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Engineers don't go out there and gather research, perform studies and analyze data. They provide solutions.
Okay, I consider myself well versed in philosophy... I will say that engineering and philosophy have a lot in common. Typically, philosophers are good problem solvers, good at reasoning, and (obviously) excellent thinkers.
I am an engineer by trade... I will agree with you that engineers are great at problem solving. But engineers do analyze data and come up with studies all the time. Tons of the modern marvels that we use today were thought up by engineers. The idea-- that they don't gather research, or perform studies, or analyze data is kind of absurd.
My question would be-- what data do philosophers analyze? From my experience, most of their "experiments" involve "thinking"-- not gathering data. "Thought experiments." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thought_experiment
Thought experiments are a good way to solve problems and discover new ideas-- but it doesn't involve analyzing hard data.
Scientists and Engineers are taught to use the "scientific method" and that is always the right method. That's why there's pushback from a lot of people here. They have never taken a philosophy of science class or done a qualitative research study.
Engineers don't go out there and gather research, perform studies and analyze data. They provide solutions.
Tell that to my professors who are gathering research, performing studies, and analyzing data....
Your entire argument is ridiculous. What kind of problems are a medieval literature major going to discover? I'll tell you the types that we are discovering right now: villages that need clean water, bridges that are about to fail, ecological disasters in the making. All discovered by engineers, and only a few of the many.
Of course they have. You're just digging your hole a little deeper...
While in college, I met quite a few liberal arts grads who never had any exposure to math or science as college students-- they were basically afraid of them...and I'm saying this as a liberal arts grad of several decades' standing...
That's interesting considering that math and science are both liberal arts. Which school did you go to that let liberal arts students graduate without math and science classes?
Do you wish you had a science or engineering degree?
In terms of definitions, I'm using it how its typically used, namely to refer to the fields that are usually organized in the school of "Humanities", that is English, History, Humanities, Film studies, womens studies, etc. Actual liberal arts programs (in the traditional sense) are pretty rare these days... Indeed, I think one reason they are rare is that liberal arts programs today have oriented themselves around math/science ignorance and apathy where as traditional liberal arts rigorously taught them. We have a society where math, etc ignorance is not only socially acceptable, its even preferred....
Are you referring to the courses that are required for an individual to receive a degree in those fields? What do you believe is a sufficient amount of coursework in the maths and sciences for, let's say for the sake of this discussion, an English major? I'm pretty certain that there was a general math/science requirement at my alma mater no matter which area of study you chose. But again, it all boils down to how much you think is enough. Should an English major who wants to go into editing or writing or professorship be well-versed in the laws of thermodynamics and multivariable calculus? If so, of what value would that be to them and their career?
Also, would you mind if I ask what your educational background is? Which area of study did you specialize in? I like understanding what other C-D posters do for a living.
That's interesting considering that math and science are both liberal arts. Which school did you go to that let liberal arts students graduate without math and science classes?
Do you wish you had a science or engineering degree?
There probably are some lower tier schools like that. As an econ major, I was required to take a lot more math courses than my friend who studied business and marketing management at a 3rd tier university. I could definitely see there being less stringent requirements at certain schools. Then again, you get what you pay for.
Tell that to my professors who are gathering research, performing studies, and analyzing data....
Your entire argument is ridiculous. What kind of problems are a medieval literature major going to discover? I'll tell you the types that we are discovering right now: villages that need clean water, bridges that are about to fail, ecological disasters in the making. All discovered by engineers, and only a few of the many.
Medieval literature is a ridiculous degree. Those are not the kinds of liberal arts graduates we need.
Your professors may be doing that, but if they are solely engineers or scientists, without any study in psychology and philosophy, they probably aren't conducting the greatest studies.
There probably are some lower tier schools like that. As an econ major, I was required to take a lot more math courses than my friend who studied business and marketing management at a 3rd tier university. I could definitely see there being less stringent requirements at certain schools. Then again, you get what you pay for.
Clearly. If you're going to a lower tier school, then your only bet is a job-development degree... typically a science or engineering degree... but also finance and business. But why bother going to anything but a good school?
Science typically researches how things work and what exists and does not exist. Science does not discover problems.
Maybe that is how science works on your planet, but not here on earth. Scientists discover new problems all the time, indeed, every major discovery is typically meet with a whole new class of problems that need to be resolved. Liberal arts folks are certainly not generating problems for scientists to solve....
Quote:
Originally Posted by NJBest
As stated before, recently I have been interested in cognitive psychology and human-computer interaction. The area is stunted by the fact that we have a lack of understanding of the perception of art, thought process, and philosophy.
lack of understanding of the perception of art? What does that even mean?
The field of human-computer interaction is a mix of science (psychology) and computer science...its not a liberal arts. Hopefully your interest in the field actually translates into learning about it one day....
I think a lot of "useless" degree majors have too much of a denial mentality. They know in the back of their mind that it's going to be very tough for them to land a job when they graduate, but they ignore that feeling. They tell themselves I'm going to learn what I enjoy and worry about the consequences later. They remind themselves of the advertising pitch their guidance counselor told them of the glamourous jobs they could potentially land. That's fine and all but it's still a mistake to ignore your future. Living with no job and no money is not fun. Many will regret it later on.
I went to an Engineering school so there was always tension before the engineering majors and the liberal arts majors. Whenever a student announced their major on the school forums, the engineer students would blast the liberal art majors. The liberal art majors, who are obviously better at expressing their thoughts in writing, would have this elite attitude while naming the professions they could potentially get into. Now many years down the line, I see many of the liberal art majors back at school advancing their studies because they can't land a job in real life. Not to be a stab against liberal art majors, but the elite attitude was really annoying. I'm glad some of them failed.
Take what you would from this forum. It's your life and your decision. But it's rough when it's 5 years down the line and you have to listen to everyone's "I told you so".
Why did the engineering majors 'blast' the LAs? They could have just minded their own business. Why would they care what someone else studied?
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