The Mighty Indecision

[Eisenheim]

Greetings all,

Looking to read some opinions and answers about my little predicament and question. I have 2 BA's, one in History and the other in Philosophy. I had planned to attend graduate school for Philosophy but I am having some blues about Philosophy. Not the typical I wouldn't be able to find a job nonsense, I was intending to go for a PhD anyway. I am feeling tugged toward the empirical and quantifiable subjects. While I continue to love Philosophy greatly, for those that don't know there isn't hastily made progress in Philosophy and I enjoy progress. I should note that I am a 4.0 student and take this decision very seriously, which is why I am seeking the advice and conversation with as many people as possible. Any recommendations for another subject for graduate school? Any other advice is welcome and thanks.

[tonydoesmovie]

You take this very seriously, but you've brought this dilemma to internet strangers that may or may not have your best interest at heart? Let alone that we may not have similar points of reference to adequately assist you in ways you would agree with.

That said, if you think hard on subjects that are philosophy adjacent, of which you can approach through a philosophical lens, I'm sure you would be able to answer your own question.

[nobraintrain]

I would think about sociology, but you probably should consult professors in your field.

[mc356]

While I don't know your situation closely so I think it's best to approach your advisors for more insight, just as an option to look at, consider Science and Technology Studies. I began in Philosophy and loved the critical inquiry and was set to go for a PhD, but I changed disciplines because I found STS to be a much more rewarding field, maybe for similar reasons as yourself. It's interdisciplinary, and there are lots of programs and scholarship that draws heavily on philosophy so for me it has been a way to hang on to the good stuff about philosophy while also looking to other disciplines to see what else is out there, while still researching issues in science and tech, or those empirical or quantifiable subjects as you say. Happy to connect through DM if you want more detail! It was tough leaving phil but I've found STS to be a perfect and natural next step.

[Eisenheim]

On 4/21/2017 at 10:10 AM, mc356 said:

While I don't know your situation closely so I think it's best to approach your advisors for more insight, just as an option to look at, consider Science and Technology Studies. I began in Philosophy and loved the critical inquiry and was set to go for a PhD, but I changed disciplines because I found STS to be a much more rewarding field, maybe for similar reasons as yourself. It's interdisciplinary, and there are lots of programs and scholarship that draws heavily on philosophy so for me it has been a way to hang on to the good stuff about philosophy while also looking to other disciplines to see what else is out there, while still researching issues in science and tech, or those empirical or quantifiable subjects as you say. Happy to connect through DM if you want more detail! It was tough leaving phil but I've found STS to be a perfect and natural next step.

Thank you for the responses. I was curious on how that STS major is marketable? I am presuming it is a broad range of topics through many fields and does it have a department of it's own where you went? To respond to other replies to my question, I have definitely thought about closely related fields toward my interests such as my interest in time and causality with relation to the philosophy of physics, or sociology in relation to my interest in the philosophy of culture and society. One of the reasons I posted here is that I was looking for some feedback with regard to my cursorily posted question, I appreciate all the comments.

Edited April 22, 2017 by Eisenheim

[mc356]

On 4/22/2017 at 11:41 AM, Eisenheim said:

I was curious on how that STS major is marketable? I am presuming it is a broad range of topics through many fields and does it have a department of it's own where you went?

This might help! http://stsnext20.org/stsworld/sts-programs/

Not sure what it's like at the undergraduate major level, if that's what you're asking (there are programs, perhaps connected to the ones listed in that link). At the graduate level, some are proper departments, in others it lives as certificates or emphases within other home departments.