Philosophy and Everyday Life
Jul 31, 2011Philosophy isn't just about cosmic issues. Every day is full of events that raise philosophical questions: why do we eat the things we eat, work the way we work, go to the places we go?
Do Philosophy For Its Own Sake, Not for a Job
Truman Chen
13 March 2017
In these days of economic insecurity, it's not surprising that students thinking of majoring in philosophy have difficulty convincing their family and friends. A new website, created by professor of philosophy Jack Russell Weinstein, titled "Philosophy is a Great Major" tries to work around this by pitching the philosophy major as actually a great way to make money. The website touts Peter Thiel, a former philosophy major at Stanford, as a "philosopher king of Silicon Valley." According to the website, "Philosophy is economic stability. Philosophy is freedom."
But isn't there something lost in pursuing a philosophical education for monetary gain? No one of course should be against philosophy majors making a decent living, but in trying to cater to those people who ask whether you're practicing the line "do you want fries with that?" do we lose sight of the value of a doing philosophy for its own sake? If this tactic of selling philosophy as something to be instrumentalized toward getting rich works, I suppose it will help to convince some people to more seriously consider philosophy when they wouldn't have otherwise. But at the same time, we would do well to reserve this pitch to the unconvinced around us, while firmly remaining authentically philosophically interested for those of us who need no convincing—monetary or otherwise. Instead of pitching it as a good sell, why not pitch it as something essential to democratic citizenry? Or a deeper appreciation for the arts? The list goes on...
Check out the website here: https://philosophyisagreatmajor.com/
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Related Shows
Philosophy and Everyday Life
Jul 31, 2011Philosophy isn't just about cosmic issues. Every day is full of events that raise philosophical questions: why do we eat the things we eat, work the way we work, go to the places we go?
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Jan 04, 2009Is a university a research institute with students, or and educational institution with research around the edges – or something in between?
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Why do some people have a strange desire to do weird things for no (good) reason? There's something fascinating about kids who eat laundry soap as part of a “challenge,” or people who deliberately... Read more
Making a better world would be a great thing—but do we need philosophers to help us do that? Famously (or infamously), not all philosophers have been such great people. So are they the folks we... Read more
In her time—the 4th century CE—Hypatia was one of the most famous philosophers in Alexandria, and indeed in the ancient world. She studied and taught mathematics,... Read more
Mexican philosophy is full of fascinating ideas, from Mexica ("Aztec") and Mayan thought to Sor Juana’s feminism and Emilio Uranga’s existentialism... Read more
Your friendly neighborhood Senior Prodcuer here, once again stepping out from behind the mixing board to bring you some bonus content from this week's 17th (!) annual Summer Reading special.... Read more
Gender is a controversial topic these days. To some, gender is an oppressive system designed to keep women down: people go around saying "girls are made of sugar and spice and boys are made of... Read more
Fascism is on the rise, new infectious diseases keep cropping up, and we’re on the verge of environmental collapse: how on earth could art possibly save us? The arts are may be nice distraction,... Read more
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Comments (3)
dedo
Monday, March 13, 2017 -- 12:42 PM
Reasonable question. When IReasonable question. When I started philosophy it was never to make money, but it was never to provide for a democratic citizenry either. I did it to learn how to live in a world filled with order and to understand my place in it. Done right, these are marketable skills/learnings. Leveraged or not, philosophy is a strong foundation from which to make money, and should be marketed that way. Academics for it's own sake doesn't make sense to me.
Sheik_e
Monday, March 13, 2017 -- 9:25 PM
The solution may be to makeThe solution may be to make it a core or mandatory course for K-12 and/ or a required part of ANY college or university degree. (This is philosophy per not the history of philosophy or the study of the "canon".) you will then. Not have to be concerned ab wasting your time on a narrowly focused unpacking of great ideas but an engaging with current concerns about your focus of study or the day to day issues of your life that can be informed by studying philosophy.
Jack Herrera
Thursday, March 16, 2017 -- 11:13 AM
Truman your post reminds meTruman your post reminds me of Lewis Hyde's famous book on creativity, The Gift (1983). Hyde writes that certain artistic achievements only work as long as they are gifts, and not pure commodities. Of course, a great painting can be sold, or an book of poems can be published, but something conceptual about the the actual art remains gift-like: part of what it gives us goes beyond its financial value. However, as soon as a painting's sole role becomes a commodity, it stops being a gift, and therefore stops being art. That's why we don't look at billboards the same way we look at paintings in art museums (in general, anyway).
Maybe the same is true for philosophy. Sure, we can be compensated for philosophizing, but as soon as philosophy starts being done purely for financial reasons, it stops being true philosophy. That's interesting to me: however, I can't think of any example of purely-commercial philosophy. Can we think of any examples of a philosopher for hire? And don't say Peter Thiel.