Philosophy DepartmentAsbury Hall
mail 100 East Seminary Street
Greencastle, IN
46135-0037
Office: (765) 658-4713
Fax: (765) 658-6605
What is Philosophy?
Philosophy is an ancient discipline, which probably began as early as human civilization, that sought knowledge of all things on earth and in heaven. Knowledge of natural things and their causes lead to the creation of physics and metaphysics. Knowledge of human affairs and their constitutive relations lead to the creation of ethics, politics, and the philosophy of history. Knowledge of heavenly things leads to cosmology and speculative theology. Philosophy in the ancient world was the parent of most scientific disciplines.
In order to understand philosophy you must not only grasp its subject matter, such as metaphysics and ethics, but also its method. In western philosophy the method to obtain knowledge is rooted in the philosopher's ability to form and evaluate arguments. In Asian philosophy there is greater emphasis on knowledge of the Way (Dao) to live a life harmonizing the individual with her natural and social world. But in all cultures philosophy requires that we think critically: to be clear, precise, well-organized, truthful, complete, and able to handle objections. The study of critical thinking is called logic.
To be philosophical is to be a logical thinker who seeks knowledge of the whole. In this way philosophers avoid unsupported beliefs but base their views on good reason and evidence. Philosophers demand of themselves and others that they have reasoned logical belief.
The study of philosophy is varied. Since philosophy seeks knowledge of the whole, that is, of all things that are subject to disciplined inquiry, there are virtually endless kinds of philosophy. Traditionally most students of philosophy study (a) the history of philosophy, and (b) systematic areas of philosophy. These two ways complement each other, since the articulation of philosophical problems and proposed solutions have developed over many centuries, and philosophical history often defines how the problems and proposed solutions are understood today.
Examples of the history of philosophy would be: 1) Ancient Philosophy, or from Socrates to Augustine; 2) Medieval Philosophy, or from Augustine to Machiavelli; and 3) Modern Philosophy, or from Descartes to Kant. Examples of systematic philosophy would be 1) metaphysics, or the study of reality; 2) ethics, or the study of what is morally right and good; 3) Epistemology, or the study of how we know reality; 4) logic, or the study of good arguments; 4) Aesthetics or the Philosophy of Art, or the study of appreciating the beautiful and theory of art; and 5) Social-Political Philosophy, or the study of political and legal theories.
Beyond these traditions lie a host of specialized inquiries, such as, Philosophy of Language, which studies how we communicate linguistically using signs; Philosophy of Law which studies how legal theories apply to specific cases; Business Ethics which deals with the application of ethical theories to moral issues in both the work and market places; Philosophy of Sex and Gender which deals with how ethical and social theories relate to understanding and evaluating the status of women, homosexuality, and pornography.
Students of philosophy often seek extensive knowledge in one or more of these areas as well as in the traditional areas. Philosophers are, then, pursuers of knowledge who seek both the knowledge of the whole as well as specialized branches of study.
Philosophers are intellectuals who typically speak and write well. They favor debate and the testing of conventions and beliefs. They are "gadflies" who ask questions which disturb those whose beliefs are uncritically accepted. Philosophers seek to understand themselves through a comprehension and evaluation of positions, arguments, ideas, and belief systems. They are usually committed to discovering truth and acting for the good.
Philosophers when they accomplish their goals are often wise and contented individuals. They show that philosophy is not simply an academic discipline; it is a way to live.
Why Major in Philosophy?
Few phrases strike greater terror into the hearts of tuition-paying parents than this one: "Mom...Dad...I've decided to major in philosophy!" Some parents would be less horrified if their beloved child informed them of her intention to major in alchemy or phrenology. After all, what can one do with a philosophy major? This section is devoted to this question, which is probably the one most pressing questions faced by prospective philosophy majors - and their parents.
For now we will ignore the tremendous intrinsic worth of the study of philosophy; for this, we refer you to the study of philosophy itself. Our concern here is rather the practical benefits of philosophy. How does it help one prepare for a career in the much-ballyhooed "real world" or for graduate study?
Graduate Study
The study of philosophy develops one's abilities to read and understand difficult material, to think critically, to distinguish good and bad reasoning, and to develop and defend one's own ideas. These skills are invaluable in any academic field and, we submit, are often quite useful even in the real world. Of course, proponents of many fields would claim that their disciplines hone these very same skills. Perhaps; but we claim that the study of philosophy is not just one way of developing these skills; rather, it is one of the most effective ways. One sort of evidence for this is the data concerning the performance of students with various undergraduate majors on standardized tests like the LSAT, the GMAT, and the GRE. This data is relevant because these tests are not tests of knowledge but rather tests of certain intellectual skills - indeed, they are supposed to test for the very skills mentioned above. The numbers don't lie; the performance of philosophy majors on these tests when compared to the performance of students with other majors is telling.
The chart below summarizes the percentage by which the average score of test-takers from various undergraduate majors differs from the average score of all test-takers (as reported in The Chronicle of Higher Education).
| Major | LSAT | GMAT | GRE verbal | GRE quant. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philosophy | +8.7% | +11.0% | +17.6% | +4.6% |
| Arts & Music | -.05% | -1.2% | +14.5% | -5.7% |
| English | +5.6% | +4.1% | +14.5% | -5.7% |
| Foreign Langs. | +5.7% | +3.3% | +7.9% | -4.2% |
| History | +2.9% | +4.6% | +10.8% | -5.5% |
| Gen. Humanities | +4.7% | +1.8% | +7.3% | -5.0% |
| Political Science | -1.6% | +.06% | +3.5% | -5.0% |
| Psychology | +0.9% | +0.8% | +3.1% | -4.0% |
| Sociology | -7.0% | -5.0% | -5.0% | -15.0% |
| Education | -8.7% | -4.2% | -10.4% | -15.8% |
| Speech | -2.7% | not reported | -6.0% | -14.3% |
| Biology | +4.0% | +3.3% | +5.4% | +8.0% |
| Mathematics | +12.8% | +13.3% | +2.7% | +26.3% |
| Chemistry | +7.6% | +7.5% | +2.1% | +18.3% |
| Business Adm. | -4.5% | -0.8% | -9.1% | -2.3% |
| Management | -5.4% | -7.7% | not reported | not reported |
For more recent GRE data, please click here.
Philosophers in the Workplace
Philosophy majors are increasingly in demand in the workplace. An article that appeared in the London Times in 1998 addresses the "employability" of philosophy majors. A variety of recent news stories in American newspapers speak to the success of philosophy majors in today's job market; these are conveniently collected on the philosophy department website at the University of North Carolina. For a more recent article on this topic (2000), click here. The Princeton Review offers some information about some of the career options available to philosophy majors.
John Cleese, and the Monads
You can listen to John Cleese, star of Monty Python's flying circus, explain what philosophers do, how philosophy has inspired heroes, and how it can enrich the meal of life. After all, if you can't trust John Cleese, who can you trust? Finally, we must call your attention to "The Monads", probably the greatest (and perhaps only) philosophy band ever. Their songs combine philosophical sophistication with adolescent yearning to yield soulful melodies that will leave you pining to learn more about Spinoza, Hume, Meinong, and contemporary analytic metaphysics. What other major could inspire lyrics like "my heart is broken / it's a pain-instantiatin' token", and "even if you are temporally gappy, son, you still gotta be a man"? Click on any of the song-titles below to download an mp3 file containing the song of that title.
"You Are My Everything" (A heartfelt, if slightly disturbing, ode to Spinoza)
"Counterparts" (Peppy reflection on the plurality of worlds)
"The Missing Shade of Blues" (A blues piece about hanging out with Hume)
"Slap Me Happy - I'm Temporally Gappy" (On the angst of interrupted existence)
"Meinongian Babe" (The heartbreak of non-actual love)
"I Need Your Love" (Hard to characterize in just a few words)
DePauw Philosophy Majors
Philosophy majors from DePauw have taken a variety of paths after graduation. About 50% have continued their education; roughly 10% have gone on to to do graduate work in philosophy at schools like the University of Rochester, the University of Miami, Johns Hopkins University, the University of Massachusetts, and Howard University. About 30% have gone to law school at such places as Indiana University, Harvard, Michigan, Stanford, the University of Chicago, and the University of Pittsburgh. About 10% have done graduate work in a field other than philosophy, like medicine, business, social work, history, and English literature. The other 50% have entered the workforce directly in a variety of fields including sales, investment banking, travel/entertainment, and the media.
It turns out that there is quite a lot one can do with a philosophy major - more than this, there are a lot of things that a degree in philosophy from DePauw University can help you do!
More information about studying philosophy at DePauw can be found here:
