Relevance/Importance of Philosophy as a Course of Study

Relevance /Importance of Philosophy

Career in Philosophy
Training/Education in Philosophy

Asking for the importance of philosophy is as good as asking for the importance of wisdom, as much of what is learnt in philosophy is relevant in virtually all fields of endeavours. This is because many of the methods are not only relevant but can be applied
for use in any field. Following are some of what one can gain in the study of philosophy:

1. General problem solving: knowledge of philosophy helps in analyzing concepts, definitions, arguments and problems. It contributes to the ability to organize ideas and issues, to deal with questions of value, and to extract what is essential.
2. Writing skills: Writing is taught in intensive manner in many philosophy courses. Argumentative writing, descriptive writing and so on, are all taught through philosophical concepts and courses. Also, originality is encouraged, and students are generally urged to use their imagination in developing their own ideas.
3. Communication Skills: Philosophy helps in developing both communicative and expressive powers. It provides some of the basic tools of self-expression. It enhances the ability to explain difficult material, eliminating ambiguities and vagueness from one’s speech and writing.
4. Persuasive Power: Philosophy helps in developing ability to be convincing. This is because it fosters formulation of clear ideas, encourages construction of good arguments and gives ability to provide apt examples.                                                                                                                  Training/Education in Philosophy 

CAREER IN PHILOSOPHY

Philosophy has many subjective definitions i.e. does not have a unified definition. Basically, the definition is derivable from the words: “Philae” – a Greek word for “love” and “Sophia,” meaning “wisdom.” Philosophy then means “love of wisdom”. Wisdom as used here stands for the right application of knowledge and knowledge refers to the acquisition of ideas. No wonder, the great philosophers of old, Aristotle, Socrates, and many others were generally regarded as men of

wisdom.

Philosophy could further be described as ‘a reasoned pursuit of fundamental truths, a quest for understanding, a study of principles of conduct. It seeks to establish standards of evidence, to provide rational methods of resolving conflicts and to create techniques for evaluating ideas and arguments.’ It cuts across many fields and seeks to enquire about every dimension of human life. For instance, we have philosophy of science, philosophy of medicine and so on. 

Sub-fields of Philosophy

Philosophy is broadly divided into the following sub-fields: Logic, Ethics, Epistemology, Metaphysics and the History of Philosophy.

1. Logic: This simply is the tool of reasoning. It enables us to be able to distinguish between good and bad reasoning, and assess how well our conclusions follows from the premises. It also helps to avoid adopting beliefs for which we lack adequate reasons.
2. Ethics: This is about our moral concept such as right action, obligation and justice. It formulates principles to guide moral decisions, whether in private or public life. ‘The “ought rules” and the “ought-not rules” uses morality as a spectacle to view man.’
3. Epistemology: Concern the nature and scope of knowledge. It answers questions such as what does truth mean. What is the nature of the truth? What can be known? Is there knowledge beyond science? What are the limits of self-knowledge? And so on.
4. Metaphysics: This seeks basic criteria for what is real. Are there mental, physical and abstract things (such as numbers), for instance, or is there just the physical and the spiritual, or merely matter and energy? Are persons highly complex physical systems, or do they have properties not reducible to anything physical?
5. The History of Philosophy: In history of philosophy, we are interested in studying the life of great philosophers and the period representing the development of philosophy, such as the ancient, medieval, modern, nineteenth century and twentieth century periods. From such studies, we are able to understand the influence of these great figures and rightly apply same to contemporary issues.

Many branches of philosophy have grown from the traditional core areas highlighted above to include philosophy of mind, philosophy of religion, philosophy of science, philosophy of history, philosophy of arts (aesthetics), philosophy of language, inductive logic, philosophy of education, philosophy of criticism, philosophy of mathematics. Etc.

Importance/Relevance of Philosophy as a course of study
Training and education in Philosophy 
Philosophy: Career Prospects