Why I Majored in Philosophy Despite Everyone Telling Me Not To (2013)
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Re: Why I Majored in Philosophy Despite Everyone Telling Me Not To (2013)
#2> For some of us philosophy majors, we are just genuinely curious about some notions in life that are often taken for granted. For instance, is our ability to have rational thought just a product of our brainwaves, the interaction of different neurotransmitters? Or is there something more going on, something "supernatural" that allowed humans the capacity for rational dialogue?
What a shame a philosophy education confers no ability to address such a question meaningfully.
Re: Why I Majored in Philosophy Despite Everyone Telling Me Not To (2013)
#3An interesting list of some famous people with philosophy degrees:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1k1qSRoDpuOeDVkYm10bTg3V3l...
Re: Why I Majored in Philosophy Despite Everyone Telling Me Not To (2013)
#4> For some of us philosophy majors, we are just genuinely curious about some notions in life that are often taken for granted. For instance, is our ability to have rational thought just a product of our brainwaves, the interaction of different neurotransmitters? Or is there something more going on, something "supernatural" that allowed humans the capacity for rational dialogue? What a shame a philosophy education con…
Whether it does or it doesn't is itself a philosophical question. If you are interested in that question, you are interested in philosophy.
The same goes for a lot of other questions that people might not at first blush consider philosophical questions, such as most any questions containing the word "should".
I've found it interesting to see what extreme negative reactions a lot of people have to the very idea of studying philosophy or even being interested in philosophical questions. They're really outraged and think it's a complete waste of time, usually not realizing how much of what they believe and of the world around them has been and continues to be shaped by philosophy and philosophers.
Re: Why I Majored in Philosophy Despite Everyone Telling Me Not To (2013)
#5> For some of us philosophy majors, we are just genuinely curious about some notions in life that are often taken for granted. For instance, is our ability to have rational thought just a product of our brainwaves, the interaction of different neurotransmitters? Or is there something more going on, something "supernatural" that allowed humans the capacity for rational dialogue? What a shame a philosophy education con…
Whether it does or it doesn't is itself a philosophical question. If you are interested in that question, you are interested in philosophy. The same goes for a lot of other questions that people might not at first blush consider philosophical questions, such as most any questions containing the word "should". I've found it interesting to see what extreme negative reactions a lot of people have to the very idea of stu…
I think that was intended to be a jab at the author/article.
Re: Why I Majored in Philosophy Despite Everyone Telling Me Not To (2013)
#6> For some of us philosophy majors, we are just genuinely curious about some notions in life that are often taken for granted. For instance, is our ability to have rational thought just a product of our brainwaves, the interaction of different neurotransmitters? Or is there something more going on, something "supernatural" that allowed humans the capacity for rational dialogue? What a shame a philosophy education con…
Whether it does or it doesn't is itself a philosophical question. If you are interested in that question, you are interested in philosophy. The same goes for a lot of other questions that people might not at first blush consider philosophical questions, such as most any questions containing the word "should". I've found it interesting to see what extreme negative reactions a lot of people have to the very idea of stu…
It's possible to be interested in philosophy while criticizing the field as it is taught. If you want to know how and whether the workings of the brain can produce rational thought, you'd be better off pursuing a neuroscience education.
Re: Why I Majored in Philosophy Despite Everyone Telling Me Not To (2013)
#7> For some of us philosophy majors, we are just genuinely curious about some notions in life that are often taken for granted. For instance, is our ability to have rational thought just a product of our brainwaves, the interaction of different neurotransmitters? Or is there something more going on, something "supernatural" that allowed humans the capacity for rational dialogue? What a shame a philosophy education con…
Whether it does or it doesn't is itself a philosophical question. If you are interested in that question, you are interested in philosophy. The same goes for a lot of other questions that people might not at first blush consider philosophical questions, such as most any questions containing the word "should". I've found it interesting to see what extreme negative reactions a lot of people have to the very idea of stu…
Well, I think some part of the negative reactions stem from the fact that the scope of philosophy is incredibly narrow these days, and largely limited to speculative analyses.
For example, experiments that detect electro-chemical impulses in the brain and compare them during various moods would classically have been squarely in the center of a philosopher's work. But today, they are part of biology, or psychology, or some other science that has split away from what was once philosophy. As a result, (referring to the original example), literally "Whether it does or it doesn't" is the only problem that is under the aegis of philosophy -- everything else has been delegated to some science or the other.
Re: Why I Majored in Philosophy Despite Everyone Telling Me Not To (2013)
#8I'm going to reproduce a reddit post I made recently that I think is relevant:
Analytic philosophy has made my mind a razor. It forged in me the confidence and mental discipline to learn anything, and I'm now dominating the tech scene despite having little in the way of formal coursework.
I was lucky to choose one of the few disciplines that can be fruitfully studied at Brown. As any student of a rigorous discipline, I was ultimately responsible for my own intellectual growth; everything I ever truly learned has been in solitude. The less-than-brilliant technical faculty, weak course offerings, and charlatan arts professors had little negative impact on me. In fact, being forced to retreat within myself was necessary for my success, because it allowed me to look at reality more critically, unmired by the prejudices and preoccupations of the misguided or less thoughtful around me.
I have nearly everything I want in life, but I was lucky to (1) pursue rigorous scholarship and (2) be born with the abilities and personality that made such a pursuit feasible at Brown. The less intelligent[^] or more impressionable will be made failures at Brown. Those are the people I'm trying to warn.
[^] For example, those who were not invited to attend a better Ivy League university. It's very tempting for someone in this position to choose Brown over a better option simply because it is wrongfully perceived as prestigious for technically being an Ivy.
Re: Why I Majored in Philosophy Despite Everyone Telling Me Not To (2013)
#9Earlier quoted context omitted.
Whether it does or it doesn't is itself a philosophical question. If you are interested in that question, you are interested in philosophy. The same goes for a lot of other questions that people might not at first blush consider philosophical questions, such as most any questions containing the word "should". I've found it interesting to see what extreme negative reactions a lot of people have to the very idea of stu…
It's possible to be interested in philosophy while criticizing the field as it is taught. If you want to know how and whether the workings of the brain can produce rational thought, you'd be better off pursuing a neuroscience education.
> It's possible to be interested in philosophy while criticizing the field as it is taught.
Absolutely. Criticism of philosophy is itself usually a philosophical undertaking.
> If you want to know how and whether the workings of the brain can produce rational thought, you'd be better off pursuing a neuroscience education.
That's a philosophical position, and very open to debate.
Re: Why I Majored in Philosophy Despite Everyone Telling Me Not To (2013)
#10> Grant studies at Wake Forest, where he majors in philosophy and economics.