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The revenge of the philosophy majors

nytimes.com

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Re: The revenge of the philosophy majors

#81

Post by bix6 »

The_Blade wrote: post #50
datakan wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If the AI is digesting all the philosophy material ever published then why do they need philosophers?

knowing all the philosophy every published is not being a philosopher there was literature about 15 years or so ago stating Philosophy as being an uncommonly lucrative course of study, in part citing Reid Hoffman it is a way of thinking

Philosopher vs MBA. Everyone dogs on MBAs.

Philosophy can have strong mid career earnings especially if you go into law. Or get lucky like Reid did.

Re: The revenge of the philosophy majors

#82

Post by viccis »

keiferski wrote: post #9

I studied analytic philosophy, which is basically an education in how to clarify your thoughts, say what you mean in precise terms, and make clear arguments. IMO there is no better preparation for any sort of writing-and-thinking job than studying analytic philosophy, although of course I am biased. Not sure I’d recommend doing only a philosophy degree, but I highly recommend pairing it with something else more emplo…

I think any English language post about philosophy majors should be assumed to be about analytics.

>how to clarify your thoughts, say what you mean in precise terms, and make clear arguments

This is a little generous. Analytic philosophy often comes across as people using heinous amounts of ink to argue whether a hot dog is technically a taco all while pretending that only a fool would even consider what it tastes like.

Re: The revenge of the philosophy majors

#83

Post by mothballed »

programjames wrote: post #44
datakan wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Arguments so watertight that none of them ever agree with each other and have argued for thousands of years without a resolution to even the most basic of questions.

The appearance of a logical argument is easier to achieve and often good enough for their purposes (publishing papers, winning lawsuits).

Connections are far more important IMO. The opinion itself is there for the plebs so they don't revolt when the high-IQ trickery flagrantly mismatches the plain language of the constitution. The courts are really the main thing nowadays that can provide legitimacy to the acts of the state since it doesn't follow the people or the documents authorizing it.

Re: The revenge of the philosophy majors

#84

Post by ButlerianJihad »

yepyoukno wrote: post #56
datakan wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If the AI is digesting all the philosophy material ever published then why do they need philosophers?

Philosophy is a living process of integrating ideas. Classical materials are the whetstone upon which the mind is sharpened. Unlike history, where literal established accounts are ideal, in philosophy one is expected to view today (or the future) through the lens of contextual discourse. While there is “no right answer” understanding what the issues are and how the discussion plays out is relevant.

I believe that you mean “whetstone”.

Re: The revenge of the philosophy majors

#85

Post by [deleted] »

missingrib wrote: post #76
cgyvbunji wrote: post #27

In summary, AI has tricked a bunch of philosophy majors into not only thinking it's more than linear algebra but changing their entire life trajectories because of their confusion. AI seems to be a very alluring tar pit for the non-technical. The sad part is how this negative externality of AI is being actively encouraged for political ends.

Philosophers were discussing that question far before LLMs were around.

[deleted]

Re: The revenge of the philosophy majors

#86

Post by Avicebron »

julianeon wrote: post #80

I've noticed that many famous billionaires want to be viewed as philosophers: Thiel obviously, Musk arguably. For this they do need ideological coherency and the ability to order their arguments logically, ideally as part of a larger program. Since it is such a popular destination late in life, you'd think it would be a good choice for a major too.

Look up "Philosopher-King" from Plato. It explains a hell of a lot.

Re: The revenge of the philosophy majors

#87

Post by cmrdporcupine »

keiferski wrote: post #36
cmrdporcupine wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And I studied continental philosophy! Which is the opposite! Now I program to be less stochastic :) (Dropped out in my 3rd year to join the .com boom)

Aha, continental philosophy is definitely worth learning as well. I don’t share the disdain many analytic people have for continentals. However I don’t think it’ll make you better at writing clearly, unfortunately…

Much of the apparent obscurantism in continental philosophy is a product frankly of bad translations.

That and much of it was meant to be read somewhat poetically not prescriptively.

I am also not convinced that today's distracted and scattered brains are even capable of reading and digesting something like Kant or Hegel fully. I have a hard time slowing down and thinking at the slow but detailed pace the text requires. I used to read this stuff on the bus or plane before smart phones and even then it was hard to focus deeply enough.

Also, now I old and just fall asleep.

Re: The revenge of the philosophy majors

#88

Post by lapcat »

throw4847285 wrote: post #77
lapcat wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Please read and respect the HN guidelines: https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html It's funny how many years I had to spend in philosophy grad school to become "intellectually lazy".

Sorry for the rudeness. It is my understanding that early Wittgenstein of the Tractatus was mostly critical of logical positivism as opposed to philosophy as a whole, and that late Wittgenstein of the Investigations embraced philosophical inquiry, only abandoning the idea of language as a precise tool (and in fact embracing it). I have heard that Kierkegaard was one of his favorite philosophers, which challenges the…

What do you make of quotes such as the following?

The work of the philosopher consists in assembling reminders for a particular purpose.

A philosophical problem has the form: “I don’t know my way about”.

The problems, are solved, not by giving new information, but by arranging what we have always known. Philosophy is a battle against the bewitchment of our intelligence by means of language.

For the clarity that we are aiming at is indeed complete clarity. But this simply means that the philosophical problems should completely disappear. The real discovery is the one that makes me capable of stopping doing philosophy when I want to.—The one that gives philosophy peace, so that it is no longer tormented by questions which bring itself in question.—Instead, we now demonstrate a method, by examples; and the series of examples can be broken off.—Problems are solved (difficulties eliminated), not a single problem. There is not a philosophical method, though there are indeed methods, like different therapies.

https://ia803103.us.archive.org/23/items/philosophicalinvest...

It's also the case that Wittgenstein left academic philosophy, as did Richard Rorty.

Re: The revenge of the philosophy majors

#89

Post by dlcarrier »

em500 wrote: post #19

This article seems high on vibes, low on metrics. > While a plain-vanilla philosophy degree remains as hard to monetize as ever, David Chalmers, a prominent philosopher of consciousness at N.Y.U., observes: “I think the demand for philosophers with A.I. training is, if anything, outstripping the supply right now. It’s an area I encourage students to go into. I think these issues with A.I. will be front and center for…

That reminds me of a survey that found that in the entire field of Social Psychology, there was something like eight people that indicated they would vote for Romney over Obama.

Re: The revenge of the philosophy majors

#90

Post by throw4847285 »

lapcat wrote: post #88
throw4847285 wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry for the rudeness. It is my understanding that early Wittgenstein of the Tractatus was mostly critical of logical positivism as opposed to philosophy as a whole, and that late Wittgenstein of the Investigations embraced philosophical inquiry, only abandoning the idea of language as a precise tool (and in fact embracing it). I have heard that Kierkegaard was one of his favorite philosophers, which challenges the…

What do you make of quotes such as the following? The work of the philosopher consists in assembling reminders for a particular purpose. A philosophical problem has the form: “I don’t know my way about”. The problems, are solved, not by giving new information, but by arranging what we have always known. Philosophy is a battle against the bewitchment of our intelligence by means of language. For the clarity that we ar…

"Philosophy is a battle against the bewitchment of our intelligence by means of language."

If you view the story of Wittgenstein and Rorty as primarily one of leaving academia, I believe you are telling on yourself.

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