Question I am currently majoring in philosophy (a three-year Bachelor's degree in Germany), but I've come across an issue in planning my future career path. I find myself fascinated by ethical and artistic concerns, and our relationship to the cultural artifacts we produce, such as media and art. I'm also very interested in public perceptions of philosophy and debates about science, and in general about different attitudes and values in society. On the other hand, while I enjoy thorny linguistic and metaphysical issues on occasion (as an intellectual side-interest, as it were), but I can't picture myself dedicating serious study to such issues. So far, whenever we've had to write papers on more abstract, analytical issues concerning linguistics or metaphysics, I've found myself uninspired and not particular enthusiastic, unless I could clearly see the relevance of these issues in popular discourse or ethics (such as trying to define art, which has a number of implications, or trying to understand the nature of ethical statements). Is philosophy the right discipline for me? Or should I be going into some other field, like literary studies, sociology or psychology? What advice would you offer to a person in my position, or a similar position?

Accepted:
April 20, 2011

Comments

On the basis of your remarks, it seems that you aren't especially interested in 'theoretical' philosophy (roughly, metaphysics and epistemology), but that you are interested in 'practical' philosophy (ethics) and aesthetics. You might want further to investigate just what kinds of work are being done by professional philosophers who focus on ethics--including 'applied ethics', such as bioethics and business ethics--and aesthetics, in order to get a better sense of what sorts of issues are currently 'live' in professional philosophy. Depending on the nature of your interest in "public perceptions of philosophy and debates about science, and in general about different attitudes and values in society," you may be able to explore the questions that interest you in a philosophy department; the more empirical your interests, however--that is, the more you are interested in determining just what those interests are, as opposed to assessing the basis for those interests--the less likely that a philosophy department will be hospitable to those interests. (Although I should say that given the current explosion of interest in 'experimental philosophy', it may even be possible for you to explore issues that have a significant empirical component while pursuing philosophy.) In general, in order to determine whether pursuing further study in philosophy is the best intellectual path for you, I recommend that you look more closely at what kinds of work is being done in the areas of interest to you, and also that you try to determine just what kinds of questions, and what approach to those questions, you find most congenial. As you get clearer about your own interests and the kinds of questions that interest professional philosophers, you'll be in a better position to determine whether you can pursue your interests within the context of professional philosophy. I wish you all the best as you explore your interests, and hope that you find a congenial academic home in which to do so!!