By Michael Vazquez and Michael Prinzing
Philosophy majors rank higher than all other majors on verbal and logical reasoning, according to our new study published in the Journal of the American Philosophical Association. They also tend to display more intellectual virtues such as curiosity and open-mindedness.
Philosophers have long claimed that studying philosophy sharpens one’s mind. What sets philosophy apart from other fields is that it is not so much a body of knowledge as an activity – a form of inquiry. Doing philosophy involves trying to answer fundamental questions about humanity and the world we live in and subjecting proposed answers to critical scrutiny: constructing logical arguments, drawing subtle distinctions and following ideas to their ultimate – often surprising – conclusions.
It makes sense, then, that studying philosophy might make people better thinkers. But as philosophers ourselves, we wondered whether there is strong evidence for that claim.
Students who major in philosophy perform very well on tests such as the Graduate Record Examination and Law School Admission Test. Studies, including our own, have found that people who have studied philosophy are, on average, more reflective and more open-minded than those who haven’t. Yet this doesn’t necessarily show that studying philosophy makes people better thinkers. Philosophy may just attract good thinkers.
Our latest study aimed to address that problem by comparing students who majored in philosophy and those who didn’t at the end of their senior year, while adjusting for differences present at the start of their freshman year. For example, we examined students’ performance on the GRE, which they take toward the end of college, while controlling for scores on the SAT, which they take before college.
We did the same when analyzing survey data collected by the Higher Education Research Institute at the start and end of college. These surveys asked students to, for example, rate their abilities to engage with new ideas or have their own ideas challenged, and how often they explored topics raised in class on their own or evaluated the reliability of information.
All told, we looked at test and survey data from over 600,000 students. Our analysis found that philosophy majors scored higher than students in all other majors on standardized tests of verbal and logical reasoning, as well as on self-reports of good habits of mind, even after accounting for freshman-year differences. This suggests that their intellectual abilities and traits are due, in part, to what they learned in college.
Why it matters
Public trust in higher education has hit record lows in recent years, according to polling by the Lumina Foundation and Gallup. Meanwhile, the rapid advance of generative AI has threatened the perceived value of a traditional college degree, as many previously vaunted white-collar skills are at risk of being automated.
Yet now more than ever, students must learn to think clearly and critically. AI promises efficiency, but its algorithms are only as good as the people who steer them and scrutinize their output.
The stakes are more than personal. Without citizens who can reason through complex issues and discern good information from bad, democracy and civic life are at risk.
What still isn’t known
While our results point to real growth in students’ intellectual abilities and dispositions, they do not capture everything philosophers mean by “intellectual virtue.” Intellectual virtue is not just a matter of possessing certain abilities but of using those abilities well: at the right times, for the right reasons, and in the right ways.
Our measures do not tell us whether philosophy majors go on to apply their newfound abilities in the service of truth and justice or, conversely, for personal gain and glory. Settling that question would require gathering a different kind of evidence.
Michael Vazquez is a Teaching Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Michael Prinzing Research and Assessment Scholar at Wake Forest University.
Pogo says
@Michael Vazquez and Michael Prinzing
Excellent; and now a look back, current report, and preview — of what was, is, and will always be — validated by the hostility of its opposition.
As was, is, and will always be
https://www.google.com/search?q=“Everything+was+beautiful+and+nothing+hurt.”
I Don’t Want to Belong to Any Club That Will Accept Me as a Member
https://quoteinvestigator.com/2011/04/18/groucho-resigns/
Good luck, and good night.
JW says
Studying philosophy at a university does not make sense to me unless you have learned critical thinking during high school. SAT tests (a 100 years old American invention) do not prove much of critical thinking skills but rather temporarily memorized facts. Critical thinking skills come from questioning, investigating and debating facts and stories and connecting dots: “the purpose of a good education is to show that there are three sides to a two sided story” (Stanley Fish).
I am sorry to say that in America’s K-12, not much critical thinking is being taught and it is getting worse by book banning, limiting history and civics classes plus lack of STEM programs BUT still allowing smartphones and laptops ! Just compare with schools across the pond.
Kids in high school always look to the afternoon school sponsored sports activities (so much more fun than the boring morning). It comes as no surprise that our government (federal, state and local) act like it is a sports arena; if you are lucky the winner takes all. Many American politicians, up to the very top, have not learned enough to think critically and are thus unable to serve their constituents, but fighting they do!. Just follow the national and international news (critically) and you will be able to judge for yourselves. But, we need to read more and listen more, otherwise there is noting to think about.
Skibum says
I’m reminded of one of my favorite movies… “Max Dugan Returns”, starring Jason Robards and a teenage Matthew Broderick. Robards is his grandfather, but hides that fact from his grandson while lavishing all sorts of gifts on his daughter and grandson using stolen mob money. At one point in the movie, Robards sits his grandson down and tells him he is going to pay for his college education and wants him to go to a university to study philosophy. Broderick asks him what kind of business his grandfather was in, believing this older man is just a friend of his grandfather who the man said had passed away, so he is helping out the family.
Anyway, the man answers Broderick’s question by telling him that his grandfather was in the business of philosophy. Broderick seems surprised and asks “You can make money from philosophy?” His grandfather replies, “Yes, if you have the right one.”
I always loved that line. Such a great movie too.
Kola says
Man’s wisdom will never compare to God’s wisdom. “There is a way that seems right to man, but it ends in death.”