Is It Worth Studying Philosophy? 'Kant' See Why Not

You think, therefore you can.

Socrates said the unexamined life is not worth living, yet even philosophers gotta eat.

There is a company called the Unemployed Philosophers Guild that sells mugs, watches and other objects with assorted philosophical jokes and phrases. Its overarching message is one we all know: that studying philosophy is a waste of time and unlikely to get you employed.

What jobs are there for philosophers today? In most cases, you either become a university lecturer in the subject (if you’re lucky), or… absolutely nothing happens, and you get another job completely unrelated to the field.

So, why even study philosophy? Is there any point, especially when its job prospects are minimal?

Well, philosophy may be seen as pointless, but that is the point. It acts as what philosopher Immanuel Kant calls the ‘noumenon’, or ‘thing in itself.’ Philosophy is, literally, a love of knowledge, not for some greater goal or as a means to an end.

While some people may argue that philosophy degrees or classes won’t help you get a job, they actually can have an effect on your future prospects, simply by making you think differently and more conscientiously. It is more than a unit you can just bludge your way through. It can help you evaluate your goals in life by exposing you to a diverse range of thinkers.

The study of philosophy will question your very conception of knowledge. “The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing,” Socrates once said. A tour through existentialism (Nietzsche, Sartre, Camus, Kierkegaard, et cetera) will have a profound impact on the way in which you see yourself in relation to the bigger picture. Why are we here? Is there any meaning to life? Do we have free will? Is love, as The Darkness sang, really only a feeling?

Without at least asking these sorts of questions, how can we expect to truly appreciate or understand our everyday actions and choices? Especially today, when everyone is talking about living in a ‘post-truth’ society, how can we determine what is truth and what is deception?

Without philosophy, we can’t begin to understand ourselves, our friends, family or society. Plus, without philosophy, we wouldn’t have The Matrix, which borrows heavily from philosophical theories like Plato’s Allegory of the Cave and Jean Baudrillard’s Simulacra and Simulation. Like the Matrix, philosophy is everywhere; it is all around us. Embrace it.

Congratulations to Siobhan for winning this week's writing challenge. Siobhan wins a $50 Westfield gift card for her submission. For your chance to win, check out our latest writing challenges in our Comps section. Also, be sure to follow this guide on how to win the writing challenge!

Photo: NBC