In the following Q-and-A, senior philosophy major Kevin Richardson shares some of his experiences as a philosophy major.
1. What have you enjoyed most about being a philosophy major at Illinois State?
I’ve probably enjoyed the teachers more than anything. Quite literally every teacher I’ve had in the Philosophy Department has been beyond helpful, clearly passionate, and extremely knowledgeable. It’s one thing for your teacher to know a lot of stuff, but it’s another thing altogether when he can teach it to his students in a practical way. I’m very thankful for each professor in the department.
2. If you had to take one—and only one—philosophy book or article to a desert island, which one would it be?
David Foster Wallace’s “This Is Water” speech.
3. Do your friends and family know that you study philosophy?
Absolutely.
4. What other majors did you consider?
I started out as a psychology major, and I took up philosophy as my second major. I am a double major.
5. What are your plans after graduation?
I have a summer job that I’ve worked in for the past five years, so I will continue to do that. But then I hope to find work in the Bloomington-Normal area after August, utilizing both my psychology and philosophy degrees. It will start out as something in the psychology field, but then I hope to get a couple graduate degrees, also in philosophy and psychology.
