Why Major in Philosophy?
"Philosophy majors performed substantially better than the average (5% better or more) on each of the tests (LSAT, GMAT, GRE) surveyed. Not one other group of majors shows this consistent pattern — not even economics or the physical sciences, whose majors did exceptionally well in three of the four areas but only marginally better than the average on the verbal portion of the GRE."
—Phi Kappa Phi Journal (February 2, 1990)
As a philosophy major, you'll be
- Studying in a department whose faculty have won no fewer than 19 awards for excellence in teaching, including two awards of the prestigious Kemper Fellowship for Teaching Excellence.
- Studying in a department whose faculty are active researchers in philosophy with national, and even international, reputations in their specialties.
- Exposing yourself to a fascinating world of ideas that will enrich the rest of your life.
- Developing intellectual skills — such as critical thinking, careful reading, persuasive writing, and handling complex argumentation — that are vital for a wide range of challenging careers, including law, business, and medicine.
- Joining a select group of like-minded students who welcome intellectual challenges, who care about the life of the mind, and who share your love of ideas.
The practical value of studying philosophy lies not in any vocation-specific information that it imparts but rather in the intellectual training that it provides. Successful study of philosophy requires, and helps develop, several intellectual abilities and dispositions:
- the ability to construct an effective case for a view or course of action
- the ability to identify assumptions in the arguments made by others
- the disposition to question the assumptions of others
- the ability to think about highly abstract and conceptually demanding questions (e.g., those in the law)
- the ability to speak and write about such questions clearly and precisely
- the ability to notice conceptual distinctions that others may not see
- intolerance for woolly-mindedness
- the ability to analyze complex problems
- the ability to assess the pros and cons of proposed solutions
- the ability to grasp the big picture as well as fine details
These abilities and dispositions are transferable to, and valuable in, a wide variety of careers, the best known example of which is law. According to a recent paper, with regard to average LSAT scores for 2007-2008, "Economics majors (LSAT score of 157.4) are tied for first (with Philosophy) of the 12 largest disciplines (those with more than 1,900 students entering law school)". Older data—from 1991-2 and 1994-5-reveal essentially the same picture, though with Philosophy edging out Economics. More surprisingly, it turns out that the average score of Philosophy majors on the GMAT for 2000-1 to 2004-5 exceeded that of all other majors (including all Business majors) except Engineering, Mathematics, and Physics. Finally, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges, in the class entering US medical schools in 2000-1, the acceptance rate for students who had majored in Philosophy was 60.2%, an acceptance rate higher than that for all majors in the Biological Sciences, and all majors in the Physical Sciences except for Biomedical Engineering (65.3%).
These transferable abilities and dispositions are also valuable for students who do not take any higher degree. According to PayScale's 2010-11 College Salary Report, the mid-career median pay of someone whose only degree is a BA in Philosophy is $72,900. While this figure is by no means the highest of all majors surveyed, it is higher than the figures for many majors, including Biology, Communications, Business, Nursing, Hotel Management, English, Forestry, Multimedia and Web Design, Psychology, Animal Science, Interior Design, Education, Religious Studies, and Social Work.
To find out more about the benefits of an undergraduate major in philosophy, check out the American Philosophical Association's Philosophy: A Brief Guide for Undergraduates.
More Links On The Practicality Of Philosophy
To succeed in business, study philosophy!