Nice post on some of the benefits of being a philosophy major

My fantastic colleague, Ty Fagan, made this graphic from recent data coming from the Educational Testing Service.
I thought it was worth a blog post, because students interested in a philosophy major often ask me whether they should do a double-major or minor in “something more practical.” Often, business is the major considered to be more practical. Sometimes Political Science, History and English are even cited by students and parents to be more useful than philosophy.
One of my good friends, Andrew Wicklander, runs his own project management group and software company. His wife, Maile, owns a yoga studio. They are both the sort of “job-creators” touted as crucial to the success of America. Andrew says that when he and Maile are hiring, they do not consider a business major to be practical preparation for job candidates. Instead, Andrew and Maile look for evidence that a candidate can…
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trueandreasonable
March 23, 2014
I tend to think that people who choose a philosophy major will likely be pretty good at critical reasoning beforehand. So I am not sure this sort of thing proves much about the value of a philosophy major.
But I can say that I majored in philosophy and 21 years after graduating, words can not describe how thankful I am for it. My political science major doesn’t touch it. The opportunity to study philosophy, thoroughly work out my logical inclinations, try my best to solve intractable problems, and get inside the minds of some of the greatest thinkers ever to walk the earth, was an experience I have always treasured. After graduating with that major I think I was sharper than at any time in my life.
I do wonder why it is not taught earlier. It’s scary to think philosophy, the training ground for critical reasoning, needs some extra justification. As an end in itself my philosophy major far outstrips my law degree.
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