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Comment by tellersid | Hacker News Reader

I am a life long lover of philosophy but the idea of spending $50k+ on a philosophy degree is utterly ridiculous to me.

You have your whole life to read, study and think about philosophy. It is easy, it is enjoyable, all the material is readily available.

I would almost view having a fresh recent philosophy degree as a huge negative in the 2020s. I would not hire someone with a recent philosophy degree almost point blank because IMO your decision making is highly suspect.

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Believe it or not, many people go to college for more than credential-seeking or vocation. Some people want to develop intellectually. Others are more or less set—either financially, or with the vocational skills they developed in high school—and would like to pursue philosophy with their career already lined up.

A formal education in philosophy at a good R1 school is not comparable to light reading by an amateur. The process of discussion, argumentation, and mentorship is not something you figure out yourself. Even an undergraduate degree is a huge step toward a philosophical education. I'm not sure it can be replicated in a vacuum. And it's certainly not easy (first time I've heard that).

>> Some people want to develop intellectually

OK do it. I don't want to pay for it though.

Okay. But why philosophy specifically? One could make this argument for any major.

I agree. The government shouldn't be subsidizing student loans for any major.

I think an undergraduate degree is vastly different than someone doing graduate work. (NB: I have an undergraduate degree in philosophy earned over 25 years ago.) I guess it also depends on the school -- if you have a degree from a program that is highly specialized, then, yeah, probably not worth it. But, if the program provides a good overview drawing from multiple sources, with a bit of specialization later in the degree, it may not be so utterly ridiculous.

On one hand, I agree with you. I've had no problem studying philosophy just with what's free on the Internet, and haven't bought philosophy books since high school. On the other hand, you should not be in charge of hiring anybody whatsoever, as you are biased against people based on their life experiences.

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