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Filosophy and Happiness

F.I. is a common acronym for Financial Independence, the simple idea that by disconnecting from consumer culture, we can save and invest enough money so that returns on our investments become sufficient to fund a frugal lifestyle. The moment when returns on investments exceed expenses is called the Crossover Point, and at this point you achieve the freedom to pursue happiness in whatever way you like. Philosophy has largely fallen short of its purpose, refusing to engage with the deepest human questions. My view is that the only objective that makes sense is finding happiness, and while happiness can be achieved in a variety of ways, rejecting the arms race of conspicuous consumption is a necessary ingredient. While philosophers are happy to debate questions like whether happiness is a good, where happiness falls in the hierarchy of other values, and what happiness fundamentally is, they rarely approach the practical question of how we actually can find this elusive happiness. Thorea
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"From Homer to High Tech"

We don't believe there is such a thing as a "former humanist" or even a "recovering humanist." The collection of passions, talents, interests and skills that are the trademark of a humanities graduate are usually a life-long affliction, but that's not to say that one can't build a happy career away from the arts. A great example is this  reflection  by Michael Zimm as he made his way from a humanities PhD to a digital media firm (and not without some letdowns along the way). 
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Humanists Earn Money Too

Some positive  news  over on Inside Higher Ed shows that humanities majors aren't so unemployable after all. We already knew that, though it's always nice to have more data. The trick for humanities majors is that their career paths tend to be less straightforward than, say, accounting or architecture. With a creative approach, we believe there are opportunities for humanists everywhere, and this forum is dedicated in part to helping readers make those connections they may have never considered.
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On Keeping Costs Down

An article in the  Washington Post  out yesterday outlines some of the challenges in creating an affordable higher education system. We feel, of course, that institutions and government have largely failed in their obligations to keep education affordable for students. But students can help their own cause by keeping high grades and studying for the ACT/SAT in high school, and then by choosing more affordable in-state public schools, where tuition is likely to be lowest. The catch for humanists is that liberal arts degrees from the local school are less likely to have the cachet of a more expensive institution, so we recommend that humanities students supplement their studies with a second major, minor or an internship in another field. We also recommend that students keep costs down by continuing to apply for scholarships throughout their time in school (within their major or within their academic college, for example). Many campuses will also have job opportunities with flexible time
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"Unprepared and Confused"

Inside Higher Ed highlights a new  study  showing only 28% of liberal arts students have confidence that their skills could lead to success in the job market. We don't think studies like this discredit the value of the humanities in the slightest. Instead, we think the result indicates a need for reflection on the role of liberal arts and for more robust career services for the particular challenges humanities students face on the job hunt. An unfortunate disconnect in liberal arts education is that the professorate is largely made up of terminal degree holders in the humanities, but the great majority of students will not pursue graduate degrees, and even many who do will not secure tenure track employment. While we hope that savvy career services departments around the world can rise to the unique challenge of helping bright humanities students find gainful employment, we believe our blog can play a small role to fill that void in the meantime. 
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Five Benefits of Studying Philosophy

Plenty has been written about the success of Philosophy students across all sorts of different fields, their success on standardized tests like the LSAT, GRE and GMAT, and the impact studying Philosophy has had on influential leaders in business and politics. But what skills specifically do Philosophy students develop that make them able to excel in a variety of different workforces? 1.      Critical Thinking:  Some people think critical thinking means learning to question authority. Learning that leaders are human too is a good intellectual habit, but that’s not what we mean when we talk about thinking critically in Philosophy. We mean something more technical: the practice of recognizing patterns in reasoning and separating valid reasoning from invalid reasoning, as well as learning and being able to identify common logical fallacies. Employers routinely tell researchers that critical thinking is one of the skills they most value in their workforce. After all, thinking criticall
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