Perennialism is an educational philosophy that emphasizes the teaching of timeless, evergreen ideas that have remained constant throughout human history. This teacher-centered and subject-based approach is the opposite of progressivism, which focuses on changing ideas over time. The primary goal of education within this approach is to cultivate students’ critical thinking by focusing on classic texts and core subjects that explore fundamental human experiences and values.
There are four main types of philosophies that can help form a teaching philosophy and write a teaching statement: Perennialism, Essentialism, Progressivism, and Reconstructionism. These philosophies focus heavily on what we should teach, the curriculum, and the teaching of universal truths and principles that have stood the test of time. Perennialism was a strong educational movement in the early 20th century, advocating for a return to older ways of learning and instruction to strengthen students in preparation for modern times.
In a perennialist classroom, students are taught through lectures and Socratic questioning designed to impart the single correct view. The goal is to teach students to think rationally and develop critical thinking minds. Perennialism is an educational philosophy aimed at teaching students ways of thinking that will secure individual freedoms and human rights. By focusing on timeless and enduring ideas, educators can better prepare students for the challenges of modern society.
📹 My philosophy degree is worthless
What is an example of teacher-centered instruction?
In a teacher-centered instructional approach, the teacher serves as the primary source of knowledge, delivering a lecture to the students, who are expected to listen passively. In contrast, a student-centered approach encourages active student participation in their own learning, with the teacher assuming a more supportive role.
What are the criticisms of perennialism?
Perennialism, also known as perennialism or perennial wisdom, is a philosophical school of thought that posits that the recurring occurrence of common themes across world religions illuminates universal truths about reality, humanity, ethics, and consciousness. Critics argue that perennialists make ontological claims about divinity, God(s), and supernatural powers that cannot be verified in practice.
Some perennialists emphasize common themes in religious experiences and mystical traditions across time and culture, while others argue that religious traditions share a single, metaphysical truth or origin from which all esoteric and exoteric knowledge and doctrine has grown.
Perennialism has its roots in the Renaissance interest in neo-Platonism and its idea of the One, which emerged from the Renaissance. Marsilio Ficino integrated Hermeticism with Greek and Christian thought, while Giovanni Pico della Mirandola proposed a harmony between Plato and Aristotle’s thought and saw aspects of the prisca theologia in Averroes, the Quran, and the Kabbalah. Agostino Steuco coined the term philosophia perennis.
What is perennialism in Islam?
Perennialism, a belief system that marginalizes revelation and scripture, aims to validate Islam and other religions as true while rejecting the uniqueness of Islam, including its claim to accurately represent God’s truth and command. While Islam has a discernible essence with pillars of belief and practice necessary for salvation, perennialism claims that all religions are ultimately substitutable, making initiation into any of them sufficient for salvation. This contradicts Islamic teachings on salvific exclusivity and renders many features of Islam superfluous, as Allah warns against seeking other religions and placing them among the lost.
What is the main idea of homework?
Homework is an invaluable educational tool that enables students to hone their problem-solving abilities, reinforce classroom learning, provide parents with insight into their child’s academic progress, and instill a sense of responsibility for their role in the educational process.
What is the opposite of perennialism?
Perennialism is a pedagogical approach that is centered on the teacher and the subject matter, which is in contrast to progressivism, which is focused on the students’ current needs and experiences.
What is an example of a perennial philosophy?
Perennial philosophy, or universalism, postulates that all religions adhere to a singular, eternal veracity, frequently characterized as “many paths, one mountain” or “many windows, one light.”
Who invented homework homework?
Homework, popularized by Italian educator Roberto Nevilis, is a form of outside-of-class assignment that dates back to the late 19th century in the United States. Its objectives include reinforcing understanding of class material, promoting independent learning and critical thinking, preparing students for upcoming lessons and exams, developing study habits and time-management skills, and providing opportunities for students to apply and practice what they have learned.
Homework can be individual or group work, and can include tasks such as writing, reading, problem-solving, or research. It is often graded or evaluated as part of a student’s overall academic performance.
What is taught in perennialism?
Perennialists believe that education should focus on timeless ideas, as they are relevant and meaningful today. They recommend students learn from the works of history’s finest thinkers and writers, developing their intellectual and moral qualities. Perennialist classrooms are centered on teachers, using tried and true teaching methods to discipline students’ minds. The curriculum is universal, based on the belief that all humans possess the same essential nature.
Perennialists emphasize the importance of deep, analytical, flexible, and imaginative thinking. They disapprove of teaching outdated or incorrect information and recommend spending more time teaching about concepts and explaining their meaning to students. For example, a class on religion or history could be taught using religious books and historical documents. Perennialists believe that all human beings possess the same essential nature and should not be taught outdated or incorrect information.
What is a practical example of perennialism?
Educational Perennialism involves a focus on timeless concepts and lessons. It encourages students to read classic literature, study ancient philosophers like Plato, and focus on core subjects like math, science, and history. These methods help students understand themes like love, courage, and the challenges faced by everyone. Perennialism values lasting knowledge and helps students grow into wise and kind-hearted individuals who can make a positive impact on the world.
By connecting students to people from long ago, they learn about their own communities and the challenges they have faced. By focusing on these timeless concepts, students can develop the skills and knowledge needed to solve problems and make a positive impact on the world.
Is perennialism student or teacher-centered?
Teacher-centered perennialism is a philosophical tradition that places significant emphasis on reason, the enduring nature of knowledge, the existence of everlasting truths, and the principles of constant existence.
What is the philosophy of homework?
The extant research indicates a positive correlation between homework and academic performance, particularly when the homework is assigned with a direct connection to the subject matter and with a specific purpose.
📹 FOUNDATIONS OF EDUCATION | PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION | LET REVIEWER | (Part 2)
Oct 16, 2020 Video Title: FOUNDATIONS OF EDUCATION | PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION | LET REVIEWER (PART 2) Related …
The philosophy degree has intrinsic worth. I have had strangers criticize my choice of majoring in philosophy to my face and I always grin and shrug it off. I love my philosophy degree. I would do it again if given the choice. I work today as a personal banker with a firm that’s the third largest in my market; and I can tell you, I use the skills and knowledge I learned in my philosophy degree every day. Ethical decision making, clear & effective writing, analytical thinking, taking a position and defending it — these are all things I refined in the philosophy department. In the business world, philosophy is training for leadership! Most Business Administration graduates are empty vessels, despite having the credential. We need more philosopher kings running the show.
Did one year of finance to get into university, everything there felt so shallow it was depressing. Now studying history and although it may also be considered a useless degree by many, at least I’m getting some form of enjoyment from it. I think studying philosophy is a great choice when you’re interested in it and your country’s education system allows you to do it without putting you back financially.
As someone who’s taken one philosophy class—I actually have crazy new respect for PL students. It has hands down been the most challenging and engaging class in my opinion, harder in my opinion than the advanced chem and calc classes I’ve taken. It just requires such deep thinking & constant enduring attentiveness. Might not be a directly useful degree, but to major in philosophy I now know you have to be INSANELY SMART so no judgement here
Good article. Love this. I hated school when I was a kid, I hated it… I hated the discipline of school, I hated the competitiveness of school, I hated being told that I need to work hard in STEM related subjects in order to do well in life…. I didn’t do that well in school…. I left, I took a gap three years after school… I worked, and I read and introduced myself to Philosophy and philosophical thinking. I loved it. I loved the idea of critical thinking. I gained a new adoration for academia… thinking for oneself, growing as an individual to hold authentic values…. I decided to study it at university… so I enrolled, not with the intention of getting a good degree, but to study the Philosophers I fell in love with and learn from professional academics. Because of my passion, and not because I was grade hunting, I earned a very good degree. I then did my teaching qualification. I now teach Philosophy myself full time, and I’m studying for my MPhil at the University of Cambridge in Philosophy of Religion….. Summary: Philosophy is a fucking useful degree.
“Universities are founded on the idea that knowledge is good for society and should be free” Not an accurate quote but no one with any knowledge of history could make that claim. Most early universities where set up as offshoots of religious order to train priests in theology and cannon law. Therefore, they were trade schools. Eventually they added liberal arts courses for the inheritors of estates who will never need to work but needed to be polished and have pompous conversation. Included were sons of the aristocracies who would find themselves working as government administrators. It was never for the masses. So, courses like philosophy and much of the humanities have always been for those who do not have economic anxieties.
I, a community college dropout, am considering going back to school to pursue a degree in philosophy at age 26. I worked in tech for 6 years and decided I didn’t want to do something that makes me miserable. Philosophy without question is my biggest passion in life, and it’d be a shame if I and never put that passion to good use. Probably the biggest thing keeping me from doing it however is money, because I am in the US. When you mentioned towards the end of the article that you’re in Norway, I was like damn… that definitely makes a difference lol
My mom was a philosophy professor at a university in Venezuela, and yes, not everyone can just study philosophy to teach philosophy, but to your point, becoming a professional in something you love opens so many roads yo happiness. Also, after having your degree, if you want to focus on the monetary aspects of education, you can always get a specific certification in an area of interest and you should be compensated for your level of education still.
I earned a BA degree in Philosophy from the University of Washington in 1969. I am pleased with my choice of degrees. I wanted to know the meaning of life. I love ideas and find I still enjoy philosophy in retirement. Having said that, I was not satisfied with the philosophy curriculum at UW. The introductory courses (Logic, Ethics, Aesthetics, History of Greek Philosophy, etc.) have enduring value, but contemporary philosophy has become a captive of academia and removed from the core questions of philosophy. My personal philosophy has developed over the 54 years since I graduated. It enriches my life and is worth sharing with my children. Thanks for sharing. Keep it up! You won’t regret studying philosophy.
I majored in philosophy during college, but as I delved deeper into the subject, I became increasingly frustrated. The issue was not the money that I can make, but rather the subjective and often biased approach of philosophical inquiry. To me, even the most renowned philosophers seemed to present nonsensical and far-fetched ideas in their texts. What’s more concerning to me was that contemporary philosophers still rely on their own subjective perception as a basis for their phenomenology. In contrast, reading Hume’s work on empiricism persuaded me that adopting scientific methods can lead to a more objective approach to studying philosophical topics. Consequently, I switched my major after graduation and became a psychology researcher. Although I’m still researching the same subject matter that intrigued me at that time, I now employ scientific methods rather than relying on my personal perceptions that I don’t trust, and I’m extremely satisfied with my decision. If you’re happy with studying philosophy for a defree, go for it, but I don’t believe studying philosophy as a major is the only way to study it effectively.
I strongly agree with you. People should study in order to study, the ending point is in itself. I was also always criticized by friends and family about not wanting the diploma but the knowledge. If I wanted the diploma, I’d buy it, if I wanted the job, I’d look for it. I want knowledge, it worth me more. Most people I know only have a degree but don’t know how to talk about what they studied at university, from undergraduate to Doctorate. I studied a Business Management degree and a master in Finance. But I’m self-taught in many areas, I’ve read tens of thousands of books.
I benefitted from free education in the UK in the 1980’s. I studied drama as a twenty-six year old mature student. I have been working as a result of my degree for almost forty years. The end of free university level education remains for me one of the most appalling decisions my country has made. I could never have justified my decision to go to university had I ended up with a massive debt. Learning should be free as the benefits for the individual and for society as a whole are priceless. Interestingly, I also have an interest in philosophy and stumbling across your website is fortuitous indeed as I can see how your musings will be interesting to watch! Liked and subscribed!
I’m about to start four years in philosophy and politics as a 25 year old with a young daughter. I’m returning to education because it’s underrated to be educated for the sake of being educated. Without discovering philosophy during lockdown there’s a good chance I wouldn’t be here at all. Working 60 hours a week to cover my and my daughter’s basic needs in a factory on minimum wage suits me just fine. It’s how you think about that possibility that really matters.
I am a Math major but I love philosophy, my whole life, living without a phone until I was 19, was me just thinking about things. School has become a place where workers are created, it seems more of a business than a place for those who love academia. Its funny how growing up you hear people tell you “money wont buy happiness” and to a level we understand, yet we still all try to achieve it. Although I love it, philosophy can lead to a dark state of mind that I have been in a few times, but it has also helped me out of many difficult times in my life. I really do love it, except I’m terrible at reading, grammer, vocab, etc, but I have been always good at math and recently found a new love for it’s abstraction. Scientists say Mathematicians are useless as some of what they study isn’t applicable (which I hate applied Math! Statistics and Physics I hated), but that is why I like the abstraction of it, how everything logically comes together and there is nothing but pure admiration of something that can not be seen!
It’s a bit like having a fine art degree, I respect people who choose philosophy or fine art because there’s no career at the end of it. I agree it’s a far better choice than all the degrees that lead to a job..its a choice and a risk if you hope for work at the end of it. I am from a poor background but I chose fine art, my favourite people were philosophy graduates or students. I wish I lived in Norway if education is free . Glad you chose the path less travelled. 👍
For me, philosophy is a burning passion of mine. I’m also studying it at an international college outside my home country. My goal is to live in Europe as a citizen, but I can only do that by first getting a work visa. Getting that requires compelling skills that I do not have yet. There is something called a blue card that is given out after graduation that sets me up to get a work visa. It’s the best and only way for me. If I could get a work visa without university I would, but that would be too risky. So I need to make sure I get through uni. That’s why I’ve chosen to pursue my biggest passion, philosophy. That way I can have the best chance of actually getting through uni and getting that blue card. I understand that a philosophy bachelor on its own is not as useful as it is very broad in its uses. That’s why I plan on doing internships throughout my degree to get the specific skills I need in a much easier way rather than doing a boring ass degree that makes me want to kill myself. One idea I had was doing marketing internships. I heard that philosophy students have some aptitude in that regard, but I plan on doing more research. How does my plan sound? Any tips or critic? I’m just very paranoid that it all works out because I want to have a life in Europe. I do not feel like I can’t actually live in my home country of the US. The quality of life is just not good. I feel like I can actually live and thrive here in Europe.
Girl the things I’d do to have the advantages of living in Norway 😭 I’m not trying to belittle you or anything, but just imagine trying to pursue a philosophy or a literature degree in a third world country. All in all, in any part of the world, in some more than others, is a luxury to pursue certain passions. However, I do feel that in this day and age sometimes we have to deeply rely on being self taught if we really want to learn these type of things.
NO. IT’S. NOT. My BA is in psycholinguistics, and in spite of of the limited career opportunities in linguistics and the highly competitive saturated market of psychology, I’ve done very well for myself, applying what I know of the mind to the business world. After shopping myself around to hospitals, private practices and universities for 2 years, I joined a sales company in 2014, and quickly climbed the ranks, thanks to my understanding of the mind. In fact, I broke the yearly gross sales record (for a first year recruit) They flew me to L.A and gave me a worthless trophy., but that was just the beginning… Applying what I’ve learned in psychology has opened unopenable doors, and moved mountains that most say are immovable. I find that most people get wrapped up in the technicalities, bureaucracy and “rules” t to the point that it blinds them from reaching their full potential. If I didn’t like a rule, I would find a way to make them change it. For example: when I was signed on at an advertising company, they handed me a 22 page contract, and I crossed out all the things that I didn’t like, and told the H/R manager to initial by them. She was confused and contacted the CHRO, who signed off on it personally. At the digital summit two years later, she announced my promotion to VPO and told the auditorium “From day one, she stood out. I’ve hired over 3500 people and she was the only one to negotiate her contract” Another time, I had a company implement a rule change, disguised as an “upgrade.
Love your article! As a current Philosophy doctoral student, if I may, I would love to chip in some of my thoughts. First, studying Philosophy does not amount to getting a philosophy degree. The latter has pretty obvious valence: to pursue a doctorate, be a lawyer, etc. The former does not prepare you for a job, as it is a practice of thinking. Although I get what you are saying, a philosophy degree is “uniquely” useless due to its narrow reception in the job market. Second, I don’t think I will agree that philosophy can be studied for the sake of itself. Instead, it is the question that bothers you the most worth pursuing, and you can do it without studying philosophy at a university level. I have seen independent scholars who are doing better than I am without proper training, which is a humbling experience. It is the people (not against you or anything) who typically proclaim to adhere to the first line of Aristotle’s metaphysics that create the most cringe philosophical works. Lastly, partaking in a useless major (results in a less-appreciated degree in the job market) does not entail an authentic mode of studying. You are correct in pointing out there is an alienation of thinking (andenken) from homo faber during our time but learning to get a job (or a gesture of earning a living) was there from the onset of philosophy. Even Aristotle was a teacher and an active participant in political life, a fortiori he is affluent.
I’m currently doing a horticulture and landscaping technical degree, afterwards either continuing my schooling in Wisconsin at Western Technical College. Getting a associates of Arts focusing on philosophy, or going back to Florida and continuing schooling there. I study philosophy on my own but hope to find like minded ppl through college, as well as challenging views and intellectual discussion regarding people’s personal philosophies and such. ( I’ll be doing a technical or community college so a fair bit cheaper than traditional college ) being from America I’m generally fucked but I hope to expand possibly into ecology with my background in horticulture and philosophy.
Philosophy as a subject is highly valuable for society and civilization. But a 4 year, $50k Philosophy degree? It’s worthless and a very bad investment in an economy where skills = earning potential. Could have spent that time and money learning an actual skill. Interestingly enough, philosophy students are arguably the most intelligent people in all of academia. If they actually used their talents and studied something marketable, they’d actually benefit society more than they could ever dream of doing with a philosophy degree.
This article makes no sense. Why would you attend college to study philosophy to get a degree if all you really want is to enjoy studying philosophy? You can study philosophy just as well if not better just studying on your own. The advantage being, it doesn’t cost anything to study on your own and you can take your time. If not to benefit monetarily, then what is the purpose of a degree? There is an almost unlimited supply of free lectures in philosophy available online. Libraries have books on the subject written by the philosophers themselves that you can read for free. IMO- If you wish to study philosophy for philosophy’s sake then by all means do it. But you don’t pay good money to attend college for a piece of paper that says you studied philosophy in that case. Other than becoming a religious cleric, there is little value in a philosophy degree. That doesn’t mean there is no value in philosophy as such. It just doesn’t scale. So don’t spend money on it. Then you will reap the benefits of philosophy without the liability of debt and the limitations of a specific area of study.
“There are people to whom monetary calculation is repulsive. They do not want to be roused from their daydreams by the voice of critical reason. Reality sickens thcm, they long for a realm of unlimited opportunity. They are disgusted by the meanness of a social order in which everything is nicely reckoned in dollars and pennies. They call their grumbling the noble deportment worthy of the friends of the spirit, of beauty, and virtue as opposed to the ignoble baseness and villainy of Babbittry. However, the cult of beauty and virtue, wisdom and the search for truth are not hindered by the rationality of the calculating and computing mind. It is only romantic reverie that cannot thrive in a milieu of sober criticism. The coolheaded reckoner is the stern chastiser of the ecstatic visionary.” —Ludwig von Mises, *Human Action*, page 231
I think people who major in Philosophy are people who are by nature skeptics and are obsess with knowledge and truth. Philosophy degrees by itself is not enough but it does open your mind into new things. I had a double major in Philosophy and Computational Linguistics, but my main income is from my skilled trade diploma. My passion actually is wealth and if you look at most famous traders or hedge fund managers, the number of them who studied Philosophy is astounding e.g. George Soros, Peter Thiel, Peter Lynch, Cark Icahn, etc. Also lots of tech founders studied Philosophy, second to Engineers. Philosophy is a good glue (higher order thinking) if you have the parts (technical skills)
I love her mindset but we must be practical . Most of us can’t do philosophy degree simply because it’s not financially sound . Now if you got money to where you aren’t deep in debt go for it . I may not be a philosopher to know making wise decisions early on dealing with education that’s expensive is practical, wise, cautious .
Hold up now. First off, studying philosophy is an intellectual endeavor and massive undertaking in itself. To say it is worthless means all of the great philosophers who wrote the timeless classics are meaningless and worthless. I know for a fact that medical schools accept philosophy majors all the time and so do law and business schools. Big brain’s study philosophy woman. 😢😢
Im currently writing my master dissertation in philosophy and also studied acting for three years. So basically Im a failure but I enjoyed it sm and has taught me so much, I developed certain skills, Im a better persone with a better understanding of people and my surroundings. I also learned languages and some music. Now Im trying YT but I see many possibilities ahead tbh, you can apply for many jobs if you can think, write and research, be comfortable in public or working with people, understand foreign languages, edit or create articles… Never underestimate the skills you learned apart from the content of your studies. Id like to teach and write in the future, but also still be creative somehow. I cant picture myself doing the same job for like 20 yrs…
It’s a myth that a philosophy degree isn’t marketable. Philosophy ranks 16th among all degrees for mid-career median salary. It ranks ahead of what are considered more ‘practical’ degrees such as marketing, accounting, business management, nursing, journalism, health care administration, and criminal justice. Of the 15 degrees that rank ahead of philosophy in mid-career median salary, seven are engineering degrees, and the only others are economics, physics, computer science, math, physician assistant, construction, finance, and management information systems. Philosophy ranks ahead of all other science degrees, including chemistry, geology, biology, and psychology.
There is no need to put other degrees down. There are plenty of people passionate about engineering or sciience. If someone studies engineering with the aim of working at NASA, or starting a companybuilding practical effects for film, in their mind often it’s just a continuation of their studies. Integrity, like ‘respect’ or ‘honor’ can leave a lot of room for interpretation. You study philosophy because it is FUN. You are passionate about philosophy. That should be enough reason in and of itself. This way there is no need to bring other fields down, and you avoid the critique you lack ‘integrity’ for starting a field of study knowing you’ll abandon it after graduating. People who study science or engineering with the intent of doing science or engineering have more ‘integrity’. 😀
I actually haven’t looked into the original reasoning for participation in university. Neat, thanks. That aside, philosophy is a very usefull degree when planning to join the workforce among the “high arts”, such as storytelling. The internet may be able to provide a plethora of resources to grasp what it’s all about. But I think without some sort of guidance on the matter, which I for example sadly lack, it is the best choice to really get the fundamentals of what storytelling is all about. That’s why I’m starting to study Phil/Art history and Filmscience in october. Aside from that, I sorta roll every conversation I have into a philosophical debate. No matter who I’m with and there’s no way of stopping that. Ever. So with that unfortunate disposition I am simply coerced by the structure of the universe to enter into the field. And I am highly excited and interested in it. Many many complex words are waiting to be made understandable to the broader population, and I can’t wait to get started.
Yes, studying philosophy in university is a waste of resources. If not your resources, than it is a waste of resources to whoever is financing your “degree”. Why must someone go to school to be spoonfed what could be learned on their own time at a local library. This is the uselessness of most arts degrees. Real degrees such as an engineering degree show that you have achieved a degree of proficiency in your chosen discipline and this is important when you go into the world to get hired into your field.
Love this article. I am studying a graduates degree in social work. I believe this degree is a mix of what you are speaking about in this article, in regard to personal knowledge, learning, and it does lead to a career path. I will be going back at some point to study philosophy for personal growth and learning.
It’s very simple, if the “usefulness” thing bothers you, just double major or minor in it. It is such an incredible major to compliment a more “practical”/career focused one (probably stem). Or go straight into law school with it. The LSAT is nothing but analytical reasoning. I see it almost as the equivalent as biology is to medschool. I have a BA in philosophy and went back for a BS in biology to teach. I’ve never regretted it once. It gave me the foundation to think and learn anything. I’ve currently found a new love for mathematics, which has huge overlap with logic, especially the higher level/proof writing classes. Math also begins to feel deeply philosophical when viewed through the right lens. It has the same apriori/arm chair nature like much of philosophy. But anyway, majoring in philosophy teaches you how to write well and think clearly about any subject you put the effort into. Having a background in philosophy sometimes feels like having a cheat code.
I used to study philosophy and I dropped out during my 3rd year. I got the same reaction as you when people asked aha. I had a year and a half left, realised I was never going to use it and that I had just really applied to university to move out my family home. Shame there was no point in it because I was good at it. I need a reason to do things. Damn, I wish I knew what I wanted to do with my life. Aha. Keep it real ❤️
Philosophy is the field that I really felt at home in when I learned about it. I never did any formal training in the field, but when I discovered it, I knew that this was the way I always thought about anything. Therefore I figure I shouldn’t study it at university, for what talent (or otherwise) I may have regarding it, the pedagogy wouldn’t be worth as much to me as it would others. My plan was to do an undergrad. in mathematics, and try to pursue philosophy in a postgraduate context. I hear this sort of path is highly possible for technical fields like math/physics. Doing mathematics (and also an initial year of physics prior to changing) was incredibly rewarding, and there are some results in other fields that I find extremely consequential for the areas of philosophy I’m interested in, and it’s written in the language of mathematics and physics. I suspect that, whatever you may think of him, (the late) Dennett’s advice is sound: it’s probably a good idea to immerse yourself in a technical subject outside of philosophy, while jointly studying it if you intend on being a philosopher, if for no other reason than it will improve your philosophy. I wish I knew better the value of pedagogy in philosophy – I’d never taken any kind of secondary or tertiary class in it – so I know what I’m missing out on, but I try to get by with some primary sources and The Stanford Encyclopedia.
I’ve been studying for a BA in Philosophy for 3 years now (part-time). I can honestly say it is both highly rewarding and horribly frustrating at the same time. I love how it makes you ‘think about thinking’, and shakes your preconceived ideas and beliefs to the very core. No matter which career path you take, if you have studied Philosophy it will greatly enhance your critical thinking, clarity in thought and reasoning ability.
Earned my BA in philosophy, but did not think about what I might do with the degree. When reality kicked me in the rear end soon after graduation, I returned to university to study geology. I picked up the geology and supporting courses in math, physics, and chemistry to quality for graduate school and then earned a Master’s degree and a PhD in geology. My work in geology took me to many places around the world. I’m retired now and very pleased with what I accomplished in my career. I wish that I had majored in geology as an undergraduate.
School (university) was always around training for work, it wasn’t until it was useless rich people (medieval nobility) needed something to fill the hours that it became “learning for learnings sake”. Who ever told you otherwise is either merely wrong or a liar, you can take your pick as to which. Anyone who doesn’t consider ROI when going to school and choosing the education path shouldn’t be going to school at all. We need less philosophy majors who do nothing but cause strife because they can’t get a job and they refuse to accept reality and insist it’s some fantasy nonsense they dreamed up.
Philosophy classes are interesting. I’ve developed an interest in philosophical questions throughout my life. Many things that people encounter in life have to do with philosophical issues. For example, philosophical questions are raised by the creation vs. evolution controversy, the controversy surrounding different ethical issues such as abortion, and many others. I’ve taken some philosophy classes, but I got a degree in a different field.
The prevalent notion that a liberal arts degree is worthless arises from multiple factors: the incorrect assumption that college is supposed to be trade schools; the incorrect assumption that all the smart people are in STEM and all the non-STEM people are dumb; ignorance of the fact that starting salary is often not an accurate predictor of future success. The engineers very often end up working for the liberal arts graduates. Tell the skeptics you’ve learned that David Hume could out-consume Schopenhauer and Hegel, so you’re going into substance abuse counseling.
Ironically enough, degrees for USEFUL degrees are becoming Impacted ANYWAYS. Not to mention, a bunch of companies are starting to hire more and more wihtout degrees. On top of that, companies can hire any old joe to make something of themselves and probably innovate some thing big. You see, if we abolish schools, we might have more MILLIONAIRES AND BILLIONAIRES. But the only progress to humanity will be “keeping up with the market”. But as far breakthroughs and improvement, it will just be the same old cycle. We will only make progress economically, but not in other aspects. Universities thus should not be just to get a job, and nor should they be to rise up the economic ladder or start our own business. Thats what trade schools are for. Universities should instead be used to evolve us as a humanity in the most organized and systematic way possible, and not just make us sucessful cogs on the machine.
In my humble opinion, be happy and enjoy your education journey. I believe that every bit of knowledge tailored in the degree plan is transferable. We may not know where we will use the information but it is useful. It’s just like public health, useless unless you have some clinical designation or a plan to get hired at some non profit or state/federal health program. Most measure the degree by the money that will be made once you have graduated but that is not even true. Major in what you love or have passion for. Good job you!!!!
@Celine Marie Thank you. A brief but lucid prompt to think deeply about further education choice. Two examples from close friends: one is a big cheese in pharma. When he recruited grads the policy was to focus on non-science grads; history grads were particularly valued because the business generally sought critical thinking skills over a long term career, rather than niche research scientists. My other friend got a good degree in meteorology. International finance corporations competed to hire her although she opted for her dream job at the UK Met Office. Okay, they are not representative, merely examples but…
I studied math in college mainly because it was a subject that was interesting to me. I didn’t really have a specific career path in mind when I went to study math, but it was a subject I enjoyed and wanted to dive deeper into. I got my BS in math in December 2022, but I still am working as a part time dishwasher. I do agree that it’s sad that we’ve lost the part of education that is about expanding the mind. I think my math degree still benefitted me even though I don’t have a job in my field yet. Also, my brother studied philosophy in college and later went to law school.
I worked for 4 years in corporate America, in the financial services industry. And the people I worked with were so stupid. Many a middle manager was lacking in critical thinking skills. It was abhorrently frustrating. All these business people, these paper pushers had never learned to solve problems. And philosophy is supremely apt in this regard.
One of my favourite teachers in high school (I am from Bulgaria) was our philosophy teacher. It was such a delight to get your brain in a not trying to figure something that you’d normally not consider even a thing. 😀 In Bulgaria the subject of philosophy (pre-uni) is a sort of a mix (several years with half a year per “field”) with other things such as law, psychology, politics and studies of society. What you are talking here (in terms of marketability of the degree) sadly does not and cannot (currently) apply to most of the world.
In the US it’s a good idea to keep going through a Master’s program so you can teach. Just the 4 year doesn’t usually qualify you. But even if you don’t intend to teach. getting the Master’s puts you in a higher qualification ranking in general. And you can say you did research in your field which is real life experience. Read everything and write an article a week until you find the area you love and what inspires you. I think it’s somewhat rude for the Buddhist monk to say “oh dear” about a philosophy degree. How useful is he himself? I’m being sarcastic. But try not to view him on a pedestal. Socrates and Marcus Aurelius were every bit as hardcore as monastic monks in their application of philosophy to their lives. Plus, Platonic and Stoic philosophy don’t cause the negative side effects meditation is now known to cause many people. Even if you don’t run into problems with your energy or dissociation that your instructor will not be skilled enough to help resolve, becoming an expert meditator will still not solve our existential problems. That requires years of reason and perseverance in contemplation (vipassana). Not concentration (samatha / samadhi). The further back we go in philosophy it is not surprising how similar the philosophies of East and West were back then. They were more in communion than we like to admit.
Proper education is like a supercharged brain booster for smart folks. Let me take you back to the good ol’ days when I was a young buck in isolated Ethiopia, having deep conversations with my buddy. We pondered the meaning of life, imagining all sorts of wacky scenarios that society would slap with a “Do Not Attempt” label. We couldn’t fathom how some people couldn’t tell an innocent face from a guilty one, leading to the unjust demise of poor innocents. Our little minds were convinced that our life purpose was to follow the cosmic checklist handed down by the universe’s supposed creator. And boy, did we ask the hard-hitting questions! Like, why on earth would God create people He hates? And what’s the deal with those forbidden snacks? Seriously, even at the tender ages of 8 and 10, we were convinced that Ethiopia was the entire universe. We empathized with suffering souls, assuming they were being pranked by God, left out of His divine game plan. But things took a turn when I hopped over to Kenya in 2006. It was an eye-opener! Education hit me like a ton of textbooks, and I realized there’s a whole wide world out there beyond our little bubble. Who knew, right? So that’s where my limited knowledge phase finally met its educational end.
Your degree is good for two things; a) as a primer on how to think, a philosophy degree is better than any other b) academic credentials prove compliance, indicate knowledge, and say nothing of understanding. in that regard you degree is as valuable as any other, and it enables work in many different fields
If you are someone who studies philosophy then you should know that nothing in life is guaranteed, but we can influence better outcomes by improving ourselves and challenging our perspectives. Philosophy isnt about getting rich or changing the world, it’s about understanding our place in it and HOW we can influence change in the world. Ideas are the most valuable commodities that we as humans have ever had. After all currency is an idea, government is an idea, and even our existence as we know it is an idea. So the real question is what will you do with those ideas? How can you influence change in your life with those ideas?
I hate to say this to you, but you’re at least 30 years too late! Had you been a college student and graduated with that philosophy degree sometime in the mid to late 80s, even the very early 90s, you could’ve landed a middle management job at a company with a nice starting salary back then… Companies during that time didn’t care what degree you obtained, just so long as you had one, and were promotable! Even though tuition was less and banks still directly handled student loans in those days, colleges and universities were pushing students to obtain “easy beeezy majors” that really didn’t get difficult until post grad status (such as psychology, marketing, liberal arts, etc.) because this is what companies were screaming for! Imagine that – back then, a college student could party for four more years, and still not worry about not getting a good paying job with plenty of room for advancement for the future! (How do you think all these McMansions with little or no furnishings inside got built?) …This all came to an abrupt and crashing end in the late 90s/early 00s when companies started realizing that “There were far too many Chiefs, and not enough Braves!”, so that’s when massive corporate downsizing started happening, and companies then wanted strictly business and accounting majors with plenty of practical experience for the very same positions that were freely doled out not too many years before… Now with the Department of Education handling the loans, colleges and universities, greedy for those highly inflated tuitions and excess capital gain are STILL pushing this same stupidity they did decades ago, just to get the potential student to believe in the lie, and affix his or her name on that loan application and financial obligation they won’t be able to discharge or go bankrupt on!
Philosophy – is not a profession, it’s lifestyle. What you really need among all philosophical works? It’s “Meditations” by Marcus Aurelius. After reading this with “All’s well” by Jeremy Soule on a background, you should write your own personal variant of this masterpiece, exactly for you. In my free course “SENTENTIA OPTIMUM” I tell more for everyone, who want to learn… P.S.: Best book about personal economics – “The Richest man in Babylon” by George Clason (almost all is correct).
those are the universities that are founded for lords and kings, new universities that are found after the industrial revolution are not founded on the basis of making people learn and spread knowledge. Rather their core goal is to bring talents to the industry and develop it, maintain it. For example the university that I am studying at METU, it is founded by US of A to educate talents in middle east in a place where American culture is dominant and to create fast developments in industry, localized in the region, rather than bringing people from states.
It isn’t the degrees that are stupid, it is the people taking them. When my dad went to Uni around 1950, only 3 percent of population went to Uni. My dad was not a legacy, he didn’t have enough money to go, but the city of Belfast invented two scholarships for him, and when he graduated he had a classics degree and two languages. He had high levels of accomplishment in other areas like music, math, and chess. His marks were also 20 percent above the level of any of the other students when he graduated,which was possible back then because an A was around 60%, before grade inflation. He also got tuberculosis, and could only study 2 hours a day, so he developed laser like focus. You think you might want to hire that guy? This is what a degree once meant. Reality is that we are now at the 50th percentile overall. Stupid people are getting most of the degrees. Stupid people with philosophy degrees, aren’t just dumb, they are dangerous. Women are at the 33rd percentile in countries were 50% go to uni, and 2/3rds are women. At the low end, that is an IQ of 90. At 80, you can barely tie your own shoes.
I’ve been working as an engineer for about 6 years now, without a degree. The only reason I’ll ever get one is curiosity, in literature or philosophy. So, my question is, how the hell do I explain this to people without launching into a monologue, why do I have the need to explain it to someone giving me a stinky look for being “uneducated”.
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The uselessness of a Subject can’t be judged based on your Faliure or Success or whether in being a jobless or employed. That’s your own state of situation in life, not the subject’s fault nor the subject is worthless. Here, I’m one with a philosophy degree too. Btw, You look beautiful, or I should say, your make-up kit is hell of a good one.
Philosophy is a degree that is worthless nowadays. This is mainly due to capitalism. In the Greek and Roman eras, society placed thinkers, philosophers, and priests at the top of the pyramid. They valued these individuals as much as we do with capitalists nowadays. We graduate and have to run after jobs to lick the capitalists’ boots to survive each month. What kind of life is this? It is an era where I have seen PhD graduates sleeping on the streets. I think so too. We used to study to learn, but now it is not.
Wasting 4 years paying for something that you can go to the library or online to learn for free Probably having your parents support you financially while taking the degree(tuition/cost of living) If parents aren’t supporting you, getting into debt that will further affect your future children or partners(Perhaps you work harder and see them less. Perhaps it takes away from buying a house for them, etc…) Not caring that you’ve made that choice Seems a bit selfish to me “(Paying a university and evading full time work for four years in order to) Study something just to get a job is ridiculous” – First world person who is either very bad with money and/or has been protected from reality their entire life.
i could never understand people who were able to pursue the field of study that they were interested in, and once they have their diplomas, rather than be proud of their achievment, and grateful for the opportunity, refer to their choice as a”mistake”. this has nothing to do with the studies in themselves, but rather with personal maturity. that was my impression upon seeing the title of your article, and to be honest, that title should be a more assertive statement of your love of knowledge, even if it’s something of a “marketing strategy”.
I wouldn’t say philosophy isn’t a completely useless field in modern times. BUT it’s an extremely niche field with a low demand and replacement rate and will be over saturated with new graduates with no “at least 3 years of job experience in the field” to get in while smothered in college fees. Also, a philosophy degree doesn’t have any weight in getting you hired in a job outside said field like financing degree would.
What level is the philosophy course was it, with the PhD (Philosophy), sounds a bit confusing but you get the point the philospy of phulophy doctorate (no pun). I would pursue that in Doctee level or maybe at the master not so much in bachelors, with a masters or phD, with that you could teach it at any institutions, the bachelors one or even the masters one is more of a stepping stone course IMO, it is meant to open academic opportunities I guess rather than lead to career development opportunities, but at the same time. I personally haven’t done any but I do have an slight interest to the point where I might invent my own philosophy.
The whole “philosophy is useless” thing seems to be just a meme to me. I don’t understand how it’s more useless than most fields that don’t have direct applications. How is philosophy different? Philosophers are taught logic which has connections to many areas of computer science so it shouldn’t be hard for a phil. major to become a programmer. That’s not true of most degrees in e.g. the humanities. It seems to be US-specific, since I, a non-US citizen, have been mostly told about the uselessness of pure mathematics (“if you study mathematics, you’ll become a schoolteacher or an university professor” etc.).
University is more like trade school because the working class can now go to it. You are not defying capitalism by perusing a useless degree, you are following in the footsteps of the generationally wealthy who don’t need to be productive to survive, thus draining the rest of society of resources without contributing much. Capitalism has its issues, but that doesn’t you are noble for spending 4 years reading philosophy rather than learning to contribute to society by building roads or managing resources.
I enjoy philosophy and metaphysics but am unsure what kind of careers it would offer. I think understanding this reality we’re all experiencing gives peace of mind which has a lot of value by itself so I don’t think it’s entirely worthless but obviously you’d want some monetary value out of your degree. Good luck. I’d look at how philosophy can be combined with technology
I largely agree because of the free education part, but I am hesitant to agree that you do not need much skill to be successful in corporate world. Could you elaborate? Hypothetically, if I had useless free degree, just getting a chance at a corporate job would be very very difficult. Even if I get a job. It is most likely not paying enough to comfortably support myself. Most people complain about their jobs without thinking if their degree choice had any effect? Would this not be the case for you? What percentage of people in western countries have a useless free degree and are happy with their job prospects? What percentage of those people did not experience much strife to get there? Am I changing the subject too much?
Degrees rarely lead directly to employment. They’re a nice addition to a CV/Resumé, but in no way do they determine what you can do with your life. Until you get into employment and start to develop the kind of skills employers are looking for, you won’t understand just how little any degree actually prepares you for the real world.
In Israel, I heard that people usually pursue a grad degree in their 30’s when their already stable. Some education can be considered an investment, but other education is purely hobby. Alot of mathmaticians and philosopher back then mostly came from rich families, and did that stuff in their leisure.
I’m in the process of going back to school however I can decide between psychology and philosophy. Can someone explain to me the difference between psychology and philosophy and how it can go hand and hand? I would consider myself an activist for women when it comes to healing, spiritually, relationships etc. However I don’t see myself coaching women one on one like a therapist but more on a broader scale through collective events such as motivation speaking, and writing books. Can someone please help me figure out which path would be more ideal for what I’m trying to accomplish?
I disagree with a few things. A degree still costs a lot of resources, you’re just not the one paying it in Norway. Education should be about both enriching your life and learning something useful to give back to the society that gave you all the things that you have. I don’t see the value of a degree only in terms of what job it lands you but broader what you can contribute to society with it. And here philosophy can be useful but can also be useless, depending on the person, really. Contrary to that, trades will be always useful and always needed. Good thinkers massively enrich their societies and it sounds like you are on path to be one. Also you say you’re confident you’ll get a decent job with the skills you already have which would also mean you’ll be contributing. Maybe the “philosophy is useless” line actually is part of the problem because it makes people think they can’t and don’t have to contribute if they study this when the opposite is true; If you study this, because it’s not as readily useful as a trade, you’re gonna have to put in more effort to pay back the resources that your country invested in your degree. But if you’re truly passionate about it, you might make much more of a difference than you could in a standard issue job. And business majors are actually often useless or actively harmful to their host society anyways.
I think it’s a very valuable for analytical skill that can be applied to other work, but employment appears to be more based on signs or symbols that indicate something rather than you proving your ability. I think most would be able to understand that philosophy is valuable if they were given the time to do so but don’t. I don’t live in the US but I do live in a country that does not provide free University.
My two cents: Philosophy develops and augments your mental schema to be more rational and interconnected than those of others who don’t take philosophy seriously; those who take much too many things at face value, which a philosopher does not. In other words, Philosophy is the discipline that will best teach you critical thinking. What faculties nature has blessed you with benefit greatly from learning to think in purely, and to the most basic. Also, to me money is just a means to survive while searching for some meaning or explanation that can help us in the absolutely terrifying situation of existance. Perhaps I will strike it rich and eat my words, but I am not interested in wealth for the sake of wealth like many seemingly are these days.
I’ve had the same debate in my mind about a Philosophy vs Finance degree…. I now study Finance. Though it is as a means to an end like Celine said. I hope it will give me the opportunity to find a relatively well-paid job with less hours (and more time for art/ philosophy). Unfortunately, there is a bit of a corporate slave mindset here and everytime I mention I’m studying Finance to get a job with low working hours, people have such bemused facial expressions 😀
That’s why I think philosophy is a great use as a dual major or minor. I’m doing CS with a focus on AI and ML and a second major in philosophy. Artificial intelligence really requires us to think about ethics and I think that’s a core part a lot of cs majors are missing. I’m not a FANG company but I feel like this will set me a part in the long run.
Warning to others: don’t watch the article. I stopped at 2:10. It’s just quite a bit of ranting and antagonizing viewers. (Who knows what got the speaker so bitter.) Philosophy isn’t a degree that will usually make someone money. Even if you pursue a Master’s and Ph.D. and win the hiring lottery as an assistant professor, you’ll be fighting an uphill battle for tenure and going from a sub-living wage to a bare 7-figure salary. Few philosophers have made millions. But this isn’t to say the degree is entirely useless; it just shows you haven’t done your research (as you should have) prior to choosing a degree. If anything, complaining about it reflects badly on you, since most people already know what they want. In listening to your article, which sounded more like a rant, it seemed you were too focused on antagonizing your viewers rather than devoting more time to explaining why one shouldn’t take a philosophy program. Whether someone is assuming anything or not doesn’t matter. Perhaps you should write down what you want to say in a YouTube article so that you don’t get carried away and say such toxic nonsense. I took a philosophy degree and made it as an academic author despite the odds. You only have to stop making excuses and focus more on what you can do instead of repeating what others say you cannot do.
Philosophy is a good hobby to try but not the degree. Forgive yourself and it was a ponzi scheme degree in job market perspective. At the bright side, you can go back to practical degree and realizes those may be hard class; however, they only damage little as gpa instead of big example like pred meds, engineering, nurse or trades with few credits than lot.
What you learn in college does not apply to what you do with your actual life. Read again. The biggest myth about college in 20th century is that when colleges were an extravagance to the rich to educate people on trades and to learn how to think in the past has become a racketed industry that now teaches generations to take a test. Many careers do not require a degree for the job specified. I’ve worked jobs without college requirements that par with the annual salary of high school teachers especially as a school custodian. If the education is a passion for practicality on knowledge is one thing but college doesn’t get you a good job as it did 100 years ago. If philosophy is a hobby or an undergraduate into procurement or English Literature it’s not going to apply to a trade when college is nowadays relevant to careerism. Knowledge is not power. Knowledge put into action or results is power. Nobody ever progresses on trivialities or mythical concepts. Philosophy is just a study of opinion and you can’t get a career in a world of facts based on opinion if it’s inapplicable for the job.
Philosophy is useful – it should help you develop critical thinking and expose you to what other thinkers have said about major life questions. My advice is to ignore what others say about it and do your own thing. For too long I worried about what others thought and then realized that they are poor examples to advise anyone about anything! As Alan Watts said, “live your weird” and let others live theirs..
I liked this article and I agree that we don’t study to prepare for the life in the work force. We don’t have to study something along the line of “decent careers” to be successful and feel accomplished in life. But the click bait is brutal. You could’ve named this article a million different ways acknowledging how good of a career philosophy is. Instead of that, any person who just scrolls down your article and reads this title will be like “Yeah I knew that. Everybody knows that” And the whole point of this article will not get to them. That’s just my opinion. For me, it was a lot like your story in business school but in medical school.
One year late on this subject, but here is my 10 pence worth. Of course your philosophy degree is useless. The only job I can think of involving philosophy is a philosophy professor. And considering that they might have a class of 50 that would mean 1 in 50 philosophy students will make use of it! Also while studying Hegel I came to the realisation of why philosophy took so long to evolve. In the past, while everyone was running away from lions. The philosopher type was contemplating the “thisness” of this. Easy pickings for the lion.
I don’t know how useless philosophy, in and of itself may be, but I do know that many philosophers are useless, and not worth reading or paying attention to. Yet sometimes theses useless people can be quite intriguing, as in the case of Wittgenstein, for instance. Then there is Kant who a Catholic priest buddy of mine particularly detested since of course candidates for the priesthood are required to earn the equivalent of a philosophy BA in order to gain entrance to the major or graduate seminary. I also took half of the philosophy requirement to do that but then reconsidered. I found it quite easy to frustrate the philosophy professors by interrupting their trains of thought to question their underlying assumptions. So in that regard they were kind of like third rate magicians whose tricks depend on the audience not interrupting them to expose their methodology as illusory. I would propose that the study of philosophy is only useful if one wishes to become a professional philosopher himself, and not necessarily a college teacher, but someone who really intends to write philosophy for general consumption by the public, or in other words to become someone like Alan Watts, the Zen advocate who was a defrocked Episcopalian priest, and claimed to be nothing but an entertainer, which he undoubtedly was. And finally, Zen Buddhists, such as your monk acquaintance, are notoriously anti-intellectual. Zen monks don’t study philosophy because they emphasize practice over abstract thinking.
May I point out that philosophy helps solve problems in an unconventional way and look at the problem from many perspectives. Philosophers are valued on the labor market precisely for these qualities. Besides, with a few exceptions, you study for yourself to broaden your horizons, unless you don’t feel anything towards philosophy, then it doesn’t really make much sense. Regards. Philosophy enthusiast – freethinker
If you feel comfortable dropping 100g’s to pursue your “passion” rather than pursuing something that nets you a return on your investment, power to you. However imo your passion can be pursued on the side. Nothing stopping me from doing a deep dive on philosophy and even hopping into a few seminars for free.
Philosophy probably wont get you a job, but surely it helps you figure out what you SHOULD be doing RIGHT? RIGHT?! Like isn’t that the whole point of philosophy?????? To figure out what is going and what we should be doing? I feel like if you study philosophy and don’t know what to do in life after that then that is really concerning to someone like me who has never studied philosophy because I feel like that’s the whole point. Like should you spend your life studying buddha? If you a Christian and you TRULY believe in heaven and hell, then surely you now know 100% what you need to be doing with your life. If you 100% Buddhist then surely you just spend the rest of your life trying to achieve Nirvana or whatever they believe in? I feel like the whole point of philosophy is THINKING trying to figure out the most optimal use of your time. like if you study philosophy and still CHOOSE to be some middle manager in some corporate hell hole for the rest of your life doesn’t that say something really profound? Like you LEARNED how the world works to the best of your ability, and you still chose just a normal, average, boring existence. That says something. That says, “hey I studied the world and found out it doesn’t matter, just chase the bag and don’t worry about it”. Philosophy is supposed to help you choose your VALUES. Like maybe you study philosophy and decide that spending the rest of your life in a cubicle, or shooting the shit with coworkers is a complete waste of life. That says something.
What are we doing in this century? What is the meaning of education? If you don’t go to college, you are a loser You are lazy ?!? However, college is just grooming us to be just a machine in a skin that has to work hard until retirement. In a broad sense, what does college give us? This is not just about a philosophy degree anymore. I chose to study philosophy for the above reasons. It is quite silly, but it reflects many problems that are fermenting like dust under the carpet. When you try to flip it open, you will find a pile of dust.
As a fan of ayn rand, short of recommending you read her work, I would ask you to think twice before deriding the industries which you advocate should subsidize your studies. The ivory tower is a luxury paid for by someone else’s labor, and in return you at least owe them gratitude and acknowledgment
Saying you don’t need skill to be successful in the business world in another way of telling us you have minimal life experience. That’s okay, you’re young, you’ll understand later. Btw, I love people who have Philosophy Degrees, they make the best frappuccinos. They have the right attitude to make the drink taste perfect.
Philosophy is not useless or worthless. However according to a recent analysis of 30,000 degree programs by the Foundation for Research and Equal Opportunity, for a whopping 60% of graduate with a BS in philosophy this degree will actually give them a NEGATIVE Return on investment after accounting for 4-5 years of lost wages, college debt, and job marketability. In other words the majority of philosophy major would have been better off financially with only a HS diploma or choosing another major to study. given the bleak statistics, IDK why any one would pay Good money to be poorer then a HS graduate. Those that truly LOVE philosophy don’t need a college degree to prove they love it.. But to be fair I guess sacrificing 500k in life time earning is a sign of truly love. who said you cant put a price on love… apparently the philosophy graduates can =P
The best things in life are absolutely useless: not worthless, for they have intrinsic value, but useless. Their worth is not evaluated by their utility. Is love worthful? Absolutely. Is love useful? Absolutely not. Is philosophy worthful? Yes, but I cannot say the same as to its usefulness. The Liberal Arts are what its name convey. The liberi were the ancient Romans who were born into wealthy families and had the resources to do anything they wanted, for better or for worse. They had the possibility to be in perfect idleness. Philosophy, since the dawn of Man, is something born out of idleness, and in it its idleness it has great value. To instrumentalize philosophical endeavour is to kill it.
I asked chatgpt which bs degree could bring out the biggest question. And it points me to BS in philosophy; and liberal arts. And youtube leads me to you…..well just to share my view, I think philo folks can be a great prompt engineer? It means asking GPTs series of curius and leading questions to create something