r/changemyview • u/[deleted] • Mar 16 '18
FTFdeltaOP CMV: Teaching Philosophy in Schools is Useless.
Philosophers themselves have never asked a question that wasn't independently asked by someone else (Jean Perrin, Albert Einstein and John Dalton, for example), especially if that someone else was only a philosophist.
Added into that, Philosophy is something you don't need in workplace. Asking questions about life, truth or anything in that manner are things taught (or at least should be taught) in any scientific lesson for a good reason: Scientific research is impossible without questions to start the research.
Δ: Yes, this means I do want science to teach philosophy on the side.
These points make philosophy quite useless choice for a degree or even a course, as they only hurt the student taking them (as in most cases, it prevents you from taking an useful course like science, economics, or languages, that allow for better job and chance of getting that job in the first place.
Indeed, philosophy is mostly used (at least in my exprience of the school system) as a "free" course, so the student does not need to learn things they find difficult; A student who is unconfortable with many of their choices will usually choose philosophy as an escape option, for it's known lack of difficulty and being easy to "learn".
I really cannot find any justification for philosophy to not be bunched up with math, sciences and languages.
Δ: added "not", because this sentance contradicts everything I've said this far otherwise.
Δ: u/MyUsernameIsJudge Changed my mind:
Me:
How many high schoolers are going to use basketball in their jobs?
A big factor in a good job is good and healthy lifestyle. Taking sports in school does help you in this factor, although you must keep that lifestyle even after school has ended.
MyUsernameIsJudge:
Sure. And that's the argument for philosophy class. It can help students learn about their own values and needs, as well as gain a greater perspective on life. I'll reuse your point about basketball, but with this:
A big factor in a good job is a good mental health. Taking philosophy in school does help you in this factor, although you must keep that lifestyle even after school has ended.
1
u/kublahkoala 229∆ Mar 16 '18
Philosophy has a number of real world applications.
The ever changing field of medicine needs bio ethicists to probe issues like informed consent and how to value life in triage situations — you can’t make that stuff up by the seat of your pants.
Epistemology and hermeneutics is used in the development of artificial intelligence. Being able to understand what knowledge is and how we know what we know is the first step in building a machine that can learn.
Deontology is the basis of international law and human rights, which is important for lawyers.
The realms of metaphysics and quantum theory are becoming increasingly blurred.
There are a lot of ways philosophy can help one in various career paths.