At a time when everything must be valued according to the price that can be paid for it on the market, philosophy is increasingly being cornered: it is forgotten and undervalued in education policy reforms. However, this does not mean that this educational option is worthless, on the contrary. Studying philosophy means learning skills that will be difficult to develop in other disciplines.

There are many reasons to study philosophy , as long as we are informed about the nature of this source of knowledge. In the following lines we will see the most remarkable ones.

Why study philosophy?

This is a selection of those strengths that the philosophy offers to those people who decide to learn from it. They are not ordered according to a particular criterion, but you can certainly order them in your head by highlighting those that appeal to you the most. If you are wondering why you should study philosophy , it will be very useful to you.

1. Provides better scientific knowledge

Science is a type of method of obtaining knowledge that has proven to be incredibly valuable for centuries. In practice, however, knowing about science does not always mean interpreting the data that its research methods provide.

We often believe that scientific information is given to us by nature and that it conveys an obvious meaning to anyone who knows it, but this is not the case. The philosophy of science allows us to know if certain interpretations of data are adequate or not, if the research methods used allow us to draw the conclusions we want, or even if the hypotheses from which we start are defective.

Thus, training in philosophy is an excellent complement to science-based careers, on the one hand, and also allows for the development of a career as philosophers of science consultants who can guide teams of researchers to review the approaches of their studies.

2. It is suitable for curious minds

Philosophy is the formative career par excellence for curious people, interested in the great questions about life and existence . For example: what do we live for? What can we know? What exists and what does not? How should we behave in order to be good?

In practice, the number of questions of this type that philosophers can ask themselves is infinite and, although they usually do not reach conclusions that completely satisfy their initial curiosity, the hunger to know more and more leads them to order their ideas in an increasingly sophisticated way .

3. Allows the development of constructive criticism

The world is moving more and more by the logics imposed by the market, and that is why it is good to keep a perspotive distant from this system and to raise criticism to those dynamics of relations and trade from which it is so difficult to escape. Philosophy was born precisely for this: to question the most widespread beliefs, those that dominate our minds so much that we do not even consider them beliefs, but absolute truths.

In this way, studying philosophy provides a rational counterpoint that makes it possible to have a different mentality, capable of detecting anomalies where other people cannot, and that therefore makes social change possible.

4. Can be applied to one’s own life

Many of the questions raised by philosophy have personal implications. For example, the existential crisis is not the same if one already has experience in this field , and the same happens with the doubts about how one can act correctly and what type of behaviors should be avoided.

In other words, philosophical activity does not take place on the fringes of personal life; it usually merges into one thing.

5. It helps us to reinterpret the world

Philosophy is not exactly a form of therapy, but it does allow us to arrive at stimulating reflections on our own experiences, the world, personal relationships and everything that surrounds us.

Thus, it makes it easier for us to find alternative ways of interpretation, those that satisfy us the most and allow us to be happy. In the end, since we can never have a totally objective view of reality, it is better to direct our subjectivity towards what brings us closer to happiness and well-being.

6. Allows to detect manipulation attempts

The analysis of discourses is one of the areas in which philosophy is most useful.

Given that both propaganda and advertising are increasingly present in our lives, and taking into account that many times they offer us arguments that seem rational despite the fact that they are actually a bunch of political slogans, philosophy helps us to estimate to what extent certain statements are based on rationality or not.

Detecting these intellectual deceptions before they take root in our minds on the basis of stereotypes and preconceived ideas is very useful for developing a proper perspective on things, one that does not depend on ideologies.