Professions (Law and Medicine)

Studying philosophy at the University of Chicago was among the most transformative academic experiences of my education. Rigorous and demanding, the discipline pushed me beyond inherited ideological frameworks, from Marx to W.E.B. Dubois, and taught me to take ideas seriously enough to question them. Through philosophy, I discovered both the exhilaration of asking difficult questions and the intellectual courage required to pursue their answers. That training has been indispensable in law school, where the most consequential legal questions arise not in clarity but in uncertainty. Philosophy taught me to dwell productively in ambiguity, to engage competing arguments with rigor and intellectual charity, and to anticipate multiple lines of reasoning while developing my own voice. More broadly, wrestling with diverse schools of thought reshaped my understanding of education not as a transactional endeavor, but as a formative process that sharpened my commitment to learning for its own sake and crystallized my passion for public interest law and criminal justice reform. Above all, it empowered me to approach both law and life with intention, rather than uncritically accepting the paths laid before me.

My study of Philosophy at the University of Chicago has been instrumental in my 1L success thus far. The curriculum challenged me to reexamine my way of thinking and to question why things are right or wrong rather than being content with the way that they are. I recall my very first exposure to the discipline—Philosophical Perspectives with Professor Matthias Haase. We began the class by exploring a text that I had never questioned (for context I am a Christian) or read through an inquisitive lens—this text was Genesis. From that day on I understood that my joy
resided not in taking facts and beliefs at their face value but putting all through the test of scrutiny because as the law has taught me: even the truth is subjective. In law school, my background in philosophy granted me a significant advantage in my Criminal Law course as we were expected to analyze statutes and case law while keeping in mind two philosophical theories of punishment: Utilitarian and Retributive.

However, the most important skill that I gained from Philosophy was the ability to analyze issues and questions of law from multiple perspectives. It is easy to think of one perspective and attack or defend it as you please, but great legal scholars can see issues from all perspectives and understand that the answer, like most things in law school, depends. Although I do not find myself debating over virtue from Plato’s Republic or joking about the categorical imperative from Kant’s Groundwork, not a day goes by where I don’t use these texts in my analysis and in the development of my judicial philosophy. My philosophical training from the University of Chicago has more than equipped me to thoughtfully contribute to the legal community at the Illinois College of Law and the legal profession as whole. I wholeheartedly recommend that every UChicago student take philosophy courses even if the major is not the end desired. Regardless of your goals, you will join the world as a rigorous thinker and a relentless inquirer.

In the last philosophy paper I wrote while at UChicago, I discussed Frege’s theory of logic. Frege tests the limits of what you can even imagine. He confronts us with the question: what would thinking without the rules even look like? The way that philosophers like Frege consistently push us to explore the boundary where imagination meets analysis is, I believe, one of the most unique and powerful aspects of the discipline.

Studying philosophy at UChicago, I learned that while “outside the box” thinking is vital, even the most original ideas must be grounded in structure and clarity to be effective. This balance has offered me a strong foundation in law school, providing me with the intellectual discipline to handle the “box-like” rules of law while maintaining the creative flexibility to see beyond them.

Non-philosophers are quick to point out that not much progress in a traditional sense has been made in philosophy. Many of the most central questions have been discussed for centuries. But when it comes to philosophy, progress isn’t always the point. The value lies in the process; in how you learn to think. Now, in my first year at Stanford Law School, I find that my background in philosophy allows me to dwell productively in the nuances of legal theory. The mental habit I developed of asking what is truly at the heart of an argument manifests itself in the way that I approach the law not just as a set of rules to be learned, but as a field for constant, rigorous discovery. 

Beyond teaching me how to think, philosophy also gave me a framework for figuring out my professional goals as an aspiring lawyer. Currently, as I evaluate different legal fields, finding a career path that demands philosophical rigor is a non-negotiable for me. In this sense, philosophy continues to play a significant practical role in my life in shaping my professional trajectory toward fields where the “spirit of inquiry” is a driving force of the work.

Majoring in Philosophy at UChicago taught me all the critical skills I need to thrive in law school and beyond. It was because I had grappled with difficult philosophical texts—not only understanding the authors’ arguments, but also critically analyzing their logic and premises—and learned to build strong arguments in Philosophy classes that I felt prepared for the practice of law. My UChicago classes also set me up for success implicitly by developing my curiosity, my ability to be charitable and critical at the same time, and my open-mindedness—all of which are important when dealing with clients, opposing counsel, and coworkers, as well as for my own professional development. I am grateful for the experiences I gained through my Philosophy major, especially under the guidance of supportive and wonderful professors.

"Despite joining the sociology department, I have never taken a social science course in my life." Sharing fun facts on day one of our graduate program, and my director's response—to say the least—was unsmiling. To be fair, it was a truth I was never shy about, if only because of the training I received in undergrad through the Department of Philosophy. Being in a research-heavy biological science program, the Philosophy and Allied Fields major's openness to student-designed course of study enabled me to graduate (despite my best efforts) with two majors and two theses in two disparate fields. Our faculty pushed me to understand how exactly my philosophical education integrated with other coursework; consequently, in my medical and graduate applications I was able to articulate how I saw social science, philosophy, and the natural sciences as a shared expression between different languages. 

In fourth year, when my senior essay advisor heard I had committed to a path in medicine, she joked "Colleagues, I tried." A little further along, I am grateful to say they have become colleagues of my own, using common methodologies of inquiry in law, medicine, and sociological research. Philosophically grounded and well-reasoned thinking—processing differential diagnoses, parsing ethical concerns, and being able to offer both immanent and external critique—is constantly in demand within and beyond medicine, in the clinic and the classroom. Accordingly, I would encourage any student to take the Allied Fields track as an opportunity to become legible—not limited—by your course of study.

I came into the Department of Philosophy department after taking and loving the Classics of Social and Political Thought Core. I decided on Philosophy and the Allied Fields track because it allowed me to do the core parts of the Philosophy major while having extra elective space to take political theory courses that interested me in the Department of Political Science. I was really interested in engaging with normative questions about justice and sovereignty, and examining the foundations of our current legal and political institutions. I found courses related to these issues critical in shaping how I think about the law and the kind of impact I would like to have in my legal career. The reading, writing, and analytical skills I acquired helped me to excel in my role as a paralegal and as a law student, and the foundation of a Philosophy degree has been very helpful, because when we discuss the implications of pivotal Supreme Court decisions or certain aspects of the legal system, I draw directly from the Philosophy courses I took at UChicago in thinking through complex ideas and practical applications. I truly think that my Philosophy degree was the best preparation I could have had coming into this experience as a law student.

I didn’t plan on majoring in philosophy—in fact, I started out as a physics major. Even so, I quickly fell in love with the intellectual project of building a coherent and internally consistent framework for understanding the world and how to live well in it. I was introduced to philosophy through my core humanities sequence, Philosophical Perspectives, and discovered that building logical arguments is how I want to contribute to society as a future lawyer. Philosophy taught me how to see all sides of an issue and to engage with arguments in good faith and respect for others.  Philosophy is more than the study of certain texts. It teaches a mode of critical thinking that offers cross-disciplinary insight, enriching all areas of my education.

In my philosophy professors, I found mentors who took my ideas and concerns seriously and encouraged me to ask difficult and uncomfortable questions.  I am especially grateful to Prof. Malte Willer (for challenging me in the classroom and supporting me in my law school application) and Prof. Matthias Haase (for introducing me to philosophy).  With my UChicago philosophical training in hand, I am confident and well prepared to earn my J.D. at the University of Virginia School of Law.

The beauty of studying philosophy is that it reshapes how you engage with the world. It teaches you to approach every question with genuine curiosity and to treat the conclusion as only half the work. The real focus is on how well you reason, how clearly you can defend your position, and how honestly you can critique it. You learn adaptability, and you learn to build arguments that can withstand pressure. Studying philosophy at UChicago was a special treat because it was the theoretical of the theoretical. It pushed me to engage on a deeper level and to travel into parts of my mind and my arguments that I did not know existed. It taught me to look closely at the simplest questions and uncover the layers beneath them and then take the most complex ideas and make them feel clear and approachable. That experience shaped the way I think, the way I argue, and the way I solve problems. 

That mindset followed me into law school at Harvard, where I was surrounded by countless arguments and perspectives. The curiosity I developed in philosophy pushed me to explore ideas deeply and helped me excel in that environment. Now, as a New York attorney, I rely on that same curiosity and problem solving every day. It guides how I understand a client’s problem, how I dig into the details, and how I strengthen the analysis I give back to them. All of which I can trace back to the curiosity and skills I developed studying philosophy at UChicago.

The intellectual challenge of studying philosophy at UChicago encouraged me to grow immensely, to question the status quo, and to see and synthesize connections between seemingly disparate matters. As a result, I have been well-prepared for a wide variety of professional roles, especially those that emphasize reading, writing, analytical argumentation, and social change. Further, I have found that the Philosophy major facilitates moving between different career paths fluidly: after initially pursuing a dual passion for ethics and nature as an organizer and fundraiser for an animal protection organization, it felt like a natural transition to then embark on law school and litigation work. I am so grateful that the flexible skillset and love of learning fostered by my studies at UChicago has enabled me to enjoy the excitement and fulfillment that comes with a varied career -- and I know that those same qualities will continue to animate my professional life going forward. 

Majoring in Philosophy at UChicago introduced me to a distinctive way of thinking, organized around the task of figuring out how things in the broadest possible sense of the term hang together in the broadest possible sense of the term. This broad-minded restlessness has stuck with me through every step of my career: not only through completing a PhD program in philosophy, but also earning a JD, clerking for a federal appellate judge, and practicing law. At each stage, the focus, thoughtfulness, and disciplined creativity I picked up from my philosophy training helped me bring something distinctive to my work and stand out. Now, preparing for the next stage of my career as a law professor, I draw on my UChicago philosophy education every day. Studying philosophy—reading it, writing it, worrying about it, talking about it with friends and teachers—helps you learn how to think and how to decide what matters and what doesn’t. In a world densely packed by algorithmic froth and confusion about values, I can think of no better set of skills for navigating one’s personal and professional life. 

Chicago’s philosophy training is a load-bearing pillar of my career. The skill of crafting, posing, and following critical questions about concepts and definitions is core to my work designing policy positions on environmental issues. The discipline’s focus on iterative dialogue as a vehicle to advance understanding has substantially improved my ability to lead coalitions and engage with partners across differences.  And philosophy’s stubborn commitment to dissecting analytically difficult texts is a tool I’ve used almost daily since college, particularly in legal research.  Most important, though, is the guidance I received on grappling with ethical and epistemological values; I’ve turned to this countless times when considering decisions in my career—like the leap I made to environmental work from corporate tax law.  

What success and satisfaction I’ve found bears no small debt to the modes of thinking I learned from my study of philosophy at Chicago.  And I remain deeply grateful to the faculty, graduate students, and fellow undergraduates for what I studied and learned.       

I graduated with a degree in philosophy from the University of Chicago in 1999 and I've been a corporate/business attorney in private practice since graduating from law school (also at the U. of C.) in 2002. While I certainly don't think about Plato or Kant on a daily basis, I very much do exercise on a daily basis the intense analytical skills that I developed through philosophical training at Chicago. Indeed, the best lawyers and business professionals that I've encountered throughout my career often first studied philosophy before endeavoring on their respective professional tracks. As it turns out, this is not surprising. Quite simply, my experience has shown that if a person can understand, for example, the Cogito--not just the "cocktail party" version, but the intricacies of Descartes's argumentation--then that person can pretty much understand, analyze, and debate any argument or problem she might encounter in law or business, whether an employment discrimination matter, an acquisition of a business, a complex transfer pricing tax structuring, or otherwise. Further, many in the professional business world suffer from a sort of "tragedy of the automaton"--they become excellent technicians of their trade, mastering the "what" and the "how," but struggle greatly with the "why." Over time, this can become extremely deleterious to one's mental health. A strong background in philosophy may address this and help any professional maintain a healthier mental balance, in all aspects of her life. In these senses, I believe that a degree in philosophy is not just not impractical, but perhaps the most practical degree one might seek, as the analytical rigors one must undergo in philosophy prepare the student for not just her slice of modern society, whatever that slice may turn out to be, but pretty much any problem she might encounter.

Like many philosophy undergrads at the University of Chicago, I went “all in” on the major and was convinced I would go to grad school. However, I worked in New York City after college and rediscovered an earlier passion for medicine and science. When I went back to school for pre-med and then medicine, the critical thinking and writing skills from undergrad paid huge dividends thinking through complex scientific problems, logically approaching diagnostic dilemmas, and debating the ethical quandaries that frequently arise in medicine. I ultimately became an academic neurologist who specializes in autoimmune and infectious diseases. These conditions threaten and alter fundamental aspects of what makes us human. Indeed, I often care for the people Wittgenstein imagines as “a different kind of man.” These diseases are also very hard to diagnose, and my research lab develops unbiased genomics and proteomics tests to help. “Hypothesis-free” testing lays bare cognitive biases that delay diagnosis by more traditional means, highlighting the cognitive flaws and biases that are mercilessly dissected in the Department of Philosophy at UChicago. So although I ended up far from a career in philosophy, the skills I learned in undergrad were key to my medical studies. I also have the pleasure and privilege of seeing the content of my courses in ethics, philosophy of mind, and science play out in front of me every day.