[Opinion] Resurrection of Philosophy

According to a New York Times report, philosophy is gaining popularity among university students in the United States. The report said on Sunday that some 322 students, double the figure of six years ago, are majoring in philosophy at the City University of New York. An analysis of the LSAT (Law School Admission Test) scores show that in the average score, philosophy major applicants ranked second. Physics majors topped the list.

In the United States, the LSAT is an exemplary exam that can test the applicants’ ability to think logically and analytically. The aforementioned statistics confirm that studying philosophy is one of the most proper ways to foster these abilities. American students favor studying philosophy not just for the pragmatic reason that it helps get good LSAT scores, but to take it as a compass in their uncertain future. It is in the same context that the humanities course for CEOs at Seoul National University, which opened last year, was more popular than anyone had expected. The CEOs who took the course said they have learned the wisdom of management through studying Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason.

One can also observe the resurrection of philosophy in Korea’s university admissions. Competition rates for the philosophy department rose in top universities in this year’s admissions procedures. University staff point out that this phenomenon is not irrelevant to the opening of law schools in March next year. They say many students choose to major in philosophy because it will be helpful for entering a law school, since the current law departments will be closed along with the beginning of law schools. Whatever the reasons are, it is a respectable change.

In July, the XXII World Congress of Philosophy, also called the Olympics of Philosophy, will be held in Seoul. Since its establishment in 1900, the Congress has been held in Europe only. This is the first time it opens in a non-European region. The theme is “Rethinking Philosophy Today.” Though philosophy is a classic field of study, it is facing such a risk that it needs to be rethought. But to be more exact, does it sound more right to say that philosophy has always been there while the people of the modern times forgot its value as they were being blinded by the current of the times? Philosophy will always be there as long as people do not stop to be a species with the ability to think. I hope that the XXII World Congress of Philosophy will be a chance for Korea to become a cultural origin leading the trend to rethink philosophy of today.

Editorial Writer Hong Chan-sik (chansik@donga.com)