following considerations. (l) If you have felt that courses in other fields don't address what you regard as the most basic questions, or don't go into them deeply enough, you will probably like the sort of work done in philosophy courses. (2) A philosophy major can expect to do a lot of writing, and writing of a rather special kind. As mentioned before, the emphasis is on the critical assessment and development of arguments. In preparing a philosophy paper, clarity and rigor of thought are much more important than research; in fact, there is no such thing as a "research", or purely expository, paper in philosophy. If you enjoy carefully examining arguments and thinking about the different ways one can deal with an issue or problem, you will probably enjoy writing philosophy papers. On the other hand, since writing is so important in philosophy courses, if you are not interested in this kind of writing, perhaps you should think twice about majoring in philosophy. (3) Readings for philosophy courses are generally not long, but they are difficult and challenging. You cannot expect to go through an assigned reading once and have an adequate grasp of it. Some students seem to thrive on the painstaking study required, while others simply don't have the patience for it. (4) Discussion normally plays a much greater role in upper-level philosophy courses than it does in those of other disciplines. If you enjoy trying to get at the truth about difficult and important issues through dialogue and discussion, you will probably enjoy being a philosophy major. What Can You Do With A Major In Philosophy? Concern about the practical value of majoring in philosophy is often quite specific: What does one do after graduation with a philosophy major? Obviously there are other fields that lead more directly to specific careers, and if one is primarily interested in choosing a major that will give technical training for a career, one should probably not consider majoring in any of the humanities or social sciences. Many students who major in philosophy go on to graduate or professional schools, usually in law, medicine or business. Philosophy is an excellent field to major in for these professional schools. The emphasis on careful and rigorous analysis of arguments is particularly helpful for law (and the LSAT's). According to a recent study by the University's Office of Career Planning and Placement entitled "A Comparative Study by Major of Law School Admission Test Performance", the average LSAT score for a philosophy major at the University was nearly l5 points higher than the average score for any other major. While the significance of these results is, of course, open to question, it seems very likely that the kind of critical reasoning that is stressed in all philosophy courses is at least partially responsible for the superior performance of philosophy majors on this exam. It is also worth noting that according to a study recently completed by the American Medical Association philosophy majors had the third highest acceptance rate into American medical schools. Many philosophy majors go into business (investment banking being a popular field), teaching, and a number of other fields. Some continue their study of philosophy at the graduate level.

Why Major In Philosophy?

If you are thinking about majoring in philosophy, you will naturally have a number of specific questions as well as some more general concerns that are harder to formulate. The choice of a major is a difficult problem, perhaps one of the most difficult you will face in your undergraduate years. The information provided here will not provide a quick and easy solution, but we hope it will give you the kind of information you need in order to make a carefully considered decision.

Philosophy majors learn two different but closely related kinds of things. First of all, one learns how some of mankind’s greatest and most profound thinkers have tried to answer certain basic and perennial questions. Among these are questions about morality, about our knowledge of the world, about the existence of God, about the relation between mind and body, and about the conditions of a just society. These quite general questions and the answers to them that have been advanced represent some of the most important themes in the history of our civilization. Acquaintance with this material is a necessary component of a balanced liberal education.

A philosophy major, however, does more than simply learn the views held by various philosophers. For in attaining a grasp of those views he or she must extract the principal points from complex material, evaluate the soundness of the arguments involved and, most important of all, justify his or her own position on any given topic. Writing papers, an integral part of almost any philosophy class, requires the ability to express one's thoughts in a lucid and concise fashion and to defend them cogently. These components of a philosophical training enable the philosophy major to develop sophisticated skills that are valuable in almost any field in which one might work, from business through law to highly technical scientific fields, including medicine. Two of the benefits of a balanced liberal education are to provide you with knowledge and skills that will last a lifetime, and the aspects of philosophy we have mentioned do have exactly those benefits.

Is Philosophy the Right Major for You?

Many students wonder if they will find philosophy a stimulating and rewarding field in which to major. The best guide here is your experience in philosophy courses you have already taken. Nearly everyone who does philosophy is attracted by the challenge of grappling with issues that have stimulated the greatest thinkers of every age. But the source of this attraction differs. Some see philosophy primarily as a way of arriving at certain fundamental truths about mankind and the world in which we live. For such people, the overriding motivation in doing philosophy is to find the correct answers to such questions as "What makes one action right and another wrong?, "Does God exist?", "Can we be certain about anything beyond our own existence?", and "Are people just complicated physical systems of the same kind as other animals or computers?" Others are more attracted by the process of "doing philosophy" itself. For these people, the very act of analyzing a difficult problem is the main source of pleasure. The history of philosophy is seen as a storehouse of intellectual puzzles to which the philosopher can apply her analytical and dialectical skills. The exercise of these skills is inherently satisfying even if it does not ultimately lead to a unique correct solution of the problem being considered.

You might also bear in mind the following considerations. (l) If you have felt that courses in other fields don't address what you regard as the most basic questions, or don't go into them deeply enough, you will probably like the sort of work done in philosophy courses. (2) A philosophy major can expect to do a lot of writing, and writing of a rather special kind. As mentioned before, the emphasis is on the critical assessment and development of arguments. In preparing a philosophy paper, clarity and rigor of thought are much more important than research; in fact, there is no such thing as a "research", or purely expository, paper in philosophy. If you enjoy carefully examining arguments and thinking about the different ways one can deal with an issue or problem, you will probably enjoy writing philosophy papers. On the other hand, since writing is so important in philosophy courses, if you are not interested in this kind of writing, perhaps you should think twice about majoring in philosophy. (3) Readings for philosophy courses are generally not long, but they are difficult and challenging. You cannot expect to go through an assigned reading once and have an adequate grasp of it. Some students seem to thrive on the painstaking study required, while others simply don't have the patience for it. (4) Discussion normally plays a much greater role in upper-level philosophy courses than it does in those of other disciplines. If you enjoy trying to get at the truth about difficult and important issues through dialogue and discussion, you will probably enjoy being a philosophy major.

What Can You Do With A Major In Philosophy?

Concern about the practical value of majoring in philosophy is often quite specific: What does one do after graduation with a philosophy major? Obviously there are other fields that lead more directly to specific careers, and if one is primarily interested in choosing a major that will give technical training for a career, one should probably not consider majoring in any of the humanities or social sciences. Many students who major in philosophy go on to graduate or professional schools, usually in law, medicine or business. Philosophy is an excellent field to major in for these professional schools. The emphasis on careful and rigorous analysis of arguments is particularly helpful for law (and the LSAT's). According to a recent study by the University's Office of Career Planning and Placement entitled "A Comparative Study by Major of Law School Admission Test Performance", the average LSAT score for a philosophy major at the University was nearly l5 points higher than the average score for any other major. While the significance of these results is, of course, open to question, it seems very likely that the kind of critical reasoning that is stressed in all philosophy courses is at least partially responsible for the superior performance of philosophy majors on this exam. It is also worth noting that according to a study recently completed by the American Medical Association philosophy majors had the third highest acceptance rate into American medical schools. Many philosophy majors go into business (investment banking being a popular field), teaching, and a number of other fields. Some continue their study of philosophy at the graduate level.