Rubio's error: Philosophy majors rule

Thursday, November 12, 2015 - 10:24 StudyHall.Rocks

Students interested in law sometimes major in philosophy.

Pressing a point about the need for vocational education, Marco Rubio used this line during the recent Republican debate: “Welders make more money than philosophers. We need more welders and less philosophers.”

    Already, numerous news organizations have taken issue with Rubio’s contention that welders make more money than philosophers. (Actually, philosophy professors make more money than welders, as Forbes.com points out.)
    But money aside, students choose to study philosophy knowing that they will move on to other disciplines that demand critical thinking in graduate school. The University of Maryland’s philosophy department notes that many of its graduates go on to study law and business.
     In 1760, Thomas Jefferson enrolled in the school of philosophy at the College of William & Mary, according to the college’s website.
    Steve Martin, the comedian, writer and actor, made a punch line about his time as a philosophy major. "If you study geology, which is all facts, as soon as you get out of school you forget it all," he said, “but philosophy you remember just enough to screw you up for the rest of your life."
    Seriously, though, philosophy doesn't necessarily screw you up for life. Here are four notable philosophy majors:

     Stewart Butterfield: The co-founder and CEO of communications software company Slack Technologies Inc.holds a degree in philosophy from the University of Victoria in Canada and a master’s degree from Cambridge in philosophy and the history of science, Forbes.com reports.

Ethan Coen: Along with his brother, Joel, he is known for writing successful movie scripts such as Fargo and The Big Lebowski. But he also majored in philosophy at Princeton University, the school's website says.

Ricky Gervais: Before he became known for wacky character roles, Gervais earned a degree in philosophy from University College London, according to Biography.com.

Susan Sontag: The writer, director and human rights activist, who died in 2004, graduated from the University of Chicago and earned a master's degree in philosophy -- and a degree in English -- from Harvard University, according to the New York Times obituary.

Related:

Report: Is college worth the cost?

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