"Philosophy" means "love of wisdom." Wisdom is not just knowledge but a sense of what knowledge is all about and an insight into the hidden presuppositions underlying the way we look at ourselves and the rest of the world. The wise person understands how things stand to one another in importance. Philosophy begins in wonder—wonder at the world, wonder most of all at the human person. And after philosophical reflection the wonder remains, even though it is wiser. For there is nothing on earth more wonderful than human beings, and the ancient Greek command "Know thyself!" begins a quest that last a lifetime.
The study of philosophy has always been of serious interest to human beings. In addition, in any field—from business, to medicine, to law, to teaching, to computer programming and civil engineering—the ability to think clearly and creatively as well as the capacity to solve problems is central to professional success and personal satisfaction. Of course, while taking one or two philosophy classes does not guarantee success, a philosophy class is one of the best ways to work on the acquisition and development of:
- Critical thinking skills: The ability to identify key issues in decision-making or problem solving; and to identify various related problems and solutions.
- Skills in argumentation: The ability to proceed in a valid and sound way from premises to conclusions; to rationally persuade others; to more rigorously seek reasoned self-understanding.
- Communication skills: The ability to summarize the content of a message clearly and objectively (for example, to differentiate fact from value); to explain complex ideas and principles.
- Skills in design and planning: The ability to look at a problem, or an opportunity, from different angles and to identify alternative plans of action or design.
Pre-Law Emphasis in Philosophy
The Pre-Law Emphasis in Philosophy is intended to enhance any student’s abilities in analytic reasoning and conceptual investigation (abilities central to success on the LSAT, in law school, and later in the practice of law). The Pre-Law Emphasis may be taken as part of a philosophy major, as part of a minor, or the emphasis may be taken by itself. Pre-Law Emphasis Description.
Philosophy Majors in Various Fields
| Bruce Lee | Martial Artist, Actor |
| Jay Leno | Comedian |
| Martin Luther King, Jr. | Minister, Activist |
| Freeman Patterson | Photographer |
| John Elway | Professional Football Player |
| William J. Bennett | Author, Former Secretary of Education |
| Stone Phillips | News Broadcaster |
| Alex Trebek | Game Show Host |
| Vaclav Havel | Playwright, Czech President |
| Karol Wojtyla | Pope John Paul II |
| Susan Sarandon | Actress |
| Harrison Ford | Actor |
| Ethan Cohen | Filmmaker |
| David Souter | Supreme Court Justice |
| Herbert Simon | Economist, Nobel Laureate |
| George Soros, | Financer |
| Philip Glass | composer |
| Phil Jackson | Basketball Coach |
| Elie Wiesel | Writer, Nobel Laureate |
| James Michener | Writer |
| Gene Siskel | Film Critic |
Why Minor in Philosophy?
While honing the skills noted above with one or two elective philosophy classes can help advance a wide variety of personal and professional goals, adding philosophy to your undergraduate program in a more significant way will allow for the time and practice necessary to develop them. Every reason for taking a philosophy course is a reason for minoring in philosophy. Philosophy covers a very broad range of academic and professional concerns: whatever your major or your personal or your career interests, you can be sure that philosophy touches upon them in some way. A minor in philosophy gives you the opportunity to further explore the connections between philosophy and other disciplines, and to become acquainted with issues and figures of special interest to the discipline of philosophy. Information on minoring in Philosophy is availiable at the Department Office (Bannan Hall 261) and at Department Programs.
Why Major in Philosophy?
The best and perhaps the only good reason to major in philosophy is that you have a serious interest in the subject. Nevertheless, it is possible to become dissuaded from majoring in philosophy by practical concerns: if I major in philosophy, can I go to medical school? business school? Will I be able to get a job? These are legitimate concerns and, for the person seriously interested in philosophy, the answers to these questions are very reassuring. Most philosophy majors do not go on to work in academic philosophy, and as suggested above majoring in philosophy will actually be a significant benefit in almost any career. Also, if you have other serious interests, many philosophy majors have a second major. In addition to all the reasons for taking philosophy classes and minoring in philosophy listed above you should know that:
According to a study of GRE scores from 1988-91:
- Philosophy majors had the highest mean verbal score of students in all majors.
- Philosophy majors had the second highest mean analytic score of students in all majors.
- Philosophy majors had a higher mean quantitative score than all other humanities and social science majors.
According to a 1994 study of LSAT scores:
- The mean LSAT for philosophy majors is higher than it is for both political science and pre-law majors.
- The mean LSAT score for philosophy majors is the fifth highest for all humanities and social science majors (the highest are linguistics and classics).
For the GMAT from 1991-96:
- The mean score on the GMAT is higher for philosophy majors than for any type of business major (accounting, finance, management, etc.).
- Outside of the hard sciences, philosophy has had either the first or second highest mean score on the GMAT each year.
Sources
http://www-phil.tamu.edu/Undergrad/what_philosophers_do.html Philosophy at Texas A&M.
http://www.philosophy.ilstu.edu/students/careers.html Illinois State University Philosophy Department.
www.brandeis.edu/departments/philosophy/philwallstreet.html The Wall Street Journal cited by the Brandeis University Philosophy Department.
www.apa.udel.edu/apa/publications/texts/briefgd.html The American Philosophical Association: "A Brief Guide For Undergraduates."
