I love how she seems to think of philosophy as being in the arts section.

Philosophy will likely have it's day again. Historically the attention to philosophy ebbs and tides.

All about that almighty dollar.

Let's face it: the philosophy graduate typically doesn't have as much money to give to the university as the successful engineer or businessman.

Employees function better if they don't employ critical thought to their tasks, in general, and follow instruction; like in school, learn to eat lunch in 15 minutes, regulate break time to minimals, get to work on time, etc...
Some corporations, however, see the value of having some employees who have the ability for 'critical thought' (philosophy) and 'creative' Perspectives (philosophy) who are worth superior salary, and many employees who can follow directions and hold their urine.
We all do what we can.

Sciences require critical thought, and philosophy can provide additional stimulation, but mathematical thought has many of the same benefits that philosophical thought brings: attention to detail, ability to debunk arguments and fallacies, and deep abstract thought. The difference is in direct applicability and research. Universities get research funding, and mathematics/computer science at the graduate level often cover the bulk of formal logic. Most of philosophy has been broken into studies of various specific areas, and non-analytic philosophy has little to offer in the way of clear, quantifiable results.

Why should there be a high priority in the classics other than the fact that you are interested in it? Mathematics and pure sciences take the backseat to engineering and abstract math takes the backseat to applied math, but all of these disciplines produce something concrete and directly applicable.

In reality, secondary education should give everyone a strong basis in the classics, then the university could concentrate on specialties.

The university is a business, and even if your chosen major has the best funding, it will not make the diploma anything more than an expensive piece of paper. Those who excel in a field do so with or without a strong undergrad program. I personally am glad that my major doesn't attract hordes of students who hardly even know what the discipline is, and this is part of the outcome of advertising a major. If a ton of students wanted a philosophy degree it seems more likely that the bar would be lowered than the quality of the program would be raised.

Same with alchemy... :whistling:

Oh. So you do think philosophy is outdated... :whistling:

No, just suggesting that priorities in academia are not constant from era to era.

Victor, the search for truth is constant in empirical studies and critical thinking throughout time. Science (the term) was not a theme of this empirical study until Galileo and even before then I suppose in minimal work it could be called science. Before 'science' even existed there was still philosophy. But I don't think (unless you speak of Rome) empirical study or rational study ever had priorities over one another.

This critical thought has almost never been appreciated by society. Philosophers were tried as heretics in the papal times, Aquinas was disliked as a theologian searching to substantiate or at least reason God. And of course Galileo had a rough time too.

But really the priority of the two is proportional to the profit. Philosophy does not offer much material importance (if there is much of such a thing) and society wants a margin of luxury with the usual necessities. And now we can blatantly see science (biology especially) is the new craze. Huge profit!!! Engineering too. Where would the western world--heck the, economy:rolleyes:-- be without our stylish cars, airplanes, or drones. The architect... just a pallid tool now.

I think the main problem with philosophy in universities is that it is typically approached wrong. Most philosophy professors were trained in the history of philosophy rather than critical thinking so the value of philosophy is seen as rather low like literature, history, and art degrees. If ethics, logic, critical thinking, and writing were emphasized more heavily in the study of philosophy, it would be far more relevant and of a higher priority. The philosophy major is forced to go above and beyond most required course work if they want their degree to be more valuable their future than it is generally viewed.

Considering how bad the current world situation is due to poor thinking and planning, the philosopher may be able to create a nice niche out in the world for themselves, but not if all they get out of school is a historical account of the field of philosophy.

Yeah, I know all that Holiday. It's unfortunate that "critical thought has almost never been appreciated by society".

Anyways, this lady asked me I wanted to donate some money to Computer Science (my minor). And I said that CS has a lot of corporate and other alumni donations; that I won't donate to CS, but I'd donate $200 to the philosophy department (on the condition that they use that $200 to further Kierkegaard studies LOL)