Famous Philosophy Majors
When people ask, "What are you going to do with that major?" you will have a ready answer: "Anything I want." Philosophy majors are employed in a wide array of professions: academia, business, law, health care, medicine and government. Beyond giving you important career skills, however, philosophy provides for a more fulfilling life. Here is just a small sample of former philosophy students.
Government, Politics and Law: Thomas Jefferson (U.S. President and author of the Declaration of Independence), David Souter (U.S. Supreme Court Justice), Robert MacNamara (Secretary of Defense and head of the World Bank), William Bennett (Secretary of Education and best-selling author), Patrick Buchanan (perennial presidential candidate and columnist), Jerry Brown (former Governor of California).
Business: J. Paul Getty (oil tycoon), Carl Ichan (CEO, TWA Airlines), Gerald Levin (former CEO of TIME-WARNER, Inc.), George Soros (financier), Lachlan Murdoch (Media magnate, son of Rupert Murdoch), Michael McKaskey (owner of the Chicago Bears), Myles Brand (president of NCAA, former president of Indiana University).
Religion: Pope John Paul II, Martin Luther King Jr.
Writers: T.S. Eliot, James Michener, Iris Murdoch, Alexander Solzhenitsin, Umberto Eco, M. Scott Peck, Ken Follett, Susan Sontag, David Foster Wallace, Elie Wiesel.
Entertainment: Gene Siskel, Alex Trebek, John Chancellor, Stone Phillips, Dennis Miller, Jay Leno, Woody Allen, Steve Martin, George Carlin, Harrison Ford, Susan Sarandon, Kim Thayill.
Sports: Bruce Lee, Phil Jackson, Aaron Taylor (Notre Dame and Green Bay Packers).