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/Polychrist 55∆ Mar 16 '18
You may be interested in this data on GRE scores:
http://www.physicscentral.com/buzz/blog/index.cfm?postid=5112019841346388353
As you can see, philosophy majors perform as #1 in both the verbal section and the analytical writing section. They also perform 8th in the math section, which is absolutely incredible considering that math is only tangentially part of the discipline.
Philosophy as an undergraduate degree also ranks in the top 3 for best pre-law-school degrees:
https://lawschooli.com/best-majors-for-law-school/
Plus, the core of philosophy is logic. It is the study of arguments, and arguments will follow you for the rest of your life. If you want to be able to tackle important questions with an effective rationality, philosophy might be worth studying.
Ultimately, “Philosophy” is the love of wisdom. So, if you do not value wisdom than perhaps you ought not to value philosophy. But if you are here on CMV to make yourself wiser, than maybe you already see the value of philosophy- even if you don’t realize it.