In a New Generation of College Students, Many Opt for the Life Examined

[flashl]

Once scoffed at as a luxury major, philosophy is being embraced at Rutgers and other universities by a new generation of college students who are drawing modern-day lessons from the age-old discipline as they try to make sense of their world, from the morality of the war in Iraq to the latest political scandal. The economic downturn has done little, if anything, to dampen this enthusiasm among students, who say that what they learn in class can translate into practical skills and careers. On many campuses, debate over modern issues like war and technology is emphasized over the study of classic ancient texts.

Rutgers, which has long had a top-ranked philosophy department, is one of a number of universities where the number of undergraduate philosophy majors is ballooning; there are 100 in this year’s graduating class, up from 50 in 2002, even as overall enrollment on the main campus has declined by 4 percent.

At the City University of New York, where enrollment is up 18 percent over the past six years, there are 322 philosophy majors, a 51 percent increase since 2002.

...

Nationwide, there are more colleges offering undergraduate philosophy programs today than a decade ago (817, up from 765), according to the College Board. Some schools with established programs like Texas A&M, Notre Dame, the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, now have twice as many philosophy majors as they did in the 1990s.

NY Times

[Cant trust em]

1. I loved my philosophy classes, but I'm not sure what jobs they translate into

If I were to do the whole college thing again I'd go for a more specific degree. Like city planning or something like that.

[zanne]

2. I was an English major and I don't regret it...

Even though I only taught English for six years, the literature and poetry was a gift that has lasted a lifetime.

[Cant trust em]

4. I probably would have done poli sci as a minor, or maybe Spanish. NT

[eilen]

3. Perhaps this is a response to NCLB

The kids want to learn how to think.

[Divernan]

5. Socrates: The unexamined life is not worth living.

Apology: The Examined Life
Because of his political associations with an earlier regime, the Athenian democracy put Socrates on trial, charging him with undermining state religion and corrupting young people. The speech he offered in his own defense, as reported in Plato's Apologhma (Apology), provides us with many reminders of the central features of Socrates's approach to philosophy and its relation to practical life.

Plato's dramatic picture of a man willing to face death rather than abandoning his commitment to philosophical inquiry offers up Socrates as a model for all future philosophers. Perhaps few of us are presented with the same stark choice between philosophy and death, but all of us are daily faced with opportunities to decide between convenient conventionality and our devotion to truth and reason. How we choose determines whether we, like Socrates, deserve to call our lives philosophical.

[jody]

6. Fascinating article. Thanks for posting. n/t

[Jim__]

7. I think that's great.

I never believed the best function of higher education was job training.