Bachelor of Arts [B.A] [Philosophy] From Hope College

?Philosophy? is a word that means ?love of wisdom.? That might sound broad, and that?s because it is. Every academic discipline was once a part of philosophy, which is why professors in most other disciplines have a ?Ph.D.?, an abbreviation for ?doctor of philosophy.? Why is philosophy so broad? Because it asks the most fundamental questions behind everything we know. Like Socrates, perhaps the quintessential philosopher, philosophers ask questions like ?what is love??, ?what is justice??, and ?what is a person?? Often you?ve already answered those questions by the time you enter a laboratory or a courtroom, but that doesn?t mean you?re right. Because of this, philosophy is often countercultural, because it asks us to think and rethink our assumptions so that we can live more reflective and meaningful lives.

Why study philosophy? Here are three reasons: first, the study of philosophy gives you valuable transferable skills, like critical thinking, that employers expect and generally don?t get. How do we know? Because philosophy-bound students consistently outperform every other major on the Graduate Record Exam (GRE), and every non-STEM field in every other major standardized test, like the GMAT, LSAT, and even MCAT. Second, if you?ve ever felt like a speck of dust in our vast universe, we can relate. Philosophers ask the ultimate questions, questions that never get old and never get boring. Third, every religion, and certainly Christianity, is grounded in a response to these big philosophical questions. If you want to grow in faith, or you just want to know what all the fuss is about, many philosophers through the ages have sought to understand their faith through philosophy.