Commenters on the AJC Get Schooled blog debated an essay by a Georgia State University philosophy professor on the value and potential of his field, cited by two Republican presidential candidates as a questionable career choice. Marco Rubio and Jeb Bush have said trade jobs, such as for welders, provide better livings than a philosophy or psychology degree. Here is a sampling of reader comments:
Starik: We'd probably get a better Republican presidential candidate by randomly selecting a college graduate with some practical experience at something, anything, useful except medicine and engineering.
Robert: We see what happens when we elect a president with no practical experience; we get someone like Obama.
Craig: In the metro Augusta area in which the Southern Co.'s massive Plant Vogtle nuclear operation is being doubled in size, welders out-earn philosophers by a considerable margin. As a matter of fact, any welders reading these comments should contact Paul Bowers, CEO of Georgia Power, immediately. He'll put you onto a job making about $80,000 per annum. And might I suggest that any philosophy majors making less than $80,000 per year might also want to contact the company. It has good jobs and is always looking for folks who can read, write and think well enough to pass the Georgia Power employment screening test.
Travel: "Philosophers" out-earn welders for the same reason rock stars do: Only a small number of philosophers are employed as such, almost exclusively as relatively highly paid professors. The rest are waiting tables, and are thus in a different category.
Mary: We need more politicians who think beyond the dichotomy of "winners and losers," as in a football game (based on money, especially). Sad. This kind of thinking was not in the DNA of America's Founding Fathers.
RoadScholar: So, Jeb Bush said, "Hey, that psych major deal, that philosophy major thing, that's great, it's important to have liberal arts … but realize, you're going to be working (at) a Chick-fil-A." Is this an insight into the GOP policy on addressing mental illness? Studying other subjects out of your field or area of comfort enables a person to become a broader thinker. My mom used to say (she had a sixth-grade education and was a very successful mother and Realtor), "The more you know, the more you don't know!"
Prof: A great many people don't seem to understand what a philosophy major entails. It does not mean the student sits around and speculates about the nature of the universe, or tries to reach some transcendent and fuzzy religious brotherhood. Primarily, it involves the study of logic and the process of reasoning, and the various ways in which great thinkers have developed systems of knowledge (epistemology). It's a difficult major because it involves abstract thinking. There are branches, such as religious philosophy, social philosophy, ethics, aesthetics or the principles of art, and others.
About the Author
