You should try to go to an undergrad program within your constraints that has a strong philosophy department and ideally has had some success placing their majors in strong PhD programs. There are many such programs that are not "prestigious" in that they don't even have PhD programs. There are so many amazing philosophy PhDs produced now, that liberal arts and public universities have hired people who are producing great research and are 'plugged into' the profession such that their advice and letters can get you into graduate programs, assuming you do all the hard work of getting near 4.0 grades and writing excellent papers, at least one of which is strong enough to be a writing sample for applications to grad school. Whether or not you can find and attend such an undergrad program, you may also have the option of attending a strong MA program (like mine at Georgia State) which can give you further training in philosophy and situate you to get into strong PhD programs. It can also give you a good...

Yes! Especially if you are interested in the philosophy of economics, which is a small but vibrant subfield. Just make sure you've got enough philosophy classes (and letter writers) to present yourself well for grad schools.

Given what you've described, I think your best bet would be to apply to some MA programs in philosophy (full disclosure: I think Georgia State has a good program!), looking for ones that are strong in your areas of interest, while perhaps also trying a couple of PhD programs that fit your interests well, assuming you can get 2-3 good letters from your philosophy professors and your grades in those classes is good (you'll need that for MA applications too). You can also pursue the MA in religious studies but it is unlikely to help you much in the PhD process in philosophy , should you decide to pursue that later (I don't think it will hurt you, and a Harvard transcript might help. Finally, for MA or PhD, you'll need a very good writing sample (12-15 pages) that demonstrates you can develop an argument. I hope this helps!

It might not disqualify you at some programs, but it will certainly count against you at most. The writing sample is the primary way of distinguishing applicants' philosophical talents, at least once they have been narrowed down using other criteria (such as coursework in philosophy and grades, letters--though for the competitive candidates, they tend to be equally gushing--and perhaps GRE). A 5-page sample is unlikely to provide evidence that you can develop an argument responding to a particular position that you have adequately and charitably explained. (Of course, Gettier's famous paper is quite short!) I say all this with empathy--I was a philosophy minor (not major) and did not have a good, long piece of writing to submit when I applied to grad school. I had to use a mediocre, long piece, and was lucky to be accepted in the few places I was. But that was (too) many years ago when the competition was a little less fierce. I would try to work with one of your professors to develop one of...

You sound like you have a clear picture of the costs and benefits of getting a PhD in philosophy. You should continue to talk about it with your mentors in the field. You also sound like you might benefit from getting an MA (full disclosure: I teach at Georgia State in Atlanta, a terminal MA program). It would give you more background in philosophy and give you a better sense about whether you are interested in going on to get the PhD and whether you have the right skills, background, and demeanor to devote your life to professional philosophy. And if you do have those interests and abilities, an MA will enhance them and situate you to get into a better PhD program (the market is rough, so if you want a job where you have the time and encouragement to do research, you will be much better off going to a highly regarded PhD program). It will be difficult to be an active part of the field (publishing and presenting your work) without a PhD and an institutional affiliation. It can be done but you also...

Well, your question suggestions a modus tollens argument: If one is an amazing philosopher, then one could not fall for something so stupid. Since Levy did fall for it, he must not be an amazing philosopher. That seems to be the conclusion drawn here . However, I know nothing about this philosopher (except that he's trying to take down Kant!), so I don't know if there is some explanation for this bizarre behavior that might salvage the 'amazing' label.

I suggest: 1. you talk to the philosophy professors at your school and ask them lots of questions. Hopefully, there is someone that who has a good sense of what it takes to get into grad school in philosophy, to succeed, and to get a job. 2. you explore websites at some PhD and MA programs. There is also some useful information at http://www.philosophicalgourmet.com/ 3. if you remain interested (as I hope you do!), you consider putting off graduation one semester and taking more philosophy courses. I fear that only one course in philosophy will take you off the radar at many programs (I suspect it would take a lot--e.g., very high GRE and GPA--to get some PhD programs to consider you, when they have so many applicants that are philosophy majors or even have MAs in philosophy). 4. you consider applying to MA programs in philosophy to strengthen your background (though it will still help to have more courses in philosophy to get in to MA programs). 5. you will need a polished...