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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)

#71

Post by alimw »

Mendenhall wrote: post #42

Dime store philosophy. Some just want to be seen as philosophers and regurgitate what others told them about anothers work. I always had a passion for philosophy, I read massive amounts before even going to college. I would read the ancient greek books that had english on one page greek on the other then use a concordance to basically teach myself ancient greek while making sure I had the context correct and not miss…

Many of those secondary sources contain valuable information. That you read some stuff in the original doesn't make you more of a philosopher! Probably that appellation should be reserved for those who have made an original contribution.

Re: Why I Majored in Philosophy Despite Everyone Telling Me Not To (2013)

#72

Post by johan_larson »

I studied some philosophy in college, and found the experience pretty disappointing. The field addresses some really fascinating problems, but I'm not too impressed with their answers. A typical assignment in philosophy consists of thinking about a really hard problem with no good solutions, picking one, and arguing for it. And since there are so few fixed points, almost anything is arguable. Really, it's a debater's paradise.

If I were to do undergrad all over again, with an emphasis on mental calisthenics rather than job skills, I'd study physics and history. Physics is rigorous and really builds your analytical skills. History is deep and builds your research and writing skills. But both are ultimately grounded in reality. There are none of those oh so precious arguments about whether reality is even there.

Re: Why I Majored in Philosophy Despite Everyone Telling Me Not To (2013)

#73

Post by jraedisch »

johan_larson wrote: post #72

I studied some philosophy in college, and found the experience pretty disappointing. The field addresses some really fascinating problems, but I'm not too impressed with their answers. A typical assignment in philosophy consists of thinking about a really hard problem with no good solutions, picking one, and arguing for it. And since there are so few fixed points, almost anything is arguable. Really, it's a debater's…

The rules of logic should be applied in philosophy as in physics. If you don't do that, or there is no competent judge (e.g. teacher) things tend to get out of hand, especially with people studying philosophy because they "can't do math".

Re: Why I Majored in Philosophy Despite Everyone Telling Me Not To (2013)

#74

Post by ramblenode »

Chinjut wrote: post #67
andkon wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is this satire? This is pretty much the perfect expression of all the most insufferable moments and people I knew during my own analytic philosophy education. It's even wrapped up in the fondest delusion of philosophy undergrads: that you, through the sheer strength of your intellect, rose above your surroundings. Your shit ain't that great, man. If anyone goes through four years of philosophy and is talking about th…

Huh. Their website ( http://soixante-neuf.homosexual.horse/veritas/ ) does seem at least somewhat satirical, and yet, if they are trolling, they are quite committed to it. They do seem to post a lot on reddit about Brown: https://www.reddit.com/user/saintzozo . Although those posts seem like a lot of trolling as well. Ah, I dunno. It's difficult for me to figure out exactly the dynamics of trolling vs. other forms of…

I'd guess trolling, which is even more unfortunate than genuine pomposity. Not the only personality in this thread where it's legitimately difficult to tell, either.

Re: Why I Majored in Philosophy Despite Everyone Telling Me Not To (2013)

#75

Post by objectiveariel »

I love this bit: "I prefer to spend my college years searching, exploring, and wondering, as opposed to training to become an "asset" in the file cabinet of a "human resource" department. Rock on fellow baristas, rock on."

Translation: "I'll come out of university with no transferrable skills whatsoever. Dreadfully unintellectual dead-end jobs are where I'll be able to keep pursuing my love of knowledge".

Dude.

The author's bio is probably the most important part of this article:

"Grant studies at Wake Forest, where he majors in philosophy and economics."

Translation: "I'm passionate about half the university course I'm currently doing and have absolutely no idea how the job market will treat me when I'm done with it."

Full disclosure: I myself studied philosophy at university. I'm proud of it, but I'd never boast about how poorly it prepared me for the job market.

Re: Why I Majored in Philosophy Despite Everyone Telling Me Not To (2013)

#76

Post by dghf »

oldmanjay wrote: post #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 con…

This kind of speculation is hardly the preserve of philosophy students, either. It has to be one of the top 10 topics of drunken (and stoned) conversations among undergraduates of all disciplines.

Re: Why I Majored in Philosophy Despite Everyone Telling Me Not To (2013)

#77

Post by pjc50 »

Chinjut wrote: post #67
andkon wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is this satire? This is pretty much the perfect expression of all the most insufferable moments and people I knew during my own analytic philosophy education. It's even wrapped up in the fondest delusion of philosophy undergrads: that you, through the sheer strength of your intellect, rose above your surroundings. Your shit ain't that great, man. If anyone goes through four years of philosophy and is talking about th…

Huh. Their website ( http://soixante-neuf.homosexual.horse/veritas/ ) does seem at least somewhat satirical, and yet, if they are trolling, they are quite committed to it. They do seem to post a lot on reddit about Brown: https://www.reddit.com/user/saintzozo . Although those posts seem like a lot of trolling as well. Ah, I dunno. It's difficult for me to figure out exactly the dynamics of trolling vs. other forms of…

> Their website (http://soixante-neuf.homosexual.horse/veritas/) does seem at least somewhat satirical

How far through the URL did you read before realising that?

Re: Why I Majored in Philosophy Despite Everyone Telling Me Not To (2013)

#78

Post by yodsanklai »

I studied a bit of philosophy in high school, but it didn't really interest me at that time. But getting older, I realize that philosophical questions are pervasive. A lot of our contemporary debates and our disagreements are rooted in philosophical questions.

Unfortunately, I find philosophy to be very arid and I'm sure it doesn't have to be that way.

For one thing, a lot of philosophy books discuss past philosophers ideas. Of course, some of their thoughts are still valid, but they're very obfuscated and hard to follow for a modern reader. It's like if we were asking math students to read Euclide to learn about geometry.

Re: Why I Majored in Philosophy Despite Everyone Telling Me Not To (2013)

#80

Post by coldtea »

objectiveariel wrote: post #75

I love this bit: "I prefer to spend my college years searching, exploring, and wondering, as opposed to training to become an "asset" in the file cabinet of a "human resource" department. Rock on fellow baristas, rock on." Translation: "I'll come out of university with no transferrable skills whatsoever. Dreadfully unintellectual dead-end jobs are where I'll be able to keep pursuing my love of knowledge". Dude. The a…

>Full disclosure: I myself studied philosophy at university. I'm proud of it, but I'd never boast about how poorly it prepared me for the job market.

You would in another society, that doesn't prioritize monetary success and the job market above all things.

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