My Mistakes, vol.1

Not since Mike Dukakis left the corner office.

Of course, if John Kerry is elected President, the whole country will become Taxachusetts.

 

As long as Ted Kennedy doen't drive him to the airport.


Of course to get to Logan you go through a tunnel and not over a bridge, probalby safe anyway.

 

Philosophy is a big subject, as you know. What kind of philosophy are you interested in?

While DL programs in philosophy proper are extremely rare, there are quite a few programs in cognate subjects that might satisfy some philosopical interests.

A person (like me) with an interest in the philosophy of religion might be interested in one of the many flavors of DL religious studies or perhaps in something like transpersonal psychology.

An interest in the philosophy of mind might correlate with a psychology program.

Political philosophy might be satisfied by a history program. Obviously the philosophy of history would be relevant here: you could write a thesis on some philosophical aspect of historiography or something.

And obviously hordes of philosophy students go on to study law. The 'Philosophical Gourmet Report' has a whole section on studying philosophy in law school. Of course, there isn't really a lot to choose from in accredited DL law. So that might not help much.

Assuming that species of DL actually exists. It sounds like crypto-zoology to me.

Hardcore major-league academic philosophy is one of those fields where a graduate degree really isn't a first degree. It's more like physics in that respect than it's like an MBA or J.D. program, where people often enter with backgrounds in anything.

So perhaps you should consider doing the bachelors, or at least accumulate the coursework equivalent to a major. Most graduate programs will probably expect it.

If you already have a strong background in philosophy from independent study or whatever, the U. of London exams might be considerably easier for you. That might be a viable alternative.

Here's a question: Why do you want a degree in the first place? Do you intend to actually use it in some way? Or do you simply want to philosophize?

If you intend to teach, you must already know philosophy hiring at the university level is extremely competitive. Only a few jobs open up each year and people from all over the country fly in to compete for them. An obscure DL degree might not cut it when you are going up against the Berkeley graduates with recommendations by bigtime figures. If you want to teach, bite the bullet and try to get into a prominent full-time on-campus doctoral program. Many offer financial aid to their graduate students. Of course, if you have a family and a business, that's a pretty tough decision.

But if you just want to study philosophy avocationally for personal interest, then why do you need a degree in the first place? For what? Everyone on Degreeinfo seems to be madly chasing doctorates, and I don't really know why in some cases. Would a non-degree or even non-credit option work for you? If you aren't going to be a professional academic, do you really need to be a Ph.D.?

If I were you, I'd give consideration to doing a second bachelors from the U. of London external programme. Perhaps you could supplement it with tutoring from Pathways. That would give you an opportunity to continue exercising your philosophical muscles and to interact with other philosophers, it wouldn't demand the time commitment that a doctoral program would, and it would position you down the line for formal hard-core philosophy graduate study once your business is up and running smoothly. You needn't feel that you are burning any bridges by choosing it.

 

Thanks for the suggestions Bill. Right now I'm just soaking it all in and trying to make a decision. Fortunately, there's no rush because I've got a few other things to do in the meantime.
Jack

 

Hi Jack: Others have conveyed in better words than mine my own sentiments about your situation. I wish you all the best as you shift focus and look forward to your continued insistence on honesty and integrity in this forum. Unlike some, you have not lied or pandered or flummered or attacked to cover up choices that did not pan out. Like me, you have had to come to terms with limitations in background and/or ability. I am sure that you will eventually find the program or sequence of programs that can give you what you want. Adaptability and cussedness will take you far.

 

I wanted to comment on the MA to PhD transition. I found my MA program at Antioch to be a very good transition degree in terms of research to prepare me for the doctorate. The MA required a thesis and many of the courses I took were research focused. This preparation help immeasurably and I belive that if I had taken just a course based masters degree my success in the doctoral program could have easily turned into a failure or else taken a lot longer.

John

 

Interesting observations about philosophy and law. I had something like a minor in philosophy when I went to law school. It was excellent preparation for legal analysis, maybe better than hard science or engineering would have been because the law requires comfort with ambiguity and compromise, something not really tolerated in the hard science world.

However, I think that a genuine philosopher would find the law to be frustrating because, unlike philosophy, law as a profession considers the details of each case to be of overwhelming importance whereas the philosopher is interested in teasing out a universal rule from thought and observation. Law DOES concern itself with universal rules, to be sure, but not as a matter of routine.

Of course , there is the field of "philosophy of law" but in the U.S. this is usually treated as a branch of philosophy, not law.

 

I think that you already know this, but for anyone else interested in graduate programs in Philosophy...
The University of Wales - Lampeter offers several taught masters programs that can be taken at a distance, and that don't require an undergraduate degree in Philosophy. Link
Good luck with whatever you decide.

Tony

 

I have been thinking, Jack, that since you were working on a doctorate in social work (clinical, I assume) and since you like philosophy, you might be interested in philosophical counseling.

Here is a good site. Take care and again, good luck and blessings.

P.S. I forgot to share this:

http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&q=Philosophical+Counseling