BF2S Forums Best universities for majoring in philosophy?

home schooling by .Sup

Not sure if liberal arts courses 'open the mind' or just train them into the accepted way of thinking.
Although in the few hours of study the average BA student does its surprising they learn anything.

don't you overestimate wittgenstein and especially russell!

Pfff everybody knows you take a liberal arts degree to say you have one, and use it to apply to grad school. MBA, MPP, MHR, JD or LLB etc.

I think the science kids are a joke. We ALL know an undergraduate degree is worth so little it's not worth mention. The only exception being engineering degrees. You use them as a stepping stone to your end goal; so why not take the path of least resistance? I prefer to study something I enjoy, which is admittedly only of any good or interest to myself, before I go off and find myself a real pursuit.

lol, not sure who said it (prob Galt), but I laughed pretty hard when I read that most science degrees with earn you 6 figures in a few years. Delusional.

EDIT- yeah, it was Galt

JohnG@lt wrote:

a BS will have you making six figures in a few years.

Last edited by Pochsy (2010-02-08 07:00:54)

Dilbert_X wrote:

Uzique wrote:

most politicians and big-businessmen over here graduated from an oxbridge-level institution with a degree in the arts/humanities/politics-philosophy-economics. purely theoretical disciplines.

Maybe politicians, not so much businessmen, and economics =/= philosophy.

I despise the Oxbridge elite TBH, not because they're better than us - they definitely aren't.
I do tell people I went to Redbrick College Oxbridge though, especially Americans.

As an aside, I went to school with this guy.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Browne
Nice guy, not the sharpest plough in the barn though.

you pass under the oxbridge title to ignorant americans but you dont know what the fuck you're talking about when it comes to their most sought-after course?

http://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergra … tic_4.html

pretty much all world-leaders, politicians, big-businessmen and high ranking public sector workers graduated in that

philosophy, politics and economics.

and the little amount of work i have to do per week? seriously, fuck you. top-level arts degrees are fucking intense. all of our material isnt spoonfed to us either. there are no right or wrong opinions. if you haven't done your 20+ hours of reading and research for even the smallest of essays, then the profs are going to see straight through it and murder you. synthesizing and corrobarating information so that you can evaluate a work is harder than just applying a formula to get to a solution. i have to spend about 40 hours a week reading MINIMUM to just take in all the information i am required to, let alone to digest it and properly understand it. it's not enjoyable having to read a 400-page novel in 5 days, either. not as enjoyable as it is to sit and read a book of choice in your armchair at a pace suiting your delectation. i think you're being incredibly ignorant, but then again it doesn't really surprise me. i have yet to see an intelligent person dismiss an arts subject. just a bunch of science majors talking shit about a subject and discipline that they clearly have only a vague idea about.

Last edited by Uzique (2010-02-08 07:24:22)

JohnG@lt wrote:

Pochsy wrote:

Pfff everybody knows you take a liberal arts degree to say you have one, and use it to apply to grad school. MBA, MPP, MHR, JD or LLB etc.

I think the science kids are a joke. We ALL know an undergraduate degree is worth so little it's not worth mention. The only exception being engineering degrees. You use them as a stepping stone to your end goal; so why not take the path of least resistance? I prefer to study something I enjoy, which is admittedly only of any good or interest to myself, before I go off and find myself a real pursuit.

lol, not sure who said it (prob Galt), but I laughed pretty hard when I read that most science degrees with earn you 6 figures in a few years. Delusional.

EDIT- yeah, it was Galt

JohnG@lt wrote:

a BS will have you making six figures in a few years.

I've already got a job offer waiting for me starting at $85k/yr.

Money isn't everything ...

Pochsy wrote:

JohnG@lt wrote:

Pochsy wrote:

Pfff everybody knows you take a liberal arts degree to say you have one, and use it to apply to grad school. MBA, MPP, MHR, JD or LLB etc.

I think the science kids are a joke. We ALL know an undergraduate degree is worth so little it's not worth mention. The only exception being engineering degrees. You use them as a stepping stone to your end goal; so why not take the path of least resistance? I prefer to study something I enjoy, which is admittedly only of any good or interest to myself, before I go off and find myself a real pursuit.

lol, not sure who said it (prob Galt), but I laughed pretty hard when I read that most science degrees with earn you 6 figures in a few years. Delusional.

EDIT- yeah, it was Galt

I've already got a job offer waiting for me starting at $85k/yr.

Congrats. Doesn't happen to everyone- nor is it anywhere near the average.

Also, do you not study Electrical Engineering? Did my one and only caveat not state that engineering degree were the exception?

A degree in mathematics will do about the same, a degree in a hard science not so much. Bioengineers make pretty good money. Computer Science degrees make peanuts because the market is flooded. So yes, I misstated a bit. Average earnings potential for those with a degree in math/science is still higher but I've always considered economics/business to fall under the math department more than the arts.

JohnG@lt wrote:

Pochsy wrote:

JohnG@lt wrote:

I've already got a job offer waiting for me starting at $85k/yr.

Congrats. Doesn't happen to everyone- nor is it anywhere near the average.

Also, do you not study Electrical Engineering? Did my one and only caveat not state that engineering degree were the exception?

A degree in mathematics will do about the same, a degree in a hard science not so much. Bioengineers make pretty good money. Computer Science degrees make peanuts because the market is flooded. So yes, I misstated a bit. Average earnings potential for those with a degree in math/science is still higher but I've always considered economics/business to fall under the math department more than the arts.

Oh I'm not arguing the merits of each degree or my perception of them at all.

It all depends on who holds them-- you should know that. I'm merely stating that the average salary of ANY strict science degree (economics, math, w/e you so choose) is not more than 100k. is not more than 80k. It can, be yes, as you're case proves, but so too can a lucky arts major make just as much, and perhaps more.

Engineering undergraduate degrees are by no means worthless; they are, in fact, the most desirable undergraduate degree if you do not plan for graduate education.

undergraduate degrees arent as cheapened in british universities as they are in america

they seem to be given out like candy in america, and your weird major-system means your education goes for brevity rather than research-depth

Uzique wrote:

they seem to be given out like candy in america

not really sure where you get this

Uzique wrote:

undergraduate degrees arent as cheapened in british universities as they are in america

they seem to be given out like candy in america, and your weird major-system means your education goes for brevity rather than research-depth

Weren't you shouting the accolades of a well diversified degree previously in this thread? How does one attain a research-depth education when ones talents are scattered to the four winds in a multitude of disciplines? Why must I, an engineering student, spend a good half year studying humanities and the arts? A diverse study schedule precludes one from achieving the depth and mastery of any one subject. Mediocrity in all subjects is the end result.

FYI: Philosophy is a mandatory course in (afaik) ALL university degrees in Norway.


My contribution.