Philosophy is one of those majors that instantly triggers strong and often conflicting associations. Unemployed or future lawyers? Deep thinkers or pretentious to a fault? Brilliant or useless?
There were no questions about the significance of philosophy in Ancient Greece, where the world was seemingly one big puzzle to solve.
Socrates revolutionized thinking by introducing the Socratic method of questioning, emphasizing ethics and self-examination and inspiring ideals of truth and intellectual freedom that shape modern education and civic life.
Aristotle laid the foundations for logic, science and political theory through his systematic study of reasoning, observation and virtue, influencing everything from modern research methods to moral philosophy.
But, with the most important questions and ideas already explored by the likes of these great philosophers, there is an important question being raised.
What can philosophy do today?
To find the relevance of the discipline in the 21st century, I asked two philosophy grads about their experiences. Benjamin Salkind, a business owner and graduate of Occidental College, and BC’s Professor Mark Storey, a graduate of UC Santa Barbara and the University of Washington.
True to his classroom style, Professor Storey dove straight into my queries, preferring to voice his thought process from start to finish, while Salkind approached each inquiry methodically, pausing before answering each question.
To start, I asked why they chose to major in such a nebulous subject, especially one they knew may not bring them much wealth or prestige. How did the people around them react to their choice?
Upon arrival at the Santa Barbara campus, Professor Storey’s mind was set on marine biology. However, he reconsidered after he had the “misfortune” to enroll in a history of philosophy course on a whim. There, he established a deep connection with both his professor and his classmates.
The students and teacher were connected by friendship, mutual respect and ideas. “It was a whole other world, trust me. It was a beautiful world,” he reminisced. “But the books we read exploded my mind.”
These intellectually “explosive” works included Aeschylus’s plays and Plato’s “Republic,” a favorite of his.
When he decided to study philosophy instead, his parents merely “looked at him askew.” He was a first-generation college student, so they were glad he was pursuing higher education at all.
Salkind’s response mirrored the experience of many young adults. “When I went to college, I didn’t have a set degree in mind,” he said. “I just tend to think about the world a lot, and I felt like philosophy fit in with that.”
Though his family was supportive of his major, he did receive occasional judgment from strangers. During his summer job at a Lego store in college, he mentioned his major to his manager, who gave him a look that said, “What are you gonna do with that?” Salkind couldn’t help but reply, feeling a little defiant at this.
This prompted my next set of questions: If philosophy is a practice of critical thinking and an exploration of moral virtue, could politicians or anyone in power benefit from the discipline? In general, what makes philosophy useful in the working world?
“I don’t think anybody would benefit from studying it [in that sense] since philosophy won’t make you a better person,” Professor Storey responded. “I don’t think moral virtue is something that can be taught in a classroom.”
When asked why not, he bluntly stated that “students could get A’s on ethics quizzes, then go home and kick their dogs.” Whether through a positive upbringing or personal awareness, morals are something to be “inculcated, developed”.
While it isn’t a moral instructor, philosophy has its uses even in the post-undergraduate world.
Interestingly enough, physics and philosophy majors usually score among the highest on LSAT, GRE and GMAT exams, according to Professor Storey.
Thanks to analytical courses like Symbolic Logic and dense texts on metaphysics and epistemology, Philosophy majors are well-prepared for both the quantitative and verbal reasoning side of those exams. Whether it’s graduate, law or business school, the thinking process that philosophy nurtures has proven to be extremely helpful in proving one’s intelligence beyond possible grade inflation.
Salkind, on the other hand, had a fresh take on the corporate relevance of the discipline, believing that philosophy graduates may have the same job potential as finance, economics and data science majors.
Though concerned about the growing influence of AI, he joked that if there are “just a bunch of AI companies in a few years, then philosophy majors are probably really good candidates to be analysts.” Experience with complex texts and quantitative problems all help develop logical reasoning and critical thinking skills necessary to navigate the confusing and often misleading messaging that AI produces.
Salkind then delved deeper into the importance of critical thinking. After college, he worked in journalism, which exposed him to how endangered truth may have become. What worried him most is that the concept of AI creating fake videos can turn sinister very quickly.
“For 50 years or whatever, videos have been like a non-negotiable type of evidence or proof for journalism,” Salkind explained. “When you see a video, you believe it. But that’s not the case anymore, and just another way for people to abuse this technology.”
For my final question, I asked: Do you think the purpose of philosophy has changed over time, or is it basically timeless?
“I’d say it’s pretty timeless,” Salkind said immediately. “I think as the world continues to evolve and change with technology and politics, there will always be more and more questions to ask and more things to study. We can develop new ways to see the world.”
As a professor, Storey brought nuance to the conversation. As someone in academia for over thirty years, he believed that the purpose of both teaching and studying philosophy may have changed.
“In the last few decades, there may have been more of a ‘let’s look at the history of philosophy and use these historical ideas to get the right answers,’” he remarked.
In a society where “critical thinking” is often more of a buzzword than an action, Storey believed that “the most important thing we can do is to get people to slow down, look at a question and the possible answers to it, and then look at it more critically.”
However, Professor Storey explained that he doesn’t encourage anyone to follow his path, even for the prize of great wisdom. “You’ll probably be poor. And everyone will think you’re a dork,” he said when he advised students against majoring in philosophy. “Your social life is over because you will want to engage people in these conversations, and no one wants to hear that”.
Taking this advice is obviously a personal decision, but there is no question of philosophy’s significance in the past, the future and the ever-evolving present.
In a time where AI and social media are increasingly prevalent in our lives, the skill of powerful reasoning and critical thinking is a fading one.
Whether it be through taking an ethics class or taking the time to analyze the content we are being exposed to on Instagram and TikTok, find ways to slow down and truly think.
