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Why study philosophy?

Philosophy addresses some of the most fundamental and difficult questions there are:  What is the nature of reality?  Do people have free will?  What is a just society? What is the best way to live?  Philosophy as an academic discipline attempts to answer these questions with a combination of creativity and analytical rigor.

The study of philosophy is thus obviously valuable in itself.  But it is also excellent preparation for many careers and professional and graduate programs.  In particular, it helps students do very well on tests such as the GRE, LSAT, and GMAT.

The links below discuss some ways philosophy students succeed in various fields.

This essay in The Atlantic Monthly explains: "if you want to succeed in business, don't get an MBA.  Study philosophy instead."

This New York Times article discusses the employment success philosophy majors have, especially in fields such as medicine and technology.

This New York Times article tells the story of a highly successful mutual fund manager who studied philosophy at the graduate level and put his skills to use in finance.

This Globe and Mail piece gives data showing philosophy majors are well trained for business and perform excellently on standardized tests such as the GMAT.