What, then, is the vocational element in the study of philosophy?
Originally, vocation, from the Latin vocare: to call, had nothing to do with what we mean today by vocation as job. To respond to a call is to heed the inner demand for the experience of Truth. It has nothing whatsoever to do with scraping out a living in an adversarial society. Rather than putting philosophy (which, incidentally, can be translated from the Greek philos and sophia, as the love of wisdom) on a pedestal and confining it to an ivory tower, the study of philosophy is an integral part of awakening to our humanity. Rather than being seen as an elite program of study, philosophy in its everyday mode is the way human beings come to understand who they are and where they are in the present thereby making a future possible. Philosophy, therefore, is a primary human activity. But can I get a job majoring in philosophy? In the June 23, 1981 edition of The New York Times, it is written, businessmen are coming to appreciate an education that at its best produces graduates who can wr
