The Practical Value of Philosophy

Knowledge and Skills

In learning philosophy, students are exposed to a wide breadth of other subjects. This is because philosophy, being the oldest field of inquiry, busies itself with pretty much everything. However, the focus of philosophy is on answering important, fundamental questions. Philosophers may ask questions such as: what is evidence?, what is consciousness?, how can we make a just society?, how can we make sense of right and wrong?, and many others. In engaging with these questions, students can expect to learn what the possible answers are, how they are defended, and what the major objections are. Importantly, the pursuit of a degree in philosophy will result in the development of essential skills.

Job Prospects

Contrary to popular belief, those who major in philosophy fare very well on the job market. Philosophy equips its students with skills that are both highly coveted by employers and desirable in a multitude of fields. Additionally, those with degrees in philosophy tend to do well financially.

Testimonials

We can go on and on about the benefits of majoring or minoring in philosophy, but you should consider what those who have already gotten their degrees have to say. Below are some quotations from a few of the graduates of philosophy.

• Studying philosophy taught me two things. I learned how to write really clearly. I learned how to follow an argument all the way down, which is invaluable in running meetings. And when I studied the history of science, I learned about the ways that everyone believes something is true--like the old notion of some kind of ether in the air propagating gravitational forces--until they realized that it wasn't true.

• Philosophy majors get a bad rap ... I would argue that for the vast majority of people, an education of teaching you to think critically about the world you are in and what you know and what you don’t know is useful for absolutely everything that you could possibly do in the future.

• I learned how to separate the wheat from the chaff, essential from just interesting, and I think that’s a particularly critical skill now when there is a ton of interesting but ultimately irrelevant information floating around.

• And what a continuously giving gift philosophy has been. While it seemed impractical to my dentist, it has informed and provided a methodology for everything I have done since. If you can get through a one-sentence paragraph of Kant, holding all of its ideas and clauses in juxtaposition in your mind, you can think through most anything. If you can extract, and abstract, underlying assumptions or superordinate principles, or reason through to the implications of arguments, you can identify and address issues in a myriad of fields.

• A philosophy degree has trained the individual's brain and given them the ability to provide management-consulting firms with the sort of skills that they require and clients demand. These skills can include the ability to be very analytical, provide clear and innovative thinking, and question assumptions.

Like those above, graduates of philosophy tend to fare well for themselves and firmly believe that their philosophical training was worth the effort.

Well-Known Graduates of Philosophy

Here are just a few well-known graduates of philosophy.

Graduate Exams

If you've read everything on this page so far, then it will come as no surprise to you that those who study philosophy in college are amongst the best performers on all graduate exams.

Philosophy and Success

A major, by itself, cannot guarantee success. This is true whether one chooses to major in physics, history, economics, philosophy, or anything else. But the major that you pursue determines which skills you will have an opportunity to develop, and philosophy offers its students the chance to improve upon and master the most essential skills one will need both in one's profession and in one's personal life. With a degree in philosophy, success is attainable.