What is the study of philosophy and how does it prepare you upon graduation

What is the study of philosophy? Well, you may be a philosopher at heart, searching for the answers to life’s biggest questions: What was Lost really about? Why did I just spend $9.50 to see Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter? Can I go undeclared for my entire college career?

All kidding aside, philosophy can be defined as a quest for the understanding of human existence. That’s all? Socrates once said that “the unexamined life is not worth living.” Thus, the learning involved will allow students to take a look at their own selves and that of the world around them.

It seems these students have better job prospects coming out of college. As well, philosophical study prepares graduates for the LSAT, GRE, and the GMAT; these students tend to score higher, on average, than graduates from most other majors.

Below, we’ll take a look at programs available, learning involved, and what are some of the benefits to the graduate.

How to be Philosophical?

According to the Ohio Northern University, the objective of philosophy is to “consider the rational justification of logical inferences, human values, criteria for establishing claims of knowledge and certainty, and interpretations of the nature of reality.”

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The learning involved in the program will be broad-based and encompass a variety of topics. UNCO.edu — the University of Northern Colorado — states that graduates within the program tend to score in the highest percentiles on the GRE, GMAT, and LSAT, thanks to this broad, yet specific, education.

So, the major can help to prepare students for positions beyond their major, such as law, medicine, journalism, publishing, teaching, business, and even the ministry. According to the UNCO website, the study of man can be a life-altering experience; it can help the graduate to face down the rigors of real life, post-graduation.

The study may help to expand one’s horizons while creating better analytical, interpretive, and critical thinking skills in the student. It does this by trying to answer questions which have no easy answers. In the end, it creates a debate of ideas where creativity and self-expression are cultivated in the individual.

Benefits of Being Philosophical

What are its benefits to graduates? According to the IUS.edu site, philosophy majors score better than any other major on the LSAT (except for physics/mathematics majors).  

The Graduate Record Exam, or GRE, is a similar story; students within the field have the highest mean scores of any major out there on the Verbal and Analytical Writing sections of the GRE.

The GMAT prepares students for Masters of Business Administration (MBA) programs; students of philosophy have been shown to score higher on this test than actual business majors.

So, in the end, the skills learned are almost too numerous to detail; critical thinking, analytical reasoning, improved comprehension, ethical reasoning, understanding new ideas, and an improved notion of philosophical history, are just a few of the potential learned attributes.

It is about the quest for truth. It’s a search for understanding and a study of the principles of conduct: right, wrong, good, evil. With the program, graduates are allowed to see different ideals and ideologies from a variety of perspectives.

Thus, in the end, it’s interested in the human experience, the human condition. It strives to answer questions that have been dogging man for many thousands of years. It is about becoming a better human being, a deeper individual, and a more thoughtful person.

Resources:

IUS.edu: Why Study Philosophy?

ONU.edu: What is Philosophy?

UNCO.edu: Philosophy.

Above photo attributed to a loves dc