Sociology Or Philosophy Major?

[hsperson]

Hello everyone, I am in quite a dilemma as to which major I should choose. I am torn between sociology and philosophy. What do you all think? Which is more impressive and distinctive?

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[SanDiegoSOD]

Neither is impressive or distinctive. Political Science, on the other hand... 😉

 

[riceman04]

Neither is impressive or distinctive. Political Science, on the other hand... 😉

Hahahaha!! What a bias SOD !

Addressed to the thread creator: why are you so worried about what major is impressive? Learn about things that interest you, not what you think adcoms and the rest of society will ooooooooooooo and ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh about (such a cliche answer...............but it's true)

 

[hsperson]

You are right, I do have to follow my interests. For some, it is much easier said than done.

 

[tinkerbelle]

If you're torn between the two, then do a double major. Or major in one and minor in the other. But I agree with the other posters - neither one is more distinctive or impressive than the other. So do whichever one you think you'll enjoy the most.

 

[SpeedRacer]

Neither is impressive or distinctive. Political Science, on the other hand... 😉

yeah poli sci!

 

[DHMO]

I think philosophy is much more impressive than than sociology. Philosophy is all about thinking while sociology is mosty about whining (granted the whining is warranted). Also, philosophy majors are much more fun to have around because they are so good at arguing, while sociology majors just try to tell you that you are a terrible person. (just my limited experience, not trying to offend anyone here)

 

[Medikit]

Oh man sociology is perhaps the worst class in the world. Have you taken a sociology class yet? It's all about taking correlations and pretending they are causal. I couldn't reread any of the papers I wrote because I knew if I did they would make me want to vomit. I think that philosophy would help you more for taking standardized tests in general.

 

[logos]

I think philosophy is much more impressive than than sociology. Philosophy is all about thinking while sociology is mosty about whining (granted the whining is warranted). Also, philosophy majors are much more fun to have around because they are so good at arguing, while sociology majors just try to tell you that you are a terrible person. (just my limited experience, not trying to offend anyone here)

agreed. Philosophy is more impressive because it is a real field of study. Sociology is utter BS

 

[IAMS]

AHEM... I was a Sociology major, and I don't think it's lesser than any other major - actually it was the most stimulating train of thought I had in any undergraduate class my first year. Perhaps the general admission classes that one takes for liberal educational credit arent as exciting as say debating the structure and function of macrolevel organization, the physics of change and the impact of culture wars. But then again, what can you say about these people more interested in debating politics, talk about fluff! Where's the substance in power grabbing? Talk about debating fashions.

To the OP, what are your objectives long term, if they are in public health, then there is nothing better than Sociology. If you're more into abstract thought and logic, philosophy is probably for you. Good luck!

 

[humuhumu]

If you don't get into med school (or change your mind about med school), you might have more options with a degree in sociology. I loved philosophy as a first-year, but ultimately decided it was nearly useless. Still fun though.

 

[dajimmers]

I agree with the above two posters.

Personally, I love humanities and hard sciences. The social sciences (Sociology, Psych, etc.) exist in some weird purgatory between the two that I just don't like. I love philosophy, especially med ethics and bioethics.

Soc. may give you a better shot at alternative careers, but they'd better be careers you'd be interested in. And if you're interested in "social" medicine, like care of the indigent or in other countries, Soc. may be the better choice.

 

[riven5]

Sociology, if studied and applied correctly, is about the study of people and their roles and positions in society and how that society functions. While it's different from the "hard" sciences, it's no less valuable, in fact it's quite applicable to medicine. (My lab PI had me do statistical analysis for papers since I knew how to use the software to do significance tests that he needed for his data).

I haven't taken many Philosophy classes, but they strike me as more concerned with abstract thought about a certain set of questions about what could or could not, might or might not be rather than studying what already is as Sociology does. So, I guess it depends on what you enjoy more, studying society as it is, or contemplating what it could or should be, both of which are important and valuable.

 

[Flopotomist]

I was a philosophy major, and it was amazing how much it actually helped me on the verbal section of the MCAT. In addition to the formal logic which REALLY helps on standardized tests, a few of the passages were over material that I was already familiar with as a philosophy major. That being said, I agree with the other posters that say follow your intellectual interests, and study what you want, even if it is some BS like sociology (HAHAHAHA)

 

[deuist]

I think philosophy is much more impressive than than sociology. Philosophy is all about thinking while sociology is mosty about whining (granted the whining is warranted). Also, philosophy majors are much more fun to have around because they are so good at arguing, while sociology majors just try to tell you that you are a terrible person. (just my limited experience, not trying to offend anyone here)

Ah yes, but the sociology majors wear something other than black everyday and will bathe on occassion, too.

 

[IAMS]

People most uncomfortable with Sociology are those who think there are no larger forces behind our actions, that we're not influenced by our surroundings, that we have complete control over our destiny. Maybe not causal, but it's pretty clear that our choices are dictated by options and the available positions.

Its a misconception that all Sociologists are Socialists. Not so, in my experience. There are many perspectives on the function of society, and marxism has pretty well been discarded. The question that most people want to know, is can we make a better system to increase effectiveness and efficiency? And this is why issues of Epidemiology and Public Health Policy are intense areas of study. If one wants to make a difference on Health Care, what better way than hitting it up large scale?

 

[Pyroclast]

At Bio major orientation, the prof told us right off the bat that if we were there as premeds we should leave. He believed that philosophy and psychology were the best majors to have for applying to med school, since any applicant already has all the prerequisites regardless of major. As someone who ended up majoring in both biology and philosophy, I can tell you the philosophy major was a big help. It's the historical foundation for the sciences and still considers itself to be the king of the sciences. In philosophy you'll learn to be very rigorous in your thinking, which helped in all my science classes. Plus, like Flopotomist said, it helped on the verbal section of the MCAT. I don't know enough about Sociology to say much about it, but I think the philosophy major definitely helped me a lot.