#VoxPopuli | Bachelor of Philosophy and Science
Written by Vaughn Dylan D. Ramos
Greetings and good day! My name is Vaughn Dylan D. Ramos and I am applying for a job opening under your research department as a Research Associate. I am a fresh graduate from the University of the Philippines — Diliman, with a major in BS Applied Physics, and minors in BA Philosophy and BA Sociology. I had recently come in for my job interview and, if I may, I would like to share some thoughts regarding its proceedings.
I had emailed my curriculum vitae and other qualifications a week prior to the interview, and as it began, I was immediately questioned regarding my degree. The gentleman interviewing me was confused as to why I had taken up philosophy and sociology, when clearly the other contents of my curriculum vitae show a mastery in physics. He mentioned that I would perhaps be better off had I taken purely scientific courses, and I merely smiled and responded by saying that the humanities still mattered to me. But why, you ask? Why would the humanities matter to someone well-versed in science, and why should my opinion regarding these subjects matter to this company? Well, I am about to explain how so, and I trust that after this essay, you will agree with me in my sentiments.
I would like to begin by explaining how studying and valuing the humanities have affected me as a scientist thus far. A study by Reiter (2017) describes the role of the humanities simply as a means to “provide balance and perspective” (p.6). She also expounds that “the focus must not only be on educating our students, but helping our students to learn how to learn” (p.27). To put it simply, the latter of the two quotes already explains how it has affected me. Studying sociology and philosophy have taught me that there is more to research and science than numbers and laboratories.
Sociology is the study of the collective behavior, functioning, and development of social institutions and organized groups. It delves into the analysis of societies and societal problems brought about in these modern times. Where other students look into the gaps in theoretical and practical physics to look for research and thesis topics, I find my inspiration in this field of sociology. The ultimate goal of science, after all, is to help society improve and develop, and what better way is there to develop society than to learn about its problems first hand and then find the solutions in science.
Philosophy on the other hand, is the study of general and fundamental problems, primarily those relating to reality, existence, knowledge, reason, and the mind. It asks what some would call “the truly important questions in life”, and it aims to give meaning and purpose behind existence. It does not only analyze the meaning of existence for us humans, but it also does so for science. In fact, a sub-field in psychology called the “philosophy of science” is centered on the foundations, methods, and implications of science. Rather than trying to explain the world itself, this field aims to explain why and how we should explain the world (Godfrey-Smith, 2003).
Philosophy also most usually comes hand in hand with scientific pursuit. This is exemplified by the history and contributions of scholars such as Aristotle, Rene Descartes, and Karl Popper. Aristotle is known best by most as arguably the founder of both science and the philosophy of science. His studies, albeit under informed due to his early existence, paved the way for all sorts of fields of specialization, from physics all the way to psychology. Descartes is a mathematician and philosopher known for revolutionizing modern philosophy with his breaks from the Scholastic-Aristotelian philosophy. Popper, on the other hand, was not a physicist nor a mathematician like the other two, but he also analyzed and criticized the way scientists should do things. He believed that falsifiability should be the methodology of scientists, always keeping a skeptical eye and seeking to properly falsify scientific claims to further develop the pursuit of knowledge (Thornton, 2019). These great minds prove that one must study the meaning behind science in order to bring out its full potential.
Up to this point, I have merely described the fields of the humanities that I closely link to science, but why does all this matter? It matters because in the grand scheme of things, I personally do not believe that this, or any company will survive, much less thrive as a business without a touch of the humanities to guide it. Marketing products and research will be much easier with business majors at the forefront. Analyzing and executing financial strategies will be more efficient with the guidance of economists. Advertising nationally and internationally will be more effective under communication students. Finally, choosing the correct things to research about to be able to make studies that may actually help society will be easier with the help of people like me. People who are able to discern the problems of society, find meaningful ways to solve them scientifically, and execute them through research and experiments successfully.
Sincerely,
Vaughn Dylan D. Ramos
References:
Reiter, C. M. (2017). 21st Century Education: The Importance of the Humanities in Primary Education in the Age of STEM. Senior Theses and Capstone Projects, 1–30. Retrieved from https://scholar.dominican.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1086&context=senior-theses
Godfrey-Smith, P. (2003). The philosophy of science. Retrieved from https://undsci.berkeley.edu/article/philosophy
Thornton, S. (2019). Karl Popper. In The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2019). Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University. Retrieved from https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2019/entries/popper
