Philosophy is an attempt to get clear on some fundamental and important issues in
our lives. These include questions about the existence of
God, whether we can ever get the truth about the world, and
whether we are able to know the right thing to do. In trying to
find answers to these questions, lots of other problems emerge. These include:
Anyone who has ever asked questions like these has already started to do philosophy. Philosophy is one of the world's oldest subjects of study. In ancient Greece, philosophers pursued many questions which would nowadays be regarded as scientific as well as philosophical ones. During the sixteenth century, physics became a separate subject, and in the nineteenth century psychology gradually developed a separate identity. New subjects continue to emerge from work in philosophy. These include areas like cognitive science where philosophers, psychologists and computer scientists work with other experts to try to unravel the nature of intelligent systems and to understand consciousness, thinking, speech and reason. Philosophy cannot be learnt by rote or from a text book. Studying it in depth develops reasoning powers by requiring focus on some of the most difficult, abstract and persistently worrying questions that have always engaged reflective people. Philosophical studies leave a deep mark on the mind, and provide intellectual virtues in demand beyond the university. Employers are becoming increasingly aware of the value of the imagination and rigour which philosophy students need to acquire. Examples of transferable skills and personal characteristics developed by the practice of philosophy are the following: reasoning skills: logic; analysis and synthesis; handling of concepts; critical ability; identifying and questioning assumptions; arguing a case; problem solving and decision making handling symbolism: formal systems; statistical arguments; computer literacy communication skills: clarity, relevance, and succinctness in written and oral presentations comprehension: mastery of difficult and complex texts; listening to what others say, and appreciating different points of view; coping with a high level of uncertainty depth and breadth of view: seeing beyond traditional disciplinary boundaries; identifying first principles and practical applications; tracing connections; objectivity reflexivity: handling of second-order questions; awareness of one's own thinking and use of language; ability to assess one's own strengths and weaknesses, and those of others originality: independence of thought; flexibility of approach; adaptability to a changing environment; inventiveness in producing examples and counter-examples co-operativeness: ability to work in teams in different capacities; constructive contribution to group discussion and joint products responsibility: ability to act autonomously and to learn independently; awareness of ethical implications. It is common for employers of graduates to ask academic referees to assess candidates under headings such as the above. Studies in the USA have shown that philosophy majors consistently outperform graduates of all other disciplines in reasoning and verbal aptitude tests; and among Arts and Social Studies graduates, they come behind only economists on quantitative skills (see Peter Ratcliffe and Martin Warner, Philosophy Graduates and Jobs, Royal Institute of Philosophy and the University of Warwick, 1986). This suggests that philosophy is in fact effective in developing transferable skills, even if they are not included among the explicit objectives of philosophy courses. A very short, clear, straightforward and useful introductory book is Thomas Nagel's What Does It All Mean? (New York: Oxford University Press, 1987), which is normally in stock at the UWA Co-Op Bookshop. If you want to pursue philosophy through the Internet before committing yourself to a full university course, you could try Pathways, an independent distance learning project which offers guidance as you proceed. |