Philopsophy major?

[GiantDouche]

I was talking to this hipster douchebag in college just the other day and he told me that he was majoring in Philosophy. Does anyone know ANY jobs that only require knowledge of philosophy? I just can't think of any practical application that philosophy has to the real world. I mean philosophy is very intriguing to myself and I'm considering taking a course in it but what would ever possess someone to major in Philosophy? Serious question here.

[GiantDouche]

Durr...
*"Philosophy Major?"

[Prinzy2]

I don't think being a hypocrite is a marketable skill, but I suppose Fox News would hire him.

[megakill]

well i cant think of any jobs other than maybe being an author and writing his own philosophys, but even then, you dont need a major for that...

[EvilJesus]

Philosophy teacher is a good one.

[GiantDouche]

At 11/2/09 06:52 PM, Prinzy2 wrote: I don't think being a hypocrite is a marketable skill, but I suppose Fox News would hire him.

WHOOP WHOOP.

At 11/2/09 06:57 PM, EvilJesus wrote: Philosophy teacher is a good one.

Seems awfully redundant.

[Timmy]

My friend majored in Philosophy and it seemed pretty difficult, actually. A very dense subject matter. Most Liberal Arts Majors in general just prove that their students can learn, read, write, etc.

As for your concerns that the hippy's major won't lead to anything, a VERY small percentage of college graduates choose a profession that is related to their major. My philosophy-major friend is now a school teacher in Hawaii, so he did pretty well for himself.

[GoryBlizzard]

A bachelor's degree in philosophy is pretty useless by itself, and for the most part, it's only a stepping stone to higher level graduate studies in philosophy--or related disciplines such as English, law and politics. A master's degree MIGHT allow someone to teach philosophy at a high school level, but since most high schools don't offer introductory philosophy courses, then I don't really see the point. A PhD in philosophy will basically allow the person holding the PhD to call themselves real philosophers/philosophy professors, teach it at any level, and professionally explore and write about it.

No fucking kidding--philosophy is not an easy subject and most people won't really get anywhere with studying it unless they have both the motivation and the money to eventually obtain a PhD. Don't get me wrong though...I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing for people to be interested in philosophy. Most people who are adept at the subject (whether it was their college major or not) make pretty good English and history teachers. I'm more of a math person.

[EternitySpent]

At 11/2/09 07:02 PM, Timmy wrote: Most Liberal Arts Majors in general just prove that their students can learn, read, write, etc.

^ This.

I'm an English major and in general Philosophy is not that different, you are just examining abstract ideas in our world as opposed to examining abstract ideas in a fictional landscape of literature.

More or less it's just to get the B.A, then you can continue onto post-grad studies and get a position in teaching, academics/scholarly writing, or like human resource, managerial, cushy government type jobs - since you have proven yourself to be a knowledgeable individual. That's the theory at least.

Also, if you like philosophy, you should study philosophy. I remember my English director saying: "You shouldn't study something just because it will lead you to employment, or in the case of English majors to unemployment."

[JKMonkey]

Not that I know of but Im sure there are jobs that require that major otherwise colleges wouldnt offer it.