Philosophy Department

REASONS TO STUDY PHILOSOPHY

Philosophy contributes to the liberal education of its students. The department emphasizes an analytic approach to philosophical questions, thereby training students to understand and evaluate arguments and to think and write precisely and clearly. These skills are of immense value in a variety of careers. An organization called One Window to Philosophy has posted an excellent Iowa State University 19-minute video presentation that summarizes five reasons to major in philosophy and explains the practicality and value of a degree in philosophy.

Philosophy addresses problems and questions that arise in all areas of human thought and experience and in all disciplines. Such work is applicable to virtually all career endeavors. Recurring questions about the nature of value, the good life, right conduct, knowledge, truth, language, mind and reality are central to philosophical study. Philosophy also investigates the methodologies and assumptions of the major disciplines in the university in order to deepen our understanding of the sciences, of mathematics, art, literature, and history, and of religion and morality. It leads us to contemplate the nature of these subjects, the methods of reasoning characteristic of them, and the contributions they make to our understanding of ourselves and our world.

Career Paths

The intellectual development and thought process refinement that students acquire through the study of philosophy is applicable to a remarkably broad range of career options.