Why Major in Philosophy?
Steve Martin
Elie Wiesel
Kyle Smitley '07
Stokely Carmichael
David Souter
Philip Glass
Iris Murdoch
Phil Jackson
Pearl S. Buck
Ethan Coen
George Soros
Aung San Suu Kyi
Alex Trebek
Angela Davis
John Elway
Susan Sontag
Harrison Ford
Thomas Jefferson
Juan Williams
Pat Buchanan
Yes, they majored 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 GRE data, please click here.
Philosophers in the Workplace
Philosophy majors are increasingly in demand in the workplace. Articles appearing in the Times of London, the New York Times (and here again), CNN, and Bloomberg Businessweek address the "employability" of philosophy majors. The University of Florida also 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, or visit their web site.
"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:
- DePauw Catalog list of courses in philosophy, and requirements for the major and minor
- Descriptions of the DePauw philosophy department's current course offerings
- Collaboration between students and faculty in philosophy
Thinking of going on to graduate school? The American Philosophical Association has compiled a guide to graduate programs in philosophy in the US and Canada.