Well, a degree in Philosophy is not "philosophy". It depends on what you want do do with it. Degrees are instruments, and instruments require goals.

Now, if you were asking about whether the study of philosophy is useful, it would be a different question. (Most philosophers throughout history did not have degrees in philosophy).

Most of all, is your vocation teaching philosophy at some educational institution? If it is, then a degree is probably essential. If it isn't, then it all depends on what would be the better uses of your time :).

How would you respond? — anonymous66

Ask them for reasons. If they can give you convincing ones, give up the idea. If they can't, suggest they join you.

The sense I'm getting is that they think philosophy itself it stupid, and pursuing a degree in the subject is even stupider [but, I think they must mean ,"more stupid".]

Been there, done that (haven't we all?).

But then the best reply is Forrest Gump's: Stupid is as stupid does.

Philosophy is not stupid - but many philosophers qualify as such. Most people are terrified of philosophy - that's why they join a church.

I do feel like pushing back by asking, "What would you suggest I do instead?" and then, no matter what they say, respond with, "doesn't that sound stupid to you?"

You need to "follow your bliss" - as Joseph Campbell advised us all.

How would you respond? — anonymous66

They're right.

They're right. — The Great Whatever

It reminded me of this scene >:O :

What do you want to do with it?

I dunno. Be a midwife maybe. Do what philosophers do.. What do other people do with their (edit: non-philosophy) degrees?

How would you respond? — anonymous66

"Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher. "Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless." Ecclesiastes

What isn't stupid and meaningless from the Teacher's perspective?

I tried Philosophy in college and didn't like it, but Philosophy isn't stupid, and a degree in Philosophy is no more stupid than a degree in English Literature, which I enjoyed getting, pretty much. There is no field of study that somebody has not declared "stupid".

Whether a degree in Philosophy, or English Literature, or fine arts, is a strategically sound decision depends on what your life plans are, and how the degree fits into that.

There is the question of resources: can you finance the degree (one way or another) and can you afford to not earn an income while you are pursuing the degree?

If you really want to be an electrical engineer, but find philosophy interesting, then getting a degree in philosophy first might be considered ill advised. If you are really interested in philosophy but get a degree in electrical engineering because you think you will make more money in that, then it might or might not be ill-advised. It depends on what you want your life to look like 5 to 10 years after you get your degree.

Any degree in the liberal arts (philosophy, history, literature, language, sociology, etc.) will have a similar value on the job market. Degrees are positive assets. But again, it depends... If you want to teach philosophy and can barely squeak through a bachelors degree, then it's probably ill advised. If you can't afford graduate school no way no how, then starting that course might be ill advised.

As Mariner noted, degrees-in-Philosophy are to Philosophy what a degree in English Literature is to becoming an author of English Literature -- probably no relationship whatsoever.

I know people who are philosophers, pretty much, but who have no more than a high school diploma. I know people who have several degrees who are philosophers, pretty much, and we all know people who have several degrees and manage to be nincompoops, pretty much.

The philosophical question that you need to answer is "What should I do?"

Like Mariner said, don't equivocate between a degree in philosophy and philosophy proper.

Kant argued that when one learns philosophy, one learns the history of philosophical attempts. It is subjective-historical. You are learning how to do philosophy.

The people who call philosophy stupid are the people who haven't put down the time to understand what philosophy is about. That goes with basically any activity in general. If you call something stupid before you even know what it is, you're the one who is just being stupid.

I've been talking about pursuing a degree in Philosophy. I don't think I've ever heard a positive response. Some people (acquaintances, relatives, friends) just blurt out something like, "that's stupid", or "Philosophy is stupid", or "a degree in Philosophy is useless."

How would you respond? — anonymous66

All degrees are stupid, unless you run out of toilet paper, then any degree would be quite helpful! ;)

Do something useful that will help others. Ask yourself: how can I make the world a better place? Or go smaller - how can I make my city/town/village a better place? What do people need? What will better their lives? Give it to them, they will pay you. Look around you - what do they need? Identify it. Supply it to them. Be an upstanding member of your community who spends his life doing truly useful work. Do you think Archimedes, or Leonardo Da Vinci had degrees? That didn't stop them from doing useful work and helping others (and posterity).

What do other people do with their degrees. — anonymous66

The two best jobs I had (14 years worth for the two) were:

tutoring college students in how to study and trying to get them to think about what they wanted to do with their lives (since the students I was seeing were likely to flunk out of college) and

conducting AIDS prevention outreach in high-risk environments for AIDS transmission (gay bath houses, adult book stores, gay bars, gay cruising areas...)

Both of these jobs were very satisfying and I had no specific academic preparation to do either of them.

These jobs were serendipity. I had no intention of working in these areas.

I can also see myself not pursuing a degree in philosophy, but continuing to talk about it. Maybe I can talk philosophy w/o having to say the word... But, I am in the habit of taking philosophy classes and reading philosophy. It's kinda hard not to say the word.

So the question still stands... how to respond to, "philosophy is a stupid and a waste of time."?

I have to admit. I do feel like the shoe is on the other foot. About 30 years ago I met a guy who was into philosophy, and I tried to convince him it was ridiculous. I'll have to think about just what it was that changed my perspective.

But, I am in the habit of taking philosophy classes and reading philosophy. — anonymous66

So you enjoy it.

What you're running into here is a question of taste. People are often really invested in their tastes. (I think Alain de Botton has a book about this.) To some people, you are what you like. It can be hard to understand how someone can like something you don't. You might even take differing taste as an implied critique of your own taste, of your identity. It gets emotional.

So you could just say, de gustibus non est disputandum. But if you were thinking you could give them, you know, reasons why philosophy isn't stupid, you've got to recognize that that's you thinking like a philosopher. Any reason might be taken as just more stupidity.

You enjoy it, and you're not hurting anyone. That's enough reason. (You might even try to find some way to get across to them what you enjoy about philosophy. That would do more than some lecture on What Makes Philosophy Important and Valuable to Humanity.)

So the question still stands... how to respond to, "philosophy is a stupid and a waste of time."? — anonymous66

You could say "Some of it is not only stupid, some of it is outright bullshit; but some of it is pretty good." Sort of like life itself.

I wouldn't go as far as TGW, but I'd say they're partly right.

You have a good point. When someone says, "that's stupid", when it's obvious they don't even know what they are criticizing, I tend to make judgments about what kind of person they must be. (although, based on my own experience, some people do eventually come around, after their initial aversion).

I've befriended a philosophy professor (he's in his late 40's), and he just doesn't engage (if asked, "why philosophy?") If people keep pushing, he is inclined to say, "I dunno... in my mind, it's kinda like asking, 'why do you breath?'" And he admits he makes judgments about the mentality of people who make the assumptions they do about philosophy.

Philosophy is not a straight forward major. You do not get a lot of direct career and future possibilities out of it like you would with something from the sciences, business, or medical field.

In other words, the future does not exactly unfold itself for you, and this becomes even greater if you pick a major that is not exactly in high demand. This is not to say it can't be done or that you cannot do things outside your major to a fulfilling future, but I would not bank on that. People in other majors get more direct and a wider selection of possibilities. They have all the same opportunities those in the humanities have and more.

Do you need to do philosophy, in the sense that you cannot feel complete without doing it for a large portion of your life? Must you have philosophy on your mind 24-7 or you will start to lose it? If not, I suggest a double major. I would heavily suggest thinking about the paths you want to have available and those you are willing to close.

By "stupid" do they mean 'impractical', or 'no use'? Is undertaking a degree in philosophy going to be useful to you? If so, do you believe it will be the degree itself, or the pursuit of it that will be useful? I recently dropped out of an undergraduate degree majoring in philosophy that I have been pursuing for the last 8 years while still running my landscape design and contracting business, practicing painting and drawing and writing and learning music (I love too many things).

I dropped out because I had not undertaken the study in order to get a qualification, but to enhance my study of philosophy (which I had already been doing for many years prior). My areas of interest within philosophy have narrowed so much over that time that trying to find time to read texts that I am not that interested in, and write the essays that I have little enthusiasm for writing, has come increasingly to consume too much of the precious time I need to devote to the list of texts I want to study as well as my other pursuits.

I dropped out with an 80% average, two academic prizes on my record, and a $9000 HECS debt, and I have no regrets because learning the discipline of study and writing essays certainly helped me. The piece of paper at the end would only be useful if you would be able to use it to qualify for a profession you really wanted to practice.

I pretty much just say "Nuh uh". If asked for proof, I say "No".

But, then, I'm not interested in persuading them, and am giving just about as much thought to my replies as I tend to feel they're giving.

Why respond at all? It's sort of like shitting on art or science. It's just like. . . uhhh, OK. Good luck with that, buddy.

I've been talking about pursuing a degree in Philosophy. I don't think I've ever heard a positive response. Some people (acquaintances, relatives, friends) just blurt out something like, "that's stupid", or "Philosophy is stupid", or "a degree in Philosophy is useless."

How would you respond? — anonymous66

Well, I'm about to do proper graduate studies in Philosophy and quite a lot of my friends (I am 68 so they're mostly retired) ask me what am I doing it for? 'Isn't that just intellectual gymnastics?'

But this is after two years of a grad diploma, and some of the sceptics who looked at me amazed when I said I was going to do that, now say, 'Well done.' Keep going long enough to look them in the eye and say, This is what it's done for me. That's what I say :)

Thank you for that. I'm 50, and I suspect my age is a factor in people's responses.

I pretty much just say "Nuh uh". If asked for proof, I say "No".

But, then, I'm not interested in persuading them, and am giving just about as much thought to my replies as I tend to feel they're giving.

Why respond at all? It's sort of like shitting on art or science. It's just like. . . uhhh, OK. Good luck with that, buddy.

Thanks... I'm leaning towards this type of response. When I get a negative response, I just think to myself, "Yes, that is your attitude towards philosophy." and I make judgments about their ability to reason. Eventually, they might be able to persuade me that have some aptitude for reasoning, but they're going to have to work at it.

Read Bertrand Russell's essay The Value of Philosophy http://www.paulgraham.com/valueofphilosophy.html

I think that a lot of it is stupid, and that opinion has only strengthened as I've gotten older and further away from concerns with philosophy as a career.

But it's not all stupid, and I still have an attraction to the stuff that I don't consider stupid.

Anyway, it's certainly not the most practical field to pursue for job prospects. But you should pursue what you're passionate about.