I got a B.A. in Philosophy, Politics and Economics about twenty years ago. Philosophy was my favourite subject, and as my life has gone on it has been of far more importance in helping me deal with my emotions and the rest of my life than either of the other two subjects.
i finished up a double major in history and philosophy at Notre Dame and studied under some brilliant philosophers like Alvin Plantinga (a leading protestant philosopher) and Alisdair MacIntyre (brilliant and a big name in the field today)
that being said i wouldn’t recommend philosophy as a major for most people… taking a few classes to gather argumentative and logic skills, to be able to break down arguments, to look for the questions to ask (unless of course you already have these skills)…beyond that philo classes get sketchy
first off philo classes are filled with philo majors who tend to be the most arrogantly self-assure people in the world (keep in mind that i was a philo major) questions often as not get bogged down in semantics. i would say that to be a philo major you must really love the subject (and realize what the subject is)… if you are simply a person looking for answers then you might be better off with a few classes and a small group of thinking friends (and the occasional adversary)
at the very least double major, expose yourself to other people and other ways of thought
I have two honors degrees in psychology and philosophy from the University of Calgary. I was interested in philosophy at a young age (my early teens) when a good (female) friend of mine introduced me to it. Then I studied Socrates, Plato, Aristotle in high school. I’ve been hooked since then, mostly because I find that it “calms the demons within.”
I went to college a year early. I was a depressive little aingsty 16 year old in those days. First thing I did when I got there was get mono. So I went home and watched the elections- scary stuff man. My Second semester was fairly much determined by the stuff I missed senior year, so I could get that dimploma. I decided not to do any of my papers, and passed only one class So there I was I had to take some summer cources. Philosophy always gave you a free tech in Civ2, so I decided to try that. I took intro to Ethics.
Well it was one of the greatest experiances of my life. All the fuzzy “Everyone’s opinion is valid,” and “You have no right to judge the belifes of another,” that I had been raised on by the public school system was washed away by one tall proud black man.
Oh, how he made the theist cry, and the relativist squirm. And although at that point I was probably both, I just loved it. For once, someone was telling these whiney 18 year-olds they were wrong.
But of course, this class only led me to more questions: What about determinism is it a real threat? So I took more classed. In another year I was Philosophy Major at UMBC, and generally feeling much better about the world.
(Soma bites.)
I really liked that. “Everyone’s opinion is valid.” Things like that spell the death of meaningful communication. “Everyone can think as they like, no one has to question their beliefs.” In the end, such a mentality will have very bad consequences for society. The critical spirit is always very important, and its safest haven is analytic philosophy.
I’ve had experiences similar to yours. However, I’ve encountered the same sloppy attitude that you’re describing at university level (Stockholm), especially when studying Political Science. I had the same kind of experience that you’re describing when I started to study philosophy. It was really a revelation.
I was a lawyer for thirteen years and was bored out of my mind. Now I have returned to what I love: writing free-lance stuff, lecturing on philosophy, and I am happy – but POOR in New York. 