Aesthetics

     [forthcoming]

History of Philosophy

The History of Philosophy plays a special role in the study of philosophy. Like every other intellectual
discipline, philosophy has of course a history.  However, in the case of philosophy an understanding
of its history - from its ancient and medieval beginnings through the early modern period (the 17th
and 18th centuries) and into more recent times - forms a vital part of the very enterprise of
philosophy, whether in metaphysics and epistemology or in ethics, aesthetics, and political
philosophy.  To study the great philosophical works of the past is to learn about the origins and
presuppositions of many of the problems that occupy philosophy today.  It is also to discover and to
come to appreciate different ways of dealing with these problems, different conceptions of what the
fundamental problems of philosophy are, and indeed different ways of doing philosophy altogether.
And it is also the study of works—from Plato and Aristotle, through Kant and Mill and more recent
writers—that have shaped much of Western culture far beyond academic philosophy. Many of the
most creative philosophers working today have also written on various topics in the history of
philosophy and have found their inspiration in great figures of the past. 

Why Study Philosophy?

This question may be understood in two ways: Why would one engage in the particular intellectual
activities that constitute philosophical inquiry? And how might the study of philosophy affect my
future career prospects? 

 Philosophy as intellectual activity may have a number of motivations:

 Intellectual curiosity: philosophy is essentially a reflective-critical inquiry motivated by a
sense of intellectual “wonder.” What is the world like? Why is it this way, rather than another?
Who am I? Why am I here?
 Interest in cultural and intellectual history: as a discipline, philosophy pays a great deal of
attention to its history, and to the broader cultural and intellectual context in which this history
unfolds.
 Sharpening thinking skills: the study of philosophy is especially well suited to the
development of a variety of intellectual skills involved in the analysis of concepts, the critique of
ideas, the conduct of sound reasoning and argumentation; it is important to emphasize that
 philosophical inquiry also fosters intellectual creativity (developing new concepts, or new
approaches to problems, identifying new problems, and so on).
 Sharpening writing skills: the writing of philosophy is especially rigorous insofar as it
demands a high level of clarity, precision, and organization.
 Philosophy might affect future career prospects in a number of ways:
 Some philosophy concentrators go on to graduate school to earn a PhD in philosophy. Most
of those become professors of philosophy, which means that their professional lives are devoted
to research and teaching in philosophy.
 A philosophy concentration is not limiting: in fact, the skills it develops and sharpens are
transferable to a wide variety of professional activities. Obvious examples include the application
of reasoning and argumentation skills to the practice of law; less obvious examples include the
application of analytical and critical skills to journalism, investment banking, writing,
publishing, and so on; even less obvious examples include putting one’s philosophical education
to work in business entrepeneurship, political and social activism, and even creative arts.