A philosophical education will provide you with tools to critically examine the world around you. Philosophy teaches critical thinking in a variety of contexts.
A philosophical education will enrich and help you to critically examine your won worldview and other's.
Ask anyone why they study philosophy - in or out of the university - and you'll get many different answers. After all, these are people who study philosophy you're asking! It's clear that increasing numbers of undergraduates are pursuing Philosophy degrees (from the New York Times, 2008), and that there are many different reasons: Some people emphasize the kinds of skills you develop through studying philosophy. Some emphasize the ways a Philosophy major might relate to one's career. Some give a mix of both.
American Philosophical Association’s pamphlet “The Philosophy Major” argues that: “The study of philosophy serves to develop intellectual abilities important for life as a whole, beyond the knowledge and skills required for any particular profession. Properly pursued, it enhances analytical, critical and interpretive capacities that are applicable to any subject-matter, and in any human context. It cultivates the capacities and appetite for self-expression and reflection, for exchange and debate of ideas, for life-long learning, and for dealing with problems for which there are no easy answers. It also helps to prepare one for the tasks of citizenship.Participation in political and community affairs today is all too often insufficiently informed, manipulable and vulnerable to demagoguery. A good philosophical education enhances the capacity to participate responsibly and intelligently in public life.”
““For my undergraduate degree, I double majored in environmental biology and philosophy. Some people believe the combination to be strange, but I believe it is absolutely complimentary. Philosophy allowed me to discover the tools required to answer the 'so what' of my science degree and I am eternally grateful for that. This background allowed me to really understand things and get to the heart of issue in different science matters while I completed the Science Communication Graduate program. Furthermore, I believe that because of my background in philosophy, I was able to attain an amazing internship at the Canada France Hawaii Telescope on the Big Island in Hawaii. I believe that students in all disciplines can benefit from philosophy, both personally and academically. In the future, I hope that philosophy will play a larger role in all academic disciplines so that we may help cultivate well rounded individuals who will tackle larger problems with reinforced reasoning skills.””
- Tanis Mercer
Double majored in Environmental Biology and Philosophy 2013