Have you ever thought about what philosophy really is? Philosophy is from the Greek word meaning love of wisdom. The Greeks thought that this wisdom came from understanding the reasons, which justify a view.
“Philosophy is the process of achieving knowledge and trying to establish rational views of a particular phenomenon,” said Dr. Leslie Macavoy, professor of philosophy.
During a recent interview, Macavoy spoke about the different aspects of majoring in philosophy and why it is a worthwhile degree to have.
Most people have no idea what philosophy is until they have to take a course to satisfy a credit needed to graduate. Some of the people that really enjoy these courses change their majors or finally declare their majors as philosophy because of the benefits they have and can bring in your own life.
“While studying philosophy you learn about the history of how concepts of our world have developed.” Having the knowledge about our world helps you better communicate with people without being close-minded to others views and ideas. “It’s about thinking about our world. The deeper your knowledge, the richer the understanding you have of the world,” Macavoy said.
She also said that a degree in philosophy is good preparation for law school. “Reasoning skills that are learned are used in law school. This will help and be very useful because it provides resources about views people give for their actions – political, moral, and religious,” Macavoy said.
Many people have thoughts about religious views and how they would be narrowed by a philosophy degree, but this is wrong. Even though religious views are questioned you are not asked to compromise them. “You can not think critically about others’ religious views while in this field,” Macavoy said. “It also builds the grounds of your beliefs up when you have a deeper perception of others.”
Although a philosophy degree is not as common as many other degrees, there are many job advantages that undergraduates will have once their degree is obtained.
“Employers want people who can think on their own and people that have good writing skills. Since philosophy is a writing intensive major you can obtain all of these skills through the program,” Macavoy said.
“Well what kind of job can I get with a philosophy degree?” you ask.
The answer is simple, Macavoy said, “Whether you want to go into law, business, politics or become an activist, a philosophy degree offers people a wide range of job positions.”
There are two main degrees that ETSU offers through the philosophy department. One is a general philosophy degree. The other is a religious emphasis philosophy degree.
The courses that are offered through these programs are the History of Philosophy, Ancient Philosophy, Modern Philosophy, Contemp-orary Philosophy, Ethics, Political Philosophy, and Philosophy of Language.
Majoring in philosophy is a great way to have an enhanced comprehension of the world around you.
Achieving knowledge that can be used in any job setting is very helpful and there are not many programs that give you the types of skills you need for everyday common jobs.
It is very helpful if you are going into the legal profession because knowing both sides of a situation will help in discussing legalities.
If you want to better comprehend views on the world and the people in it then the philosophy program might be the place for you.
If you are not sure what you would like to do yet, majoring in philosophy will help with employment opportunities in the future.

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