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The Value of
Philosophy

The Uses of
Philosophy in
Educational
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The Uses of
Philosophy in
Non-Academic
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Why Major in Philosophy

Why Major in Philosophy?
The Value of Philosophy

Much of what is learned in philosophy can be applied in virtually any endeavor. This is both because philosophy touches on so many subjects and, especially, because many of its methods are valuable in any field.

General Problem Solving.
The study of philosophy enhances, in a way no other activity does, one's problem-solving capacities. It helps one to analyze concepts, definitions, arguments and problems. It contributes to one's capacity to organize ideas and issues, to deal with questions of value, and to extract what is essential from masses of information. It helps one both to distinguish fine differences between views and to discover common ground between opposing positions. And it helps one to synthesize a variety of views or perspectives into a unified whole.

Communication Skills.
Philosophy also contributes uniquely to the development of expressive and communicative powers. It provides some of the basic tools of self-expression----for instance, skills in presenting ideas through well-constructed, systematic arguments----that other fields either do not use, or use less extensively. It helps one to express what is distinctive of one's view; enhances one's ability to explain difficult material; and helps one to eliminate ambiguities and vagueness from one's writing and speech.

Persuasive Powers.
Philosophy provides training in the construction of clear formulations, good arguments, and apt examples. It thereby helps one develop the ability to be convincing. One learns to build and defend one's own views, to appreciate competing positions, and to indicate forcefully why one considers one's own views preferable to alternatives. These capacities can be developed not only through reading and writing in philosophy, but also through the philosophical dialogue, in and outside the classroom, that is so much a part of a thoroughgoing philosophical education.

Writing Skills.
Writing is taught intensively in many philosophy courses, and many regularly assigned philosophical texts are unexcelled as literary essays. Philosophy teaches interpretive writing through its examination of challenging texts, comparative writing through emphasis on fairness to alternative positions, argumentative writing through developing students' ability to establish their own views, and descriptive writing through detailed portrayal of concrete examples: the anchors to which generalizations must be tied. Striker and technique, then, are emphasized in philosophical writing. Originality is also encouraged, and students are generally urged to use their imagination and develop their own ideas.

Prepared by the American Philosophical Association's Committee on the Status and Future of the Profession (Jaegwon Kim, Chair, 1976--1981; Robert Sleigh, Chair, 1981--1986), and Committee on Career Opportunities (Robert Audi, Chair, 1980--1985).

The Principal Author is Robert Audi.