All professors as philosophers; not, all philosophers as professors

Abstract

PurposeThe function of college degrees in general, and PhDs, in particular, seems increasingly, to serve as a measure of certification and, in some instances, control for entrance into a profession. Advanced degrees in the humanities seem to have lost credence outside of academic circles as hard scientists have assumed the bully pulpit on many issues once the domain of the philosophers, as students, increasingly, question the rhetoric of “The Academy” (and some in the private sector) promoting broad liberal studies, a, especially, as less of the cost is provided by public funds. The entire post secondary experience is becoming increasingly questionable when analysis shows, that for the foreseeable future, less than 30 percent of US jobs really require a college degree. The facts are that in the USA over 44 percent of faculty are adjuncts, often with less than a PhD, and less than 40 percent of current positions are tenure track. This editorial aims to alert readers to underlying trends which are reshaping the roll of the academic both within The Academy and the world at large. It may suggest the need to bring rhetoric of the past in line with the reality of the present/future and change the model of post secondary education.Design/methodology/approachLooks at the area of the PhD in the humanities in the academic world.FindingsAdministrators and policy analysts need to assess the changing roll of faculty and the implications for both the fiscal and structural soundness of the university in the digital age as well as its roll and position within the larger society.Originality/valueProvides information that is useful to administrators and policy analysts.