How many people here studied Philosophy and/or Religion in college?

Just curious how many here have studied either Philosophy or Religion in college. There is a wide variety of interests in this forum - is this subject matter something that you have always been interested in? Something that you studied on your own, took classes in, or even majored in?

 

I am in the seminary right now. before taking our masters of divinity classes we must have masters in philosophy. i am a semester and a half away from my masters in philosopy. I also have a BA in history minor in economics and a masters in business administration (MBA)

 

I had to take classes in both. Both were rather useless. Religion was taught more as a history class of the people and philosophy was a "What does it mean to have meaning?" type affair.

 

I turned to philosophy 7 years ago in an effort to answer some of life's questions and through philosophy I have learned much and found the answers to many questions.

 

Minor in World Religions.

Intro and Modern Philosophy in college as an undergrad.

Continuous readings in Philosophy ever since, mostly Bertrand Russell and Roger Scruton (both British Empiricists).

Russell was an atheist and Scruton is a Deist (as am I).

 

As have I. Except for me it has been 42 years.

 

For the ministry your best bets are a combination of the following:

- Philosophy

- History

- Hebrew

- Greek

- Latin

- Economics

- Intro physical science (physics, astronomy, chemistry, biology).

- Social work.

 

My middle school teachers at my Catholic private school mentioned Plato and Aquinas a lot.

This sparked my interest.

Plato is over rated in my opinion, plus really homo which is not necessarily good.

Aquinas was a brilliant Aristotelian philosopher.

When I took philosophy in college Descartes had the most powerful and Earth shaking impact on me.

Since then Bertrand Russell and Roger Scruton have taken the place of all the rest except for Aquinas.

 

Majoring in Liberal Arts won't give you anything except for, maybe, some intellectual capital.

 

Philosophy is great for really really rich kids. They don't need to worry about keeping wolves from doors, so can indulge a life of the mind. For the remaining 99% of us, it's pure vanity/luxury.

 

Interesting. I'm assuming your study of philosophy includes the Classical and Medieval traditions, with an emphasis on metaphysics?

 

i am a 28-year-old seminarian (about to finish a masters degree in philosophy) Poor, Humility (opposite of vanity) is one of the virtues being drilled in my head, and my living arrangments are not at all what i would call luxurious.

 

I agree, philosophy has much to offer the human search. Although I have found the Continental tradition to be a bit more engaging than the Analytic tradition.

 

So the philosophy emphasis was more theory of knowledge? "What is the meaning of meaning?" Semantic externalism vs. internalism? Hilary Putnam, Donald Davidson, etc? This can sometimes be interesting subject matter, but personally I've never found it as inspiring as other forms of philosophy: Critical Theory, German Idealism, Existentialism, etc.

 

What are your thoughts on (the later) Wittgenstein?

 

Speaking above my pay grade there. My knowledge is limited to specific areas of interest as I do not have enough years of life left in me to pursue a through academic knowledge of philosophy and all other areas of interest such as physics and sociology.

 

our main focuses have been Logic, Plato, Plotinus, Aristotle (metaphysics, nicomachean ethics) Aquinas (summas contas and summas theologica) Dante's The Divine Comedy (Inferno, Purgatorio, Paradiso) and Macintyre while touching on existentialism, the Stoics, and theological writers. Electives on Saint John of the Cross and Latin.

 

Given that most people don't actually end up in a career related to their major, it would seem that philosophy majors are well-suited to flourish in today's job market. Given that philosophy promotes the development of such important skills as: critical thinking/reasoning, critical reading, argument construction and evaluation, communication, problem-solving, creative thinking, writing, etc., philosophy majors are actually thriving.

"The Earning Power of Philosophy Majors"
https://www.theatlantic.com/notes/2015/09/philosophy-majors-out-earn-other-humanities/403555/

"A Case For Majoring In Philosophy"
https://www.forbes.com/sites/noodle...case-for-majoring-in-philosophy/#2e1b9bcb5315

"That 'Useless' Liberal Arts Degree Has Become Tech's Hottest Ticket"
https://www.forbes.com/sites/georgeanders/2015/07/29/liberal-arts-degree-tech/#1ad0b740745d

"Surprise: Humanities Degrees Provide Great Return On Investment"
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffre...vide-great-return-on-investment/#7a23e9f02031

Of course, the value of philosophy is not necessarily found in its economic utilitarian worth, there is also the value of being a well-reasoning citizen, as well as the inherent value of living the examined life.

 

Ah, well I just mean that I find some philosophy to be of more interest than other areas, but the short of it is that there is something to Socrates's claim that wisdom begins in wonder and that there is a certain joy to living the examined life.

 

MacIntyre's After Virtue is a monumental achievement (although I'm not entirely persuaded). The second half of that book (Chapter 9 on) is a tour de force. Whose Justice, Which Rationality is not quite on the same level, but clearly one is in the presence of a master.

It goes without saying that the Classics are extraordinary as well - although I favor Plato over Aristotle (and Aquinas over Anselm and Ockham).

 

I have a degree in philosophy.

I'd advise against it. Brilliant topic, but at college it serves two purposes (or at least it did at mine):

1) To let students become vaguely familiar with the source material without actually having to read it. Get The History of Western Philosophy by Bertrand Russell, and get the top 5 books from each author he lists. You will be more knowledgeable than any philosophy major, just by reading a hundred odd books. Read 2 a week and you'll be an expert in a year.

2) To indoctrinate you into THEIR view of philosophy and philosophical history. Universities are full of consequentialists, or at least mine was. Professors rabidly defend their views and provide strong criticism for those they oppose. It's made difficult to ask questions in class.

In short, philosophy is an individual art. Study it in private and have a chat with other people of various viewpoints.

 

It is the examined life that I have been living since I first read Socrates words 7 years ago. He was an intellectual giant.

 

only Partially true. If you have good teachers you can really learn some great reasoning skills that will be useful in any profession. Also, History and Philosophy (Economics being another) majors have some of the top LSAT scores and do well in law school.

 

I would be interested to learn one salient question an the answer you have found... if it is not presumptuous to ask, lol

 

Ugh. What a terrible experience. Dogmatism should be the sworn enemy of the love of wisdom. My experience was just the opposite: 1) we read the primary source material, 2) had stimulating conversations (with a wide variety of viewpoints in the classroom), the professor would give the pros and cons of each position but never tell us his position (and welcomed challenging questions) -suggesting that the weight of reason should win the day, 3) consequentialism particularly tooks its lumps (but then again deontology had some tough days too)