Is it worth choosing Philosophy for a college choice?

[MKR&*42]

Ok,

So I went to a college open morning today - it's been like..the only college I've wanted to go to and I absolutely loved it! The facilities, the ranges of courses available.. just, everything!

I've had 4/5 subjects stuck in my mind which I want to do in college (They recommend we start applying in 3 months xL) but I'm not sure if it's really worth it. I do know you can only do a maximum of 4 so I scrapped GCSE Spanish and here are the ones I want to do;

. Psychology
. Sociology
. Critical Thinking
. Philosophy

IF I get into that college, and those courses don't clash - is Philosophy really worth doing? I read on the course information sheet that you need a B in English Language and Maths, which would mean I'd have to work harder xL = More stress = Go mental, and I'm not sure whether it's worthwhile or not?

* No I don't have a clue what I want to do in the future, I just know what I want to study in college and after that I'll be stuck.

So, has anyone chosen philosophy or has an opinion on this? XL

[Chippiewill]

Philosophy is about 90% essays and almost entirely logic based, if you're good at problem solving and picking apart arguments then it's a pretty decent subject to do. But if you struggle with that kind of thing steer well clear. Philosophy also requires a very good ability in reading, a lot of the pre-1900s philosophical theories are written a style which could only be described as.. dense, picking out all the information and implications is a tricky proposition.

Philosophy could be regarded in a way as applied critical thinking and involves bits of psychology within also so if you're going for those then philosophy certainly isn't a bad choice.

[MKR&*42]

I do know you can only do a maximum of 4

I forgot, I can do 5 if I get a certain amount of A's at school. So far, with my current grades I think.. if I improved 1 more grade I could do 5 subjects, but 5 subjects = too much.

And Thanks Chippiewill for your advice

[beth]

5 subjects is hard work, i did 5 and really struggled til i dropped one. also anything is "WORTH" taking if you like that subject.

[Oleh]

Isn't it something stupid like "what colour is the wall" "green" *flips light off" "what colour is it now" "green" *flips light on* "what colour is it now" "green"


That's what I've heard from people who took it at GCSE.

Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong

[Chippiewill]

Isn't it something stupid like "what colour is the wall" "green" *flips light off" "what colour is it now" "green" *flips light on* "what colour is it now" "green"

Well that doesn't really make sense but I'm guessing it stems from one of the theories of perception debating whether different people perceive the same colour differently. Look up veil of perception if you're interested.

Philosophy is about debating and arguing about which we cannot empirically (Scientifically) observe.

[Recursion]

5 subjects is hard work, i did 5 and really struggled til i dropped one. also anything is "WORTH" taking if you like that subject.

Except:
Media
Photography
ICT

Isn't it something stupid like "what colour is the wall" "green" *flips light off" "what colour is it now" "green" *flips light on* "what colour is it now" "green"


That's what I've heard from people who took it at GCSE.

Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong

How do you prove the wall is green? How do you prove the spectrum of light that makes it green?

I took Ethics at A Level (a lot like Philosophy) and jesus is it difficult. A lot more difficult than you're making out

[beth]

Except:
Media
Photography
ICT



How do you prove the wall is green? How do you prove the spectrum of light that makes it green?

I took Ethics at A Level (a lot like Philosophy) and jesus is it difficult. A lot more difficult than you're making out

tom behave yrself, if you want to do a career in media or ict then of course taking media/ict is important. bet you wanted to put drama there too and remembered i do acting
photography i consider as a hobby rather than a career (unless you can make money from it ALL the time, which is hard), but if you enjoy it and you want to do it, then why not? it's yr life, don't live it to please others.

[Inseriousity.]

You don't say what you'd choose to do if you don't choose Philosophy.

While I've never done it, I wouldn't say you'd be discredited for taking an 'soft' option (although I personally hate this attitude) if you did take it if that's what you're worried about. Philosophy is very tricky to get right. You have the option to drop a subject after your 1st year so if you take it and find out it's not to your liking, you could always drop it.

[MKR&*42]

You don't say what you'd choose to do if you don't choose Philosophy.

Hmm, I suppose I Would have with my original choice which was GCSE Spanish. We never got offered GCSE Spanish at our school, and to go straight into an A level for Spanish is ridiculous - on the GCSE Course, you can switch to a AS level in year 2 though.

Yeah, that's what I would do if I couldn't do philosophy.