A while back, I got a note from Dr. Elizabeth Radcliffe, chair of the Department of Philosophy at my alma mater, the College of William and Mary. How has philosophy helped my career as a speech professor?
First, a speaker's main job is to spread truth. Although truth often eludes us, careful research and rigorous thinking are the best ways to find it. Philosophy helps out, big-time, because philosophy trains people to think hard, deep, and long.
Second, speakers need to be ethical, and, equally, listeners need to reject unethical speech. Philosophical training in ethics matters a great deal. We cannot always safely rely on our preferences as to what is ethical, as self-interest and intellectual laziness can, in equal amounts, cause us to misunderstand our moral obligations. I always take time for ethical lessons when I teach my classes, and remind my students that the ethical way is not always the easy way.
Philosophy is, by definition, the study of wisdom, and we all need to seek wisdom as hard as we can, even if we might never really find it. In any case, all of my philosophy professors have long since retired or passed away, but I am happy to know that the search for wisdom lives on.
How did I get from philosophy to public speaking? It was actually an easy jump, but I'll save the story for another time.
By the way, Steven Pearlstein has a great article talking about why studying the liberal arts is valuable, and explains that it is a mistake to guide students away from them. Good point.
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