1. You will always have some insightful quote that could be used to break the ice in awkward social situations.
Whether it's running into a professor at Publix the morning after a long night at Midtown, or trying to find ANYTHING to talk about with that girl from your class, awkward social situations are the worst. No one wants to be the one sitting there twiddling their thumbs, only to mutter "uhhh... so what's your major?" These nightmarish conversations can be make or break situations that can leave a lasting impression. Instead of a generic "did you catch the game last night?" or "Man, I got a case of the Mondays!" Hit them with a philosophical quote that will surely have them mind-boggled for the rest of the day. Something like "The only thing I know is that I know nothing" can EASILY be quoted when you are called on in class.
2. You will win more arguments between you and your roommates.
It's finals week. You have one more exam and then you're home free for summer break. It's the fourth quarter and you only have one last drive left in you. Stocked up on red bull and microwave ramen, you're all set to pull an all nighter for that last exam. Right when you're about to get focused, your roommates who just finished their exams, come in and announce plans for pregame and go out in a few hours. Knowing that you won't be able to concentrate with the noise, you realize that this pregame cannot happen at your apartment tonight. However, you're not going to win your argument with just a "I need to study but I hate going to the library." With classes that hone in on your reasoning and logical thinking skills, you'll be have the tools necessary to tear up any flawed argument. When you're done explaining your reasoning, I guarantee your roommate will be stumbling into his or her room, wondering where the pregame will happen instead.
3. You will develop great critical thinking skills.
What exactly is critical thinking? We all throw this skill around on resumes and cover letters, and heard about it as early as high school, when preparing for those dreadful standardized tests and SATs. In a nutshell, critical thinking is simply making judgments based off good reasoning and well thought out ideas and theories. I can tell you right now, you probably won't get an A on your next essay if you try o write with poor critical thinking skills. Critical thinking allows quickly and effectively based on information that, at times, may be difficult to understand or may even be incomplete. Employers often look for potential employees with developed critical thinking skills who can think on their feet and make well thought out decisions efficiently and effectively.
4. Your classes will have more engaging discussions than boring lectures.
No. Boring. Lectures. 'Nuff said, right? In case you need more explaining: philosophy is an organism that thrives on the sharing of ideas. Imagine how far philosophy would have advanced if Plato kept work like the Allegory of the Cave to himself. Through discussion, students (and sometimes even professors) see philosophical issues through a new lens. Students learn to think outside the box, and see philosophical topics in a new light. Plus, through actively discussing the text and material from class, students are more likely to engage and participate. Plus, those discussions make retaining the information a whole lot easier. Better than listening to your professor drone on for 2 hours, am I right?
5. Your writing will flow more naturally.
Writing is something that people either truly hate or truly love. Unfortunately, we can only do so much to avoid writing in college. Eventually, even those of us who hate writing with a burning passion will have to write some annoying, long paper, such as a research essay on the reproduction of plants. Yuck. As dreadful as that sounds, why not expedite the process of writing? Writing for philosophy is unique because unlike writing a research essay, the focus is more locked onto your own original ideas and arguments. Rather than reporting and analyzing facts and data, most philosophy papers are centered on arguing for or against a philosophical text or idea. Getting into the habit of writing more opinionated essays will pay off. This will help develop a voice within your writing, making writing feel more natural. Also, writing all these opinionated essays will help with lowering a writer's tendency to look towards outside sources like Wikipedia for material, and help writers rely more on their own original thoughts and ideas. These thoughts and ideas will flow from the mind to the paper, making writing seem like less of a burden. Writing an essay will go from being such a long and tortuous ordeal, to a simple routine.
6. You will reach a new level of understanding.
Now I'm not saying that you'll wake up after the completion of a philosophy class feeling like Socrates or Kant, I will say that you will feel more enlightened. Even in non-academic settings, philosophy has impacted students' decision making and ethical values. Classes like moral philosophy help cultivate character, which leads to the development of more mature and ethically aware students on campus. Apart from a moral and ethical standpoint, philosophy is simply a study of life, reality, knowledge and existence. There are few wrong answers, with a better understanding of philosophy comes a better understanding of life itself.
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