What's a Philosophy Degree Worth? 

Thanks for sharing your story! I agree that we should start teaching philosophy earlier. At the very least teach some logic along in math classes.

I agree so much the world would be much better if even basic philosophy was mandatory in high school, I sure hope we get it in there some day!

@@animefurry3508 I wish there were intro to logic classes in high-school.

You forgot that most people are retarded.

Awesome! Glad it is well timed. :)

tough 🐬👏🏼

Philosophy is free. How much do you want?

Thanks for sharing your experience! I do think philosophy makes a good double major as many of the skills it teaches are more abstract, and can be paired well with more concrete skills in another field.

Oh no! I hope the series can be helpful, particularly the video on jobs for philosophers.

Science and philosophy communicators are essential and a very cool field to be considering! As someone that tries to explain these concepts to a broad audience, I find that concrete examples theories can be useful, when they are not oversimplifications (though that can be hard). You can always combine all of that with your music and computer science background to make catchy music videos explaining complex concepts in science and philosophy. I would watch them! :) Best of luck!

What makes you think you cant major in computer science anymore or get a degree or experience that is similar to it? Is it your student debt or something?

@@jonashartwig738 Going back for another degree would cost me money (the first one was free because my family is poor and I was a first-generation student), and require that I step away from my existing career in the field to make time to study, which risks disrupting it even worse than not getting that degree in the first place did. Basically I just wish the start of my career had been different because my education had been different -- I ended up in the same field anyway, I'm just way further behind in it than I would have been if I had made different decisions 20+ years ago.

@@thotslayer9914 I do, and in fact I admin the largest philosophy server on Discord (possible the largest philosophy chat on the internet).

Thanks for sharing your experience! Computer science is interesting because I feel that there are at least some connections to a philosophy major (learning advanced logic definitely helped me learn to program). I also feel it is something that is easier to learn outside of a classroom than some other fields (though that may just be my bias). I will say generally I think philosophy is a great double-major option because philosophy touches and is connected to so many other disciplines, so you can always pair philosophy with whatever else you are doing. Finally, I would say if you are admin'ing the largest philosophy discussion community online, you are definitely using your philosophy major in a great and important way! It is arguably a more important thing to do than if you were a professor publishing esoteric papers that one or two other people read. We are more than our careers, and arguably some of the most important things we do are outside of them (though my bias as someone that does philosophy as a side gig may be showing her as well).

Awesome~👍

Great! Glad you are loving it!

Well done my friend. I used my postgraduate qualifications to add to my existing professional qualifications. Our students certainly show a lot of determination and pragmatism when moving on from education. They never fail to amaze me...but I am still sometimes disappointed by the lack of opportunity.

Awesome! Thanks for watching

Congratulations! Good to hear.

I mostly agree with your assessment, always good to study more and get a double major if you can. Philosophy pairs well with other majors since philosophy touches a bit of everything, and can be particularly paired well with STEM majors because it is more focused on reading/writing, which can fall by the wayside for some STEM degrees. The only caveat I would add is if you are expecting to go on to a graduate degree, say in law or public policy, you probably don't need another major (as you won't be looking for a job until after graduate school, and law and policy are quite practical).

Great! I am hopeful the series helps with your decision!

Interesting view. I think if your plan is to go to law school all along, there's no harm in an undergraduate major in philosophy, which is a common pre-law degree (and going to law school is often the reason that philosophy majors incomes jump substantially several years out of school).

Great! Glad you are excited for the series. In the video on "What can you do with a philosophy degree?" we will cover a range of professions that you can look into with a degree in philosophy, though as we will see in the video on "How to Sell your Philosophy Degree" the sky is the limit as long as you can sell it.

@@blankname5177 it's really unfortunate how college worked, and it led to a lot of issues for my mental image Eventually I came to accept going into philosophy, and I did amazing. And I'm happy with my science-heavy background, I feel it keeps me grounded

Interesting view, I'm glad that it worked out for you! One of the things that we will talk about in the "should you get a philosophy degree" video is learning styles. For people that can learn and pursue philosophy outside of a classroom by reading books and watching RU-vid videos, a formal degree may not be the best choice, particularly if they are not looking to pursue a career in philosophy. Though a few classes might help to give you the basic terminology to get started. In the video on jobs with a philosophy degree, we will look at how a background in advanced logic can help you learn to program. I certainly appreciated having a background in logic when I was learning various programming languages.

you should probably combine philosophy with a more technical skill, makes finding employment after college much easier. t. studied philosophy as an undergrad and had to go back to school to study business management to get a job

@@greyghost2492 i’m already minoring in public administration and plan to go to law school, any ideas on how to compliment this plan with another minor or major?

@@dylansantana651 My university had a 1-year masters program designed specifically for non-business undergrad majors. Its pretty intensive, so I imagine its not for everyone, but I think it was worth the effort. I'm applying for law school rn because I plan on doing corporate law after this, and it set me up pretty well for that. If your school has anything similar to that, then I would suggest really focusing on getting your GPA as high as you p[ossibly can, because in my experience they were looking for applicants with a solid work ethic that can really withstand the huge workload.

Exciting! I hope the series can give you direction as well. Law school is a common destination for philosophy majors. But there are also a lot of philosophers that go into public administration (i.e. going on to get an MPA or MPP instead of a JD). If you know you want to work in the public sector and law school seems like a lot, an MPA/MPP can be a good backup choice.

Can you pls tell that when we are choosing philosophy as a major then do we have to choose which type of Philosophy we want to study? Like Politicak philosophy of Philosophy of Biology

@@roxanne2749 at my university we don’t have to choose a particular area, the only thing you would really choose is whether or not you want to do philosophy or the logic/mathematical side of philosophy. At my university, they offer many classes in all areas of philosophy. It’s up to you to take the courses that interest you the most in the areas that interest you the most out of the viable options that will fulfill your requirements. For example: I have an interest in theory of mind, political philosophy, metaphysics, and epistemology. So, I take all the classes I can around those topics, but you will be required to spread your wings a bit into other areas that might not interest you much. I’m also required to study two philosophers. I chose Spinoza and Heidegger. (I also took Kant almost all the way through and then dropped at the very end due to medical reasons, which was actually awesome because I got to study 3 philosophers instead of two 😀) Just to show you the broad range: I have also taken philosophy of social justice, philosophy of citizenship, race, and ethnicity. Theory of meaning (linguistics) ancient philosophy, modern philosophy, political philosophy, one logic course (logic 12A is required for us) and “methods” which is also required for our major. Methods teaches us how to write a philosophy paper. My only regret: I wish I could have taken all the classes that are offered. This is why I am considering a dual program for law school. I really REALLY want to take a metaphysics course. I really want to continue philosophy and don’t want to have to choose between law and philosophy. Must keep going! All in all, it’s been pretty rad. I’ve been exposed to so many philosophers and so many different areas of philosophy, old and new. It has been truly intellectually fulfilling for me.

@@nicolejohnson5550 Oh man! I am impressed completely. Do you know Al Gazali, Ibn Tamiyya, Ibn Rushd and Ibn Sina? Is there any philosopher from India who fascinates you? Are you an atheist?

@@nicolejohnson5550 I want to study philosophy as well is there any lecture series on yt or any book u would recommend ne as a beginner. I have deep interest in political as well as philosophy of mind.

@@roxanne2749 from India: I’ve read Ghandi and he’s pretty interesting. However, there are many from India I am interested in (I just purchased some books on a few philosophers from India). Adi Shankara, Nagarjuna, and Purana Kassapa… I have heard of Al Gazali and I do want to read his take on happiness. Unfortunately, I am not familiar with the others you have listed, but I am definitely going to look into them now! The one area of philosophy at my university that is severely under represented are Asian philosophers. I do have a great interest to study them on my own time, because of the ones I have been exposed to have been amazing for many reasons. One of those reasons is because the Asian culture and religion is clearly reflected and it’s enjoyable because it’s so different. It’s a really nice change of pace. I’m actually excited to dive into the others you mentioned. Who do you recommend first? Yes!! On RU-vid there is an entire theory of mind course from UC Berkeley. It is taught by Searle. It’s about 28 lectures (I think?) Also, there’s a Harvard philosophy course taught by Shelly Hagen. That one is really good! Also, Keith Frankish has done interviews and presentations on some of his work in philosophy of mind that you can find here on RU-vid (illusionism). The same can be said for David Chalmers, he had a presentation on RU-vid as well on his meta-problem of consciousness. There’s also a lecture on integrated information theory of consciousness by Morch. That one is definitely interesting and trippy. As a beginner, I would start with the Harvard lecture course by Hagen. You should be able to find the PDFs for the reading pertaining to what he’s lecturing about. If there’s anyway possible, definitely try to find the reading and actually do the reading before you watch the lecture. That will help you be able to move on to something a little more difficult like Searle and his course on philosophy of mind. Also, if you need help on how to write a philosophy paper or need tips for reading and annotating the readings… on RU-vid search for : UC Berkeley how to write a philosophy paper… And also search for : UC Berkeley how to read philosophy … there’s a lot of great tips and advice for beginners. It will seem complicated at first, but you will get the hang of it!

Organic philosophy, I like really that! What kind of changes would you like to see in philosophy in North America and Britain? Or am I misunderstanding your position, is it that you don't like that North America and Britain are leading it? Genuine question, not looking to debate, just looking to learn.

Thanks for watching!

This is a great point! People often don't realize how much of programming is logic. One of the jobs I recommend for a philosopher is programming (a background in logic definitely helped me learn to program).

As I will talk about in the next video, I think a big question for folks considering this major is how they learn. If you are the kind of person that can learn with RU-vid videos and by picking up a philosophy book, you probably don't need a philosophy major. But if you are someone that won't learn it without that and you really like philosophy, I think there are some good reasons to choose it as a major.

It is always good to have a broad skillset!

Interesting question. Do you have a specific translation that you are trying to purchase?

I hope so too! The next video will focus on exactly that question, so stay tuned!

We will look at some practical applications of philosophy, both in terms of careers and life.

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Philosophy is practice. It only eludes the security of the self-evident. That is what makes it philosophy. Many interpret this withdrawal as irrelevance or uselessness. But this is only the dictate of the self-evident, which deceives one. Philosophy does not offer "wisdom." But a profound, sometimes gnawing, sometimes painful examination of one's own prejudices. Nothing that is popular.

As much as I would trust a politician or lawyer that never studied ethics and justice, or a programmer that never studied logic. Philosophy has its uses, but plumbing is definitely not one of them. :)

All study used to be philosophy. Science used to be just called "natural philosophy".

I am confused by what you mean by this.

Depends on what you do with it. The world needs plenty of designers, and creating art can bring such happiness!

A good idea for many people (or double majoring if you have the time). And both are in some way built around logic. What are True's and False's but the ancestors of One's and Zero's?

But being haphazard is fun

RU-vid isn't particularly lucrative, but it is a great side gig.

What makes you think critical thinking isn't a part of philosophy?

By mid-career the average philosophy major is making $81,000 per year (or around $40 an hour). We'll talk about some reasons for this in the other videos in the series.

One of my two disciplines was philosophy (the other was American Studies). I had a terrible time in college. A lot of people would say I spent too much time unemployed or underemployed after it. Look up the autism unemployment rate (I have autism). It is much higher than the neurotypical unemployment rate.

Neuroatypical folks often have trouble in the job market because, unfortunately, a lot of hiring committees hire based on social cues, like how much they like you in the interview, and affinity bias, not on actual skills. It is not easy.

Honestly Carneades, I know neurotypicals can have trouble with social cues, but honestly people with autism spectrum disorder have more trouble. I think really, only the socially adept have little trouble with this.

But what about people who want to read advanced primary sources of philosophy but don't have enough understanding of the discipline to do so. I.e. people that would read philosophy for fun, but don't have the background knowledge to start?