How did you know grad school for philosophy was right for you?

Anonymous asked: How did you know grad school for philosophy was right for you? If I'm not an exceptional thinker now is this something I can substantially improve upon in grad school?

My educational adventure has been quite a jaunt. I went through high school with a bit of a distaste for school. And by a bit of distaste I mean I couldn’t fucking stand it and the thought of going to college was about as appealing as giant butthole spiders. So I definitely was not an ‘exceptional thinker’ in any conventional sense. Ultimately, though, the decision to put college on hiatus proved to be invaluable for my intellectual path. This gave me the privilege of accruing meaningful life experience, to explore who I was and what I valued. This is why, in my mid-20′s, I decided that I loved learning. And I loved learning philosophy and science in particular. And, much to the chagrin of my spikey-haired, anarchy-emblazoned high school self, it turned out that I really cared about people and the state of the world. Quixotic or not, I wanted to (and still want to) make a difference. 

So I went to college. And my love for philosophy only deepened. So I went to grad school. And it deepened even more. I wouldn’t trade these experiences for anything. My story is not everyone’s story, though. This is just what happened to happen to little ol’ me. At any rate, I can tell you that my ability to think and write and speak, all of these things have improved dramatically over these last several years (at least I like to think so). Going back and reading my undergrad papers is an exercise in humility. It’s really bad. And that’s okay. That’s good, even! Writing and thinking are skills that have to be developed. Just like learning to play the saxophone, or becoming fluent in Spanish or Xhosa, or going to the gym and building up some veiny monstrosities that you call biceps–all these things take years of committed practice. Philosophy is no different. Of course it’s a slow process! It’s hard as heck. ‘The brain is like a muscle,’ said my boy Saggy C. ‘When it is in use we feel very good. Understanding is joyous.’ So keep curling that Carl. Deadlift some Darwin, bench some Beauvoir. And then wash it all down with a protein shake of self-reflection. You don’t need to be an ‘exceptional thinker’ to do philosophy. You can become an exceptional thinker by doing philosophy.* 

Ultimately, there is no way to determine with certainty whether philosophy (or any other pursuit) is the right decision for you. And you don’t want other people deciding for you. There will be unique difficulties no matter what fat purple fig you pull from the branch. I can tell you this with confidence though: pursue your choice with passion and dedication and the odds are very high that you will be exceptional in the right kinds of ways. 

(*Nota bene: there’s nothing to say that doing philosophy will necessarily or automatically make you an exceptional thinker. The history of philosophy is rife with counterexamples to that idea. But it can, perhaps better than any other academic discipline, equip you with the tools to think better. But I am a huge advocate of making your education as eclectic as possible. Dip that philosophy cookie into some psychology milk. Smear some physics peanut butter and biology jelly in between those philosophy buns. Sprinkle some sociology salt on those philosophy fries, and then squirt on some critical theory ketchup. Guard against academic provincialism.)