AAPT Members American Association of Philosophy Teachers

Two of my Senior Philosophy Majors - Ryan Allnut and John Modica - were interviewed on local radio about their nonprofit 'First Global Visions'. They were even asked why their major in Philosophy was relevant to their work!

This section was a part of a large clip that interviewed Jim Hindman, one of our alumni, who is the founder of Jiffy Lube. Mr. Hindman is starting a new venture on energy efficiency:

http://www.1430wnav.com/jimhindman

(It's an Mp3, even though it doesn't like it from the URL)

At least according to Jason Henry McCormick, commentator for SDSU's student newspaper:

The Daily Aztec - ANOTHER SKIPPED DIPLOMA: SDSU seventh year itch

This is my seventh or eighth year in college, and I have a 2.003 overall grade point average...
I kept looking. Then, lo and behold, the philosophy major caught my eye.

Being a philosopher is easy. One must love wisdom and forget about earning a six-figure salary. Also, if one wishes to enroll in philosopher training, then one must have a GPA of 2.0 or higher in all pre-philosophy major coursework.

You read that right. Dov Seidman argues that Philosophy better prepares students for the current state of the business world that Econ. In short, Philosophy trains you to understand broad trends and large institutional relationships - and that, not specialization in narrow economic theories - is what the business world requires in the face of climate change, economic crises, global consumption habits, etc.

And he argues the point, not surprisingly, by pointing out that Adam Smith was - shocking - a philosopher, not an economist.
Philosophy is Back in Business - BusinessWeek

The financial and climate crises, global consumption habits, and other 21st-century challenges call for a "killer app." I think I've found it: philosophy...
...The Wealth of Nations, a book that serves as the intellectual platform for capitalism, lays out how markets should be organized and how people should behave in such markets. The book's author, Adam Smith, was not an economist, as many believe, but a philosopher. Smith was chairman of the Moral Philosophy Dept. at Glasgow University when he wrote the book

Well, that's true, but so were all the major intellectuals of the 18th century. OK, Smith was probably more similar to his good friend David Hume, than some of the others who called themselves 'natural' philosophers, but this argument just doesn't hold much water.  read more »

Evan Burger published a spirited defense of the value of studying philosophy in the Columbia spectator:

A defense of the examined life | Columbia Daily Spectator

Philosophy is a frequently maligned discipline, but a systematic look at one’s fundamental assumptions is the only way to ensure that such assumptions are sound

He also, somewhat surprisingly, defends Columbia's required 'Contemporary Civilization' course, one of the last unified reading-list survey courses in the academy:

As a first-year, I have yet to take Contemporary Civilization. And as much as I am ashamed to say it, I am looking forward to it. One of the reasons I chose to attend Columbia was so someone would force me to read and, hopefully, think about these works. I think that a single two-semester class devoted to thinking about the important things in life is not too much to ask. That leaves plenty of time to learn all those practical disciplines like physics or economics.

Superb. More of this!

Yurina Ko, Jr. Philosophy major at Barnard has an excellent article in the student paper this week about her experience as a Philosophy major. One particularly good nugget:
 
Why not wonder?

Once, there was a student who mumbled, “I’m sorry, I don’t know how to talk to you,” and briskly walked away.

According to Ko, 1.3% of Barnard students are majoring in Phil. That seems to me to pretty good. We have about the same (about 5 a year = 1.3% of the population.  A few months ago, there was much hay made about the study at payscale.com claiming that Philosophy majors' mid-career salaries are high in comparrison to other majors. The NY Times story claims that the data may be partially explained by the fact that mid-career salaries are significantly higher for those who went to elite schools than those who went to non-elite schools. Elite schools, the reasoning goes, produce a higher percentage of Philosophy majors than non-elite schools; and hence, the general population of philosophy majors overcounts those with elite education. 
This number would not support that explanation. Of course, we're not 'elite,' but we are a private, small liberal arts college. Anyone have any data from public institutions?

These pop up every once in a while in my google alerts, and I just find them compelling. This is from 'Thaindian News', a service for Indians living in Thailand.  
After politics, 71-year-old student seeks to master philosophy (Lead, superseding earlier story)

The Oregonian's 'Community Writers' site has a testimonial / reflection from John Bowman, 58 year old 1st year masters students in philosophy at OSU.  It's worth keeping around to show students who might doubt the value of the reflective life - or, more importantly, for their parents!

Happiness at Oregon State University - Community Writers

I am a 58 year old man who has spent most of my life working and supporting a family. I spent a good deal of that time yearning to study philosophy. When my last daughter graduated from high school last fall I applied and was accepted to a masters program in philosophy at Oregon State University. I have just completed my first year. I spent the last nine months studying philosophy, talking both philosophy and ancient history with professors, learning philosophy in class, discussing philosophy with students, and countless hours reading philosophy. It was a very happy time for me.

The Independent's 'Career Adviser' column attempts to answer the question 'Should I do a degree in Philosophy'?  I bring this to your attention merely because unlike all answers to this question I've ever seen in the U.S., this answer appears to be based on real data! Nothing insightful, specific or all that memorable, of course, but at least it isn't anecdotal!

The Careers Adviser: Should I do a degree in philosophy? And how can I get a job researching the medicinal benefits of plants? - Getting a Job, Career Planning - The Independent

It's a blog, and there isn't actually any detail, but it is always nice to hear someone who regrets not taking MORE philosophy. If only our students would listen eh?
PhillyBurbs.com:  My philosophy on philosophy

I bookmarked this one ages ago, but forgot to blog it. USNews and World Report ran a series in Dec. on '50 Ways to Improve Your Life'. Diane Cole wrote a short note called "Learn Philosophy," highlighting the ethics bowl.

In January, they published a letter to the editor from Felicia Nimue Ackerman, Professor of Philosophy, Brown University:

As a philosophy professor, I am embarrassed to see an officer of my
professional organization advertising philosophy as teaching skills
that are "wonderfully transferable" to a range of careers without
giving any hard evidence for his claim ["Brush Up Your Socrates"].
Must professional philosophers hawk their product like used-car
salesmen nowadays. Whatever happened to studying philosophy for its own
sake rather than as a smart career move?

She has a point, especially about the lack of evidence. But come on. The original article contained 344 words. And not everyone teaching Philosophy has the luxury of teaching solely to students pursuing wisdom for its own sake. Many of us, who teach at colleges and universities not fully endowed, are required to defend our value in the academy in terms of our support for other more practical pursuits, such as pre-law.  read more »