Why did you choose philosophy as your major?
Philosophy was a subject that I never had the chance to explore in high school. After taking different GERs in college, I knew that I was genuinely most interested in the humanities. I visited a favorite philosophy professor in office hours, and after bombarding him with many questions, he encouraged me to look into the major. That was the turning point.
What has been your favorite class in the major so far?
Ancient Greek and Medieval Philosophy with Frederick Marcus. I feel like that class actually changed my life. Reading the classics from Plato and Aristotle to St. Augustine and Thomas Aquinas connected me with an age-old wisdom that will serve me for the rest of my life.
What's the hardest thing about being a philosophy major?
People are always asking, "So, what are you going to do with that?" Okay, maybe not, but you know whatI mean. I think the hardest thing is consistently weighing the arguments and images that philosophers employ and finding out how these writings can benefit your own life. Much of philosophy is dense and hard to completely absorb. The real reason I want to make such an effort to understand these thinkers is really because I feel like their ideas and experiences can improve my own life. Hopefully one day, this improvement within myself will help me improve the lives of others.
Are there any perks to being a philosophy major?
I love being able to think about the big picture on a daily basis. I'm always asking "why" questions. In some ways, I feel like philosophy asks the most important questions that we can ponder as human beings. How can I be a good person? What is a beautiful life? How do I make decisions and how is that important? And so on. I love being able to jump to the good stuff and form my own theories and ideas.
What are you looking to do, in terms of a career, with your major in philosophy?
The philosophy major originally made me nervous because it does not have a clear career path associated with it (although it is a popular precursor to law school). I will most likely pursue a graduate education once I find something that I'm passionate about. However, I hope that the skills I'm learning and the questions I'm asking in philosophy will not only make me a better reader and writer but also someone who has sought a degree of self-knowledge that will lend itself to my future career and life in general.
Are you pursuing a specific concentration in philosophy? If so, which concentration and why?
I am not pursuing a specific concentration; however, my primary interests lie in ancient philosophy, eastern philosophy and moral philosophy.
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