JOBS FOR PHILOSOPHERS:WHY PHILOSOPHY GRADUATES ARE SO

EMPLOYABLE

George MacDonald RossSenior Adviser, PRS Subject Centre

Employability in the Humanities, 23.10.09

23 October 2009 Employability in the Humanities 2

Programme

• General employability skills

• Why humanities, and philosophy in particular, develop these

• Ways universities could improve

• Points for discussion

General employability skills

• Employers’ various lists– Do they say what they mean?

• 1990s’ failed attempt to define ‘graduateness’

• QAA’s Qualifications Frameworks– Good attempt at the impossible– But only true of ‘good’ graduates

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Philosophical skills 1

• Popular (mis)conception that humanities and philosophy are irrelevant

• Education vs. training

• Vocational training is unsuited for general skills

• Graduate jobs for the educated

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Philosophical skills 2

• Examples of skills:– Logical reasoning– Independence of thought– Clarity of thought and expression– Creative imagination– Seeing things from different points of

view

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Philosophical skills 3

• More examples:– Thinking outside the box– Handling uncertainty– Reflective awareness– Ethical approach to decisions

Especially characteristic of philosophy, but also of humanities in general

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Why humanities? 1

• In STEM/vocational disciplines, independent thinking is difficult (though not impossible), because:– Large body of facts, concepts and

techniques to be learned– Professional standards not to be

questioned– Answers to problems unambiguously right

or wrong

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Why humanities? 2

• In humanities independent thinking is easier, because:– Many supposed facts are contestable– Research methods are contestable– Few straight right/wrong answers

• Scope for students to express independence by disagreeing with teachers

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Ways universities could improve 1

• Even in philosophy, general skills not always developed:– Some teachers are didactic, and reward

conformity to their own views– Widespread hostility to the language of

skills as opposed to content– Learning outcomes presuppose conformity

to a norm– Skills development takes time

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Ways universities could improve 2

• Be explicit about skills development

• Reward independent thinking

• Avoid teaching methods that reward memorisation and regurgitation

• Help students to articulate their skills in CVs

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Suggested points for discussion

• Are humanities and STEM/vocational subjects really so different?

• Is it true that philosophy develops general skills more than other disciplines?

• Am I right that the rhetoric of skills development doesn’t match the reality?

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Thank you for participating

George MacDonald Ross

Department of Philosophy,

University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JTg.m.ross@leeds.ac.uk

http://prs.heacademy.ac.uk

http://www.philosophy.leeds.ac.uk/GMR/index.html

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