Can those who study philosophy think differently than others? Are they better thinkers? According to a study, not only are their reasoning more accurate, but they are also more open-minded and curious, indicators that are associated with intelligence.
According to the study, published in the Journal of the American Philosophical Association (“Studying Philosophy Does Make People Better Thinkers“), philosophy students rank higher than all other majors in verbal and logical reasoning. The study’s findings also show that they tend to display more intellectual virtues, such as curiosity about the world and a more open-minded attitude.
Philosophers themselves have always argued that the study of philosophy “sharpens” the mind. They are not wrong, since what distinguishes philosophy from other fields of science is that it does not consist only of static knowledge, but is an activity of learning, a continuous form of search. Studying philosophy means trying to answer fundamental questions about people and the world. It also means constructing logical arguments and drawing unexpected conclusions.
So it makes sense to think that studying philosophy can make people better at thinking.
What did the research show?
In this particular study, it was found that philosophy students perform very well, among other things, on tests that examine how well someone understands, processes, and judges information in language.
Based on the research, those who have studied philosophy are, on average, more thoughtful and more open-minded than those who have not, but this does not prove that philosophy made them better thinkers.
Why is this? Because philosophy as a scientific field may simply attract people who are already good thinkers and want to develop this tendency by studying the subject in which they already have a talent. So, this particular study compared students who studied philosophy with those who did not, at the end of their senior year, even taking into account differences that existed at the beginning.
In total, data from more than 600,000 students were examined, and the analysis showed that, overall, philosophy students scored higher than all other majors on verbal and logical reasoning tests.
What we must not forget is that intellectual virtue is not enough if it is not used at the right time, for the right reasons, in the right ways. So it is all somewhat relative… as a philosopher would say!
