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You must have some sort of talent or interest in a STEM field to major in it. I agree that it makes sense to major in something that will lead to a job, but someone that dislikes math and science should not pursue a STEM major or career. For one thing, they won't get through the classes. I've always loved this quote from Confucius, "Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.”
This.
This idea that anything outside of an MBA, Engineering, Law-School or IT is somehow illegitimate or ill-advised is not good advice IMO.
The problem is not the philosophy or english degree. The problem is not having a plan. Do what you love, have a plan, network, accept you might have to do a little more searching than an MBA, think big, and find a way to make it applicable to real life. I think it is more doable than people think (for example a philosophy or psychology student could sell themselves into a Human Resources related position).
Voluntarily doing something which you find lifeless and boring because "that's where jobs are"? Defeatist way to live your life. Christ, I can be making twice what I make now crunching numbers on a spreadsheet if I was "in finance" but that is just not me.
I am familiar with this work. Can you please explain how you apply it to this situation?
His thoughts on the pursuit and achievement of eudaimonia, for which some activities are far better suited than others. What is good, what is the ultimate good, and how do we get there. Getting there involves our relationships with our fellow beings, which is the underlying theme of much of the humanities, rather than, say, holing-up to study electromagnetic field theory (I know, I've tried it).
His thoughts on the pursuit and achievement of eudaimonia, for which some activities are far better suited than others. What is good, what is the ultimate good, and how do we get there. Getting there involves our relationships with our fellow beings, which is the underlying theme of much of the humanities, rather than, say, holing-up to study electromagnetic field theory (I know, I've tried it).
His thoughts on the pursuit and achievement of eudaimonia, for which some activities are far better suited than others. What is good, what is the ultimate good, and how do we get there. Getting there involves our relationships with our fellow beings, which is the underlying theme of much of the humanities, rather than, say, holing-up to study electromagnetic field theory (I know, I've tried it).
Continued:
Does an undergraduate degree in one of the humanities, here and now, present a greater understanding of how we should relate with our fellow beings relative to an undergrad degree in STEM? Sell me.
A degree program in physics trains people to work as physicists. A physicist is a person who is trained in physics and is compensated to work as a physicist in the marketplace (which generally provides a good living).
This is just a tautology.... "Physicists" is not a particular career, its a very general class of careers. If you're going to use this general sense of matters, then the same can be sad of every degree program. English trains people to be English teachers, after all many graduates become English teachers and have "English teacher" by their name.
You are just playing semantic games here. Job training refers to the training of a particular job, not a broad classification of jobs. A nursing program is job training, it trains you for a very particular job. Physics is not, a degree program in physics teaches students the general principles and theories of physics, there is no attempt to train students for a particular job.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hamish Forbes
They teach an understanding of our aspirations, our culture, and our human behavior, and therefore have value outside the workplace...
They do? How so? How are they systematically teaching these matters?
Anthropology systematically studies culture, how exactly do the Humanities add anything beyond Anthropology? Psychology studies human behavior, how do the Humanities add anything beyond Psychology?
The Humanities add nothing because they don't systematically do anything.... Sure reading literature, thinking about History, etc may be enlightening on the individual level, but there is nothing systematically going on there. There is nothing teachable going on there.....
Does an undergraduate degree in one of the humanities, here and now, present a greater understanding of how we should relate with our fellow beings relative to an undergrad degree in STEM? Sell me.
The answer, in my opinion, is "yes." For example, I believe it to be self evident that a knowledge of history would be more helpful in understanding human interaction than a knowledge of algebraic topology.
But heavens to mergatroid. I have no interest in selling you anything! I was simply trying to answer your question regarding my view of Aristotle's Ethics, which is a rather esoteric topic in and of itself.
They do? How so? How are they systematically teaching these matters?
Anthropology systematically studies culture, how exactly do the Humanities add anything beyond Anthropology? Psychology studies human behavior, how do the Humanities add anything beyond Psychology?
The Humanities add nothing because they don't systematically do anything.... Sure reading literature, thinking about History, etc may be enlightening on the individual level, but there is nothing systematically going on there. There is nothing teachable going on there.....
One added component is the accumulated wisdom and historical experiences of people who have lived before us. Not everybody born before you was necessarily blind or stupid. For example, by studying British or Roman history you can gain some insight into the nature of empire. To see a systematic approach, read Woodrow Wilson's History of the American People, or Winston Churchill's History of the English Speaking Peoples, or Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. I am curious -- have you read any of these? To get a sense of the methodology, read The Modern Researcher, by Barzun and Graff.
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