Why Study Philosophy?
Philosophy is excellent pre-professional training.
Whatever your professional interests, a background in philosophy
is a significant asset. Work within other academic disciplines rests on
philosophical commitments about the ways we know, the nature of reality,
values, and our place in the universe.
It’s also a scientifically proven fact that, on average, philosophy
majors consistently outperform other majors on entrance exams like
the GRE, GMAT, LSAT, and MCAT—tests specifically designed to assess
an individual’s readiness for graduate study in various fields.
So whether you are interested in law, linguistics, medicine, business,
government service, education, library science, journalism, public
administration, computer science, church-related ministry
(pre-seminary), missions, the arts, writing, or just about anything
else, any amount of coursework in philosophy is excellent
preparation.
As Alasdair MacIntyre put it:
“Philosophy is the discipline in which you learn to think about what you’re doing in
other disciplines.”
Why should
philosophy help you do better on graduate entrance exams and make
you a better attorney, translator, manager, physician, teacher,
counselor, pastor, artist, writer, or whatever? For one thing,
philosophy fine-tunes basic intellectual skills, such as
critical thinking, conceptual analysis, reading comprehension, and
writing. Philosophy cultivates your ability to analyze and
evaluate ideas and practices, present ideas forcefully, and defend
yourself against intellectual fads and fashions. Think of it
as a form of intellectual self-defense in the world of ideas.
At
this point you’re probably thinking, “Yes, yes, but will more
coursework in philosophy make me a better person?” It will indeed,
which is a big part of the reason Houghton requires at least one
course in philosophy of every student. In short,
philosophy
contributes in a fundamental way to the development of a world and
life view. Philosophy’s contribution in this respect is
distinctive in that it focuses attention on foundational issues
(about knowledge, reality, and values) that underlie other
disciplines.
As William Hasker put it:
“The ‘integration of faith
and learning’ refers to the need to think through the relationships
of all branches of knowledge and practice to the Christian faith, so
as to produce an integrated Christian view of things that can
function in the modern world. If philosophy didn’t already
exist to assist in this ongoing process, it would have to be
invented.”
To
cap it off, philosophy is fun. What could be more fun (or
more useful) than getting college credit for thinking about the
really big questions? Most people who study philosophy at Houghton
don’t become professional philosophers, though some do. But all of
us need to be philosophically-minded, whatever our primary calling
in life. Philosophically-minded individuals serve the church
and society as intellectual leaven, functioning as an ethical
conscience and providing invaluable assistance in the ongoing task
of examining assumptions about who we are, what we’re doing, and
what it means to be a human being, always prepared, as Peter put it,
“to give the reason for the hope that you have.” (I Peter 3:15)
