Studying Western philosophy - useful?

SattvaPaul

I don't have much direction in life, in terms of work or having long-term goals, so I figured I could do a degree in something. I like philosophy, learning & arguing, so I thought I could do undergraduate course in philosophy. I'm just concerned about whether it's useful at all? Sure I could gain a lot of "transferable" skills, but I have concerns about studying Western dualistic philosophy which I see a bit as "mental masturbation". It puzzles me why on the course doesn't seem to even touch Eastern philosophy.

Anyone here with philosophy degree? Did you find it useful for your development in the Dharma?

Paul

TheJourney

I'm taking a philosophy class right now. Learning is gooooooooooood. Don't get caught up in buddhism as if it's the sole holder of the truth. You must learn to see the truth in all things. If they thought it, there was truth to it. Find the truth.

SattvaPaul

Yeah I'm a bit afraid that studying may take me further into head-stuff and may even de-construct my Buddhist world-view and I'll end up being even a bigger nihilist than I am now

P.

TheJourney

If you truly believe in buddhism, use it as your glasses. See the world through the lens of buddhism. I promise you you can understand western philosophy through a buddhist lens. I see the entire world in terms of something very similar to buddhism. If you truly understand it you will see it everywhere. I'm not saying you have to be there yet, I'm just saying it's there. Enjoy the journey! Don't feel that there's anything you have to do or believe. It's totally up to you. And I mean that very literally. I promise you there is nothing bad that will happen if you fall out of the lines of buddhism. There is not even anything wrong with it. I'm not saying you should, i'm just saying don't feel pressure. People hold themselves back because they think that they "must" do or believe something. You don't. You're perfect right now.

SattvaPaul

I know. But I think we need a certain world-view, which serves as a kind of container for our practice, and I'm still working it out.

P.

DhammaDhatu

Have you considered studying to help others, like counselling, psychology, acupunture, osteopathy, etc,?

TheJourney

I masturbation of any type. hahahaha

SattvaPaul

Have you considered studying to help others, like counselling, psychology, acupunture, osteopathy, etc,

Yes, I would like to learn something practical to help others. I don't have money to do a course in anything except in uni (student loan). Counselling seems interesting... Not too keen on psychology, I see it mainly as studying human behaviour.

I am basically at a loss on what to do with my life in the long term.. This may be due to depression, and I think I am a "misfit", but I don't want to waste more time, and there's the question of having to earn a living...

P.

SattvaPaul

I masturbation of any type. hahahaha</p>

NOT another masturbation thread :hair:

DhammaDhatu

I am basically at a loss on what to do with my life in the long term.. This may be due to depression, and I think I am a "misfit", but I don't want to waste more time, and there's the question of having to earn a living...

Gardening/design? Landscaping/design? Something outdoors & physical may help with depression.

Sorry. I am making the thread lose its focus.

How do you see yourself earning a living from philosophy?

Thanks

SattvaPaul

Gardening/design? Landscaping/design? Something outdoors & physical may help with depression.

Sorry. I am making the thread lose its focus.

How do you see yourself earning a living from philosophy?

Thanks

Your suggestions are appreciated, DD.

I suppose I could go into teaching, or work for a think-tank? Or continue and do masters in Buddhist studies. I don't know.. That's one reason I'm hesitating, it's not obvious what one can do after philosophy.

I suppose I just want to do something interesting/engaging and work towards some goal. Besides, I don't have a any degree and want one.

DhammaDhatu

Buddha taught it is ideal to do what we enjoy. Buddha advised for success, to have chanda (enjoyment) is the first factor.

buddhajunkie

Can you elaborate on why you aren't interested in psychology? I think it would be a fascinating complement to Buddhism.

Also, I get the feeling you're a bit prejudicial against philosophy. Perhaps you should take a few intro classes before you write if off?

Other suggestions:

Religious studies -- would give some insight into the ways that different practices satisfy different human desires.

Economics -- from what I've seen, Buddhists tend to find this discipline distasteful. I think that's a pity. Much suffering can be alleviated through better economic policy and better understanding of economics.


btw, phil, rstud and econ are impressive degrees because they are somewhat tough disciplines.

Simonthepilgrim

@sattvapaul:

It really does depend on which philosophy course you choose. They are not all the same. After all, there are many different schools of philosophy. My own training was on the French model and, thus, completely ignored the then-fashionable logical positivism that I encountered when I got to Oxford.

I became and have remained a 'Spinozan'. The mental training that came from studying his work and, in particular, the Ethics has helped me enormously in many areas of life. In particular, it has enabled me to find a balance between study and reflection, reading and meditation, service and celebration. When, many years later, I encountered many sutras, they rang familiar.

Study the prospectus. Choose your teachers with care. If I were to be looking at reading philosophy again, I would probably choose to go (if possible) to a college with an Enlightenment-based syllabus - if such still exist - one where the Socratic method, similar to much of the Buddha's technique, is still in use.

Following DD's comment about chanda, I am still fond and foolish enough to believe that universities should not be the same as vocational training schools or Chicago-style meat-packing factories for the job market. Philosophy is among the small group of ancient disciplines and has survived even the onslaughts of the mara of market-place slavery. It may not qualify you for a job but it will help fit you to lead the good life.

Ada_B

I'm working towards a Masters in Philosophy (I should be currently reading about concepts of Freedom and writing an essay, LOL).

Philosophy is a fascinating subject to study, and a useful degree to have (philosphy graduates work in many different fields). And studying anything you enjoy can have a positive effect on depression. However, I wouldn't say that studying philosophy per se is a cure for depression - actually, some of it would have the opposite effect if you were feeling vulnerable.

Personally, I'm a fan of education to give you direction in life, make new friends, have new experiences... it's great. I did my degree via distance-learning, though the UK's Open University, but many universities are now doing such courses. It can be a fantastic thing to do.

I wouldn't narrow your choices too much at the start though, if you can help it - better to do a general foundation course to start with, and if you can, try out a couple of other subjects because often you don't know you like something until you try. I started out with social science with my degree, intending to do sociology, but it turned out I hated sociology and loved politics and philosophy. So I switched.

All the best whatever you decide.

SattvaPaul

Can you elaborate on why you aren't interested in psychology? I think it would be a fascinating complement to Buddhism.

Also, I get the feeling you're a bit prejudicial against philosophy. Perhaps you should take a few intro classes before you write if off?

Other suggestions:

Religious studies -- would give some insight into the ways that different practices satisfy different human desires.

Economics -- from what I've seen, Buddhists tend to find this discipline distasteful. I think that's a pity. Much suffering can be alleviated through better economic policy and better understanding of economics.


btw, phil, rstud and econ are impressive degrees because they are somewhat tough disciplines.

I am a big fan of Jung and his work, but it seems to me that nowadays psychology is mostly about studying human behaviour, so I think it's quite superficial. And (correct me if I'm wrong), it is based on scientific materialism as a starting assumption, a world-view which I don't subscribe to.

Philosophy seems to have some very good stuff in it, but again, if I were to look (in the West) for a deeper understanding of human nature and the nature of life, I'd be more inclined to look at Western mysticism rather than philosophy (of course there's some overlap between the two as well).

Religious studies - perhaps, though I have many doubts here too.

Economics - definitely not for me :skeptic:

But thanks for your suggestions.

SattvaPaul

@sattvapaul:

It really does depend on which philosophy course you choose. They are not all the same. After all, there are many different schools of philosophy. My own training was on the French model and, thus, completely ignored the then-fashionable logical positivism that I encountered when I got to Oxford.

I became and have remained a 'Spinozan'. The mental training that came from studying his work and, in particular, the Ethics has helped me enormously in many areas of life. In particular, it has enabled me to find a balance between study and reflection, reading and meditation, service and celebration. When, many years later, I encountered many sutras, they rang familiar.

Study the prospectus. Choose your teachers with care. If I were to be looking at reading philosophy again, I would probably choose to go (if possible) to a college with an Enlightenment-based syllabus - if such still exist - one where the Socratic method, similar to much of the Buddha's technique, is still in use.

Following DD's comment about chanda, I am still fond and foolish enough to believe that universities should not be the same as vocational training schools or Chicago-style meat-packing factories for the job market. Philosophy is among the small group of ancient disciplines and has survived even the onslaughts of the mara of market-place slavery. It may not qualify you for a job but it will help fit you to lead the good life.

Thank you Simon. The prospectus says that the uni "boasts leading academics in both the analytic and the continental traditions of Western philosophy". So it seems to cover both.

I am also a fan of Spinoza, and agree about your comments on the role of universities.