The revenge of the philosophy majors

Post by glaring » Tue, Jul 07, 2026, 6:47 PM UTC

c7b wrote: post #57

consensus1 wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Philosophy majors. That piece of paper does not make you a philosopher.

Bit of a tangent, but it's fun to think about how much it takes to become a -er, -ian or -ist in a given field. Philosophy is probably one of the hardest, you need to be seen as up there with the all-time greats. In history or physics you probably need to be faculty, in economics you need to have a PhD, in engineering you don't even need a degree but you need to be practicing,...

Post by satellite2 » Tue, Jul 07, 2026, 6:50 PM UTC

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…

Post by cwillu » Tue, Jul 07, 2026, 6:50 PM UTC

gregates wrote: post #100

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…

What you're missing is that this is approximately at least a half-dozen more jobs than open tenure-track positions at research universities.

Post by throwaway27448 » Tue, Jul 07, 2026, 6:56 PM UTC

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…

Post by towledev » Tue, Jul 07, 2026, 6:57 PM UTC

fellowniusmonk wrote: post #94

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 have one area of my education that I highly value but its very hard to explain without people importing a lot of assumptions. I like to call it critical listening but also its textual evaluation. In addition to some didactic instruction my Father gave me a short book on the principles of hermeneutics around 13. We went to different churches over the years growing up but I would bring my bible, take notes, and on th…