The APA (American Philosophical Association) is looking for stories about how valuable philosophical training has been to people other than professional, full-time philosophers.

The following mail just went out over the APA mailing list.

Dear Colleague:

I write in behalf of the American Philosophical Association to ask one specific question.

We who teach philosophy know that we are unlike most of our students, very few of whom pursue our subject professionally. We also know that philosophy can have a profound and lasting influence on students who follow other paths and who later view their undergraduate study in philosophy to have been powerfully important to their intellectual and professional development. Once in a while we learn of this through public comments made by distinguished people in fields as diverse as finance, the arts, or medicine. More often it is private, anecdotal information: an alumnus writes, out of the blue, or a chance meeting prompts an expression of gratitude, or sometimes even an unexpected bequest confirms that philosophy mattered more than we then knew to someone who remembered it to the end.

The APA would like to compile more systematic information about how philosophy has affected and is appreciated by such former students. But finding them is hard. We ask each of you to think about former students who have gone on to success or even distinction in some other domain, and just tell us who they are and, if you know, where we might find them. We’ll then ask whether they are willing to tell us what their previous study of philosophy means to them now. We might also use some of these names later in a fund drive we are now planning.

Thus, the question: who are they? Please reply, if possible, within two or three weeks. Your responses collectively can be of great help to the APA and to our discipline.

Thank you.

Regards,

Michael Kelly
Executive Director
American Philosophical Association

This seems like a good project, and if you can help out, either by suggesting former students or as a philosophy graduate who wants to say just how good philosophical training is, please contact Michael.