Philosophy majors rank higher than other majors on verbal and logical reasoning and display greater intellectual virtues such as curiosity and open-mindedness. Philosophy is characterized as an activity of inquiry that emphasizes constructing logical arguments, drawing subtle distinctions, and testing ideas against critical scrutiny. Evidence includes strong performance on tests like the GRE and LSAT and survey findings indicating higher reflectiveness and open-mindedness among those who have studied philosophy. To address selection effects, comparisons adjust for baseline differences present at college entry by controlling SAT scores and initial Higher Education Research Institute survey responses, comparing outcomes at the end of the senior year.
What sets philosophy apart from other fields is that it is not so much a body of knowledge as an activity - a form of inquiry. Doing philosophy involves trying to answer fundamental questions about humanity and the world we live in and subjecting proposed answers to critical scrutiny: constructing logical arguments, drawing subtle distinctions and following ideas to their ultimate - often surprising - conclusions.
Students who major in philosophy perform very well on tests such as the Graduate Record Examination and Law School Admission Test. Studies, including our own, have found that people who have studied philosophy are, on average, more reflective and more open-minded than those who haven't. Yet this doesn't necessarily show that studying philosophy makes people better thinkers. Philosophy may just attract good thinkers.
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