Sounds an awful lot like http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analysis_paralysis#Personal_ana... . I've certainly been there (well, I am there), and I don't know of a solution, if there is such a thing. The conclusion I've come to for myself is to use my doubt and let it inform me, but refuse to let it paralyze me. If that sounds vague, well, it is :).
Ask HN: Feelings of regret over career path?
31–34 of 34 posts
Re: Ask HN: Feelings of regret over career path?
#32I studied Philosophy and Political Science in college and I hack for a living. There's nothing that says you must have a formal education in a particular discipline to do something as a career.
I say pursue the discipline you have the most interest and ability in.
Re: Ask HN: Feelings of regret over career path?
#33Got a Bachelor's in Computer Science and a Master's in Philosophy here.
If you're seriously into philosophy, do have in mind that casual evening readings will probably not match a year or two of intense study. On the one hand, I think one has to live for a while in academia to get a decent understanding of philosophy. It took me about a year of full-time study for philosophy to really "click". On the other hand, shallow study will not be enough to get somewhat sick of the subject and start avoiding it, which I jokingly consider to be one of the best things about my philosophy education.
Full time study is a fairly big investment in terms of time though, and keep in mind that you will probably want to get back to hacking afterwards.
Re: Ask HN: Feelings of regret over career path?
#34I am interested in philosophy, and this is the _reason_ I chose computer engineering. You now have the tools to find the answers to your philosophical questions, in a way that has never before been practical - you can study the nature of the mind by developing models in computational neuroscience; you have enough background in mathematics and logic to study Godel, Turing, Russell, and the meaning of knowledge and tru…
The questions you mentioned are scientific rather than philosophical. I'd say the discerning feature of most philosophical questions is that no empirical evidence can give a conclusive answer to them. So, no, exposure to science will give you some prejudice (in both a good and bad way) at the beginning of a philosophical argument, but after that, you will mostly be relying on logic.