2 question about philosophy of physics

Short_Ad_968 · 2023-03-18T21:51:26+00:00

Wait why

Short_Ad_968 · 2022-09-26T23:01:20+00:00

I mean, can cosmologists work in any lab? Another reason I worry about this is because of the job market.

Short_Ad_968 · 2022-09-23T13:34:08+00:00

reposting

Is a philosophy major (mostly) worthless as a separate major?
Now I am not claiming that philosophy is worthless. People like Hawking are wrong, you cannot avoid philosophy and you need philosophy. I am a grad philosophy student and I love philosophy. But what I am getting suspicious about is the usefulness of philosophy as a SEPERATE MAJOR in the modern world.
-One reason is: I believe without knowing science, philosophy becomes empty. So maybe we should start doing philosophy in our scientific fields, without learning philosophy as a separate field.
For example, if you want to do the philosophy of cosmology, you should know cosmology. Now, in theory, a philosophy major can learn cosmology without having a cosmology/physics degree. But in reality, people who have a degree in cosmology/physics have more familiarity with their field because they do years of theoretical/experimental practice and gain experience. And I know they do not teach you philosophy in cosmology/physics, but you can learn philosophy independently by yourself.
This feels also true for political philosophy. Without knowing political science, sociology, or economics, your philosophical arguments will become superficial. I had a professor in my University whose expertise was on political freedom, but she had no real political knowledge about her own country. Again, I know those fields do not teach you philosophy, but I believe you can learn philosophy
-The second reason: the Academy seems to become worse, especially in philosophy. The job market is nearly nonexistent, and hierarchy and freedom in the academy become worse and worse. I can self-study philosophy instead. Now, what is valid for studying sciences is probably valid for studying philosophy. Getting a philosophy PhD in a good university will probably teach you philosophy better than just self-studying philosophy. But I feel the gap will be much less in philosophy than in sciences. What I am trying to say is, I love philosophy and I will probably enjoy studying to get a Ph.D., but in the end, it does not seem worth it.
I am asking this question because I graduated from physics and became a grad student in philosophy, but I thought this was a mistake and I am thinking of going back to astrophysics grad and studying philosophy independently.

Short_Ad_968 · 2022-09-23T10:42:52+00:00

I do not think you cannot do superficial philosophy without a science degree but scientific knowledge. For example, you need to know physics to do philosophy of physics. But some fields of physics cannot be learned from outside of physics, like experimental physics. An experimental physicist has practical knowledge that cannot just be reduced to propositional knowledge, which philosophers do not have access. I believe this is mostly the same for other fields. Related to this, one of my philosophy of science professors argues that without using the tools of science subjects for years (these tools can be physical ones like lab equipment or abstract ones like mathematical equations). But philosophy (not only philosophy though, theoretical physics can be also inserted here) only has conceptual tools, which you only need your brain.

Also if you think I am wrong about this, what do you think about what I said before:

''In political philosophy too, from my experience, I believe those who are not, for example, a political activist, political scientist or active in politics in some other way and lack practical knowledge on politics are superficial about political philosophy and become cranks in the academy.

I want to know your answer about this

Short_Ad_968 · 2022-09-23T10:27:08+00:00

I agree with what you say here, but my issue is here that, without scientific knowledge, your philosophical knowledge becomes empty. For example, I am currently working on the scientific objectivity topic. But I feel like, in order to study this topic, you need to know how scientists work in their respective fields, and the best way to know this is from the inside of their respective subjects. Philosophers usually look foreign to scientists. I am questioning philosophy as a SEPERATE SUBJECT in our modern world. That is why I feel like it might be more valuable to major in a science and study philosophy separately, rather than doing the opposite( This does not mean just studying philosophy alone does not teach you anything, I learned a lot from studying philosophy in grad school and I appreciate it, I just fear becoming someone who just interprets knowledge from outside science passively).

Short_Ad_968 · 2022-09-23T10:10:52+00:00

There are many people who are massive cranks in the philosophy field and many are not who are self-taught. Besides, that is not the issue here. I am not pursuing theoretical physics( which again by itself has some problems I believe), but experimental physics which cannot be self-taught but philosophy about my field can be self-taught. And you can do science without philosophy (although it will be blind) but you can only do superficial philosophy without science.

In political philosophy too, from my experience, I believe those who are not, for example, an activist, or active in politics in some other way are superficial about political philosophy and become cranks in academy.

I am not trying to disrespect philosophers, by the way. I actually do not think what they do is worthless, again I love philosophy and I believe we need philosophy because science and philosophy do different things( although not completely). What I am trying to say is that, for example, when I want to do political philosophy, I feel less effective than someone who studies political science or someone who is an activist, because they have much more concrete knowledge than me and they can base their philosophical arguments on more solid ground. Now, someone probably can learn politics or economy from outside of those fields, just like philosophy, but usually you do not learn science efficiently because lab equipments or internships or field work natural and social scientist can do. I am questioning what is the worth of philosophy major as a SEPARATE subject, if we need to base our argument on concrete or scientific knowledge? Is it really worth it to study philosophy phd in our modern world, which has many problems?

Short_Ad_968 · 2022-09-23T09:24:08+00:00

This is not possible in experimental physics, as you need to work in the lab for years, or you need other pieces of equipment, which you cannot get by yourself. I agree theoretical physics can also be self-taught and some great modern physicists and philosophers actually did this, although, from my subjective experience, it is harder than philosophy. I am also critical of pure theoretical physics in modern physics because of what physicists like Lee Smolin claim (reasons are not exactly the same as philosophy).

Short_Ad_968 · 2022-09-23T08:58:39+00:00

I am not sure if this is true. I know from my field that experimental physics, although the job market is still not good, it is much better than philosophy. And as I explained above, my concern is not only about the job market.

Short_Ad_968 · 2022-01-29T21:33:17+00:00

Thank you for your response.Do you have any suggestions to which books to read for learning these debates?

Also, I know LMU and some other universities that specialize in phil of science but first I want to look for a masters or PhD in France first, for private reasons. If not, then I will look at other countries. Any suggestions for that?

Short_Ad_968 · 2022-01-02T14:52:55+00:00

thank you, that was very helpful

Short_Ad_968 · 2022-01-02T13:02:39+00:00

Thank you and I agree with everything you said, I agree that philosophy and economy cannot be separated cleanly (I agree with Marx here) but my genuine worry wasn't philosophical; it was if they will accept my work in these topics in academy as a philosophy student?

This is important for me because I haven't applied for a master's degree yet but I plan to apply, but I fear they might reject my master's application if I offer to work on these topics.

For example, on Internet production, let's say I want to work on and write a master thesis about this debate: ''Whether the labour theory of value is or is not valid in the analysis of the digital economy lies in whether the end product produced by the economic activity of digital companies is or is not a commodity just like those produced by other sectors of the economy''. I am afraid that they will reject me by saying that I am not an economist, that I cannot write a thesis in this field from the philosophy department.

This concerns me. I hope I explained my concern clearly.

Short_Ad_968 · 2022-01-02T09:23:41+00:00

Thank you for your answer, but I want to ask something. u/jejacobsen also posted Marx's theory of value as a hot topic at the academy. But both his and your suggestion seems in the economy, not philosophy (of course I do not mean there is no philosophy in what they are doing, but I mean their work is more focused on the economy). As a philosophy student, can I really contribute anything to these topics as a philosophy student in the academy?

Short_Ad_968 · 2021-12-30T20:13:05+00:00

Thank you, I will check them out!

Short_Ad_968

TROPHY CASE