Recently in Philosophy Category

They say that money can't buy happiness and I certainly agree.  However, did you ever stop to think about what money can, indeed, buy? 

Here is a list of ten things that money can help you buy:

1.  Money can buy peace of mind.  Do you have trouble sleeping at night because you are worried about bills or your current job status?  Well having enough money in the bank to not worry about your job for a year or two will let you sleep like a baby.

2.  Money can buy you comfort.  Do you live in a small cramped apartment with two kids and neighbors above you constantly screaming?  Money can allow you to put a 20 percent down payment on a comfortable, quiet, home in a safe neighborhood.

3.  Money can buy you a reliable and safe car.  Do you drive a late model vehicle that is constantly breaking down or in need of monthly maintenance?  Is your vehicle equipped with anti-lock brakes, stability control, and at the least 4-6 airbags?  Money can allow you to buy a quality used (or new) vehicle from a reliable manufacturer.

4.  Money can buy you a future.  Would you like to not work and live well at some future point?  If the answer is yes, then money will let you prepare for a future without a boss and making income without working.  In short, you can use money to buy stock, mutual funds, index funds, CDs, etc.

5. Money can buy you confidence.  Do you swallow your pride and work for an organization or boss that you do not respect or just plain hate?  Well, if you have money in a bank account money can give you the courage to walk away from a bad situation and start fresh.

6. Money can buy you the ability to give.  Do you wish you could help a not so well off sister or brother or contribute to your local Red Cross?  Well, money can help you be more charitable and giving.

7.  Money can buy you time.  Do you often find yourself wishing you could spend more time exercising, reading, learning to cook, traveling, spending time with family, et. al. ?  Retiring early by way of making the right financial moves in life can give you the time to do the above.

8.  Money can buy you nice food.  Do you clip coupons to the point that you will not buy something you are craving?  Do you buy sub par ingredients and generic store brands even when you know quality is poor?  Money can help enjoy great meals (including wine).

9.  Money can buy you experiences.  Do you not travel because you're worried about airline fares and hotel prices?  Do you decide often against a trip into the city to enjoy the opera and a glass of champagne?  Money can help you expand your mind and bring you places beyond the town you were born in.

10.  Money can buy you opportunity.  Do you wish you could buy a home in today's economic environment because interest rates are low and home prices have been dramatically reduced?  Do you wish you could buy GE stock because it's under $20 and inevitably will rebound to record highs in the near future?  Money can help you leverage opportunities that would normally not be able available in ordinary times

I came across some old philosophy books in my study this morning and it got me thinking about the value of an undergraduate degree in philosophy.  And I can already hear the jokes, so please keep them to yourself!  ; - )  At first glance, a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy provides no real practical application in the real world.  After all, you will not receive any specific training that can lead to a job, are required to read esoteric texts, and will never arrive at a "right answer" during a final exam or short quiz.  So, why on earth are US colleges and universities struggling to keep up with the demand from students wanting to both take courses and major in philosophy?

As an ex-Philosophy major, I can tell you that my degree is invaluable and I would certainly study the same subject if I had to start all over again (I would maybe throw in a degree in Economics as well).  If we cut to the chase, a degree in philosophy provides the following benefits

1. How to read critically (i.e., a book, magazine article, newspaper, P&L statement, web traffic report, etc.).
 
2. How to write well. (this could be an email, letter, report, blog, or living will).

3. How to debate and speak in front of large audiences.

4. How to create impromptu arguments and analysis (this may be the number one business skill of all time and I'd hire someone with this skill set versus a Harvard graduate any day).

5. How to figure out what is right and wrong (ethics) and identify with different sorts of people and cultures (this is critical in the modern workforce, think how different your job is from what you see on Mad Men each week).

6. How to apply logic to any problem.

7. How to think strategically or see the "big picture."

8. How to think about a problem by deconstructing the big picture and looking at the details.

I could go on and on, but I think you get the picture.  A degree in philosophy is not a degree in electrical engineering; that is to say, the degree will not train you specifically to go out into the world and be an electrical engineer but it will equip you to do really well in the workforce by adapting to any work situation. 

Philosophy also provides excellent training for a professional degree.  Considering the benefits I stated above, philosophy majors score in the very top percentiles on the GRE, LSAT, and GMAT exams. "For example, in a recent GRE study, philosophy majors were ranked among the very top majors in their mean scores on the verbal, analytic, and quantitative components of the exam; in a recent LSAT study, philosophy majors had a higher mean score than even pre-law majors; and for recent GMAT tests, the mean score for philosophy majors exceeded that of any type of business major. Virtually no other major does this well on such a wide cross-section of standardized exams.(quote from the University of New Hampshire Philosophy Department web site http://www.unh.edu/philosophy/index.cfm?id=39F7EBE2-C029-7E5B-F1371DFC37778362)."

Did you study philosophy, let everyone know about your experience by commenting above.

If you're fully engaged in the modern world then you've probably used statistics to make arguments and push a particular interest (like predicting orders or market conditions, if you work at a consumer product company, for example).

Nassim Nicholas Taleb, in both his book, The Black Swan, and more recently in his essay, THE FOURTH QUADRANT: A MAP OF THE LIMITS OF STATISTICS, argues that the banking industry has used statistics to lose over 1 Trillion dollars thus far (more than the industry has ever made)!

Prima facie, the argument seems convincing, but go ahead and read the essay critically and let me know what you think.

Here's some content from the essay:

Statistical and applied probabilistic knowledge is the core of knowledge; statistics is what tells you if something is true, false, or merely anecdotal; it is the "logic of science"; it is the instrument of risk-taking; it is the applied tools of epistemology; you can't be a modern intellectual and not think probabilistically--but... let's not be suckers. The problem is much more complicated than it seems to the casual, mechanistic user who picked it up in graduate school. Statistics can fool you. In fact it is fooling your government right now. It can even bankrupt the system (let's face it: use of probabilistic methods for the estimation of risks did just blow up the banking system).

Who says that today's college student is only interested in making money?   According to the New York Times, college students are still opting for the "examined life" and pursuing philosophy as a major - learning critical thinking, presentation, and writing skills along the way. 

Looks like those bearded guys reading Kant and Rorty weren't wasting their time after all.