[Career review] “Philosophy academia” by Arden Koehler, William MacAskill

Some of the most important questions that arise for people trying to make the world a better place are philosophical. What does it mean to live a worthwhile life? What are our obligations to future generations? And how do we decide what to do when we are uncertain about the answers to these questions?

Narrated by AI.

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Outline:

(00:10) Summary

(02:03) Pros

(02:23) Cons

(02:51) Key facts on fit

(03:14) Next steps

(04:31) Sometimes recommended

(04:41) Review status

(04:46) What this is based on

(05:13) What is this career path?

(07:21) Reasons to do a PhD in philosophy

(07:26) You can do important research

(07:31) Ideas matter

(08:52) Global priorities research

(11:33) Research on artificial intelligence

(13:23) You might be able to become a public intellectual

(16:10) Being a philosopher allows for a great deal of intellectual freedom

(17:28) Reasons not to do a PhD in philosophy

(17:33) Chances of success are low

(20:49) The transferable career capital you gain is relatively poor

(24:49) Career incentives often do not support impact

(27:15) Is this path for you?

(29:14) Testing your fit for philosophy

(31:08) What are the best alternatives?

(32:07) Earnings

(33:15) I've decided to go into philosophy. What should I do?

(33:34) Getting in to the strongest programme you can

(35:01) Choosing a programme

(38:48) During your PhD

(40:48) What if you've already done (or are currently doing) a PhD in philosophy?

(43:01) Options outside academia

(44:44) Should you do an undergraduate degree in philosophy?

(45:59) Enjoy this career review?

(46:11) Learn more

(46:14) Top recommendations

(46:33) Further recommendations

(47:40) 80,000 Hours podcast episodes

The original text contained 12 footnotes which were omitted from this narration.

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First published:
August 7th, 2019

Source:
https://80000hours.org/career-reviews/philosophy-academia

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.