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Are there more lawyers than philosophers
Are there more lawyers than philosophers?

Are there more lawyers than philosophers

t3chn0n3rd
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Posted 07/01/09 - 09:55 AM: Subject: Are there more lawyers than philosophers	#1
Should there be more lawyers than philosophers? Is america producing more lawyers than philosophers? Are american lawyers capable of pursuing advanced degrees?

xzJoel
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Posted 07/01/09 - 10:26 AM:	#2
What is a philosopher? It is easy to define a lawyer in modern America. (Even if you can't precisely define a lawyer, you can certainly limit the class of possible lawyers to those that graduated from law school. Combine that pool with those people admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction and you probably have most every person one might reasonably say is a lawyer.) Why wouldn't a lawyer be capable of pursuing an advanced degree? Do you mean outside of law or within law? Within law, there are degrees beyond a J.D. There are LLMs, SJDs, LL.Ds, etc. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_of_Laws#United_States If you mean outside of law, there are J.D. Ph.Ds, J.D. M.D.s, etc.
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Hanover
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Posted 07/01/09 - 11:18 AM:

t3chn0n3rd wrote:
Should there be more lawyers than philosophers? Is america producing more lawyers than philosophers? Are american lawyers capable of pursuing advanced degrees?

By philosopher, I take it you mean a Ph.D. (or equivalent) in philosophy. The market plays a large role in determining how many people there are in a particular field (as you can ask many philosophers who can't find jobs). So, it's like asking should there be more HVAC repair people or window washers. I guess it depends upon the need. Certainly there are more legal issues that arise in our lives than philosophical needs, at least those requiring a bona fide philosopher.

A J.D. (or equivalent) is an advanced degree. There is an LLM, which is an advanced designation related to tax law.

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ciceronianus
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Posted 07/01/09 - 01:31 PM:

t3chn0n3rd wrote:
Should there be more lawyers than philosophers? Is america producing more lawyers than philosophers? Are american lawyers capable of pursuing advanced degrees?

Unless your definition of "philosopher" is very broad, it's highly likely there are more lawyers than philosophers. Yes, there should be more lawyers, because there are one hell of a lot of laws, and we have to deal with them all the time or suffer negative consequences. As far as day-to-day existence is concerned, consultation with a philosopher will normally not be useful. Many of us live our lives without seeking advice on metaphysics, for example.

As has been pointed out, some would say american lawyers already have obtained an advanced degree. It's called a Juris Doctor, or J.D.

Now, it's true that most lawyers do not insist they be referred to as "doctor" as a result, and in that sense they may differ from certain of those holding other advanced decrees. Be that as it may, I actually know of some american lawyers who hold medical degrees, and some who have even obtained the exalted status of doctors of philosophy. So, I am compelled to respond that yes, even american lawyers are capable of not just pursuing, but obtaining, advanced degrees.

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xzJoel
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Posted 07/01/09 - 04:21 PM:	#5
Not that it matters a whole lot, but an LLM stands for Legum Magister or "Master of Laws". There are many different types of LLMs, one of which is a masters in taxation. The tax LLM is very popular, but is not the most common or the only. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LLM Many foreign attorneys obtain an LLM in America in order to qualify to sit for the bar exam in New York State. This type of degree is, perhaps, the most common.
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ciceronianus
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Posted 07/02/09 - 06:46 AM:

xzJoel wrote:
Not that it matters a whole lot, but an LLM stands for Legum Magister or "Master of Laws". There are many different types of LLMs, one of which is a masters in taxation. The tax LLM is very popular, but is not the most common or the only.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LLM

Many foreign attorneys obtain an LLM in America in order to qualify to sit for the bar exam in New York State. This type of degree is, perhaps, the most common.

There's a "Doctor of Juridicial Science" degree as well. Law schools in some common law american jurisdictions (e.g., certain east coast states) issue LLBs instead of JDs (Bachelor of Law).

unrealist42
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Posted 07/09/09 - 01:50 PM:	#7
Everyone philosophizes, some of them are lawyers.

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Posted 07/17/09 - 08:20 PM:	#8
Lawyers get paid more, so yes. But if you include loudmouthed blowhards (like Hannity and Rush) and people who like to talk about things they dont really know anything about (like me), than you will always have more philosophers than lawyers.
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Posted 07/18/09 - 01:55 AM:	#9
A philosopher is someone that knows about philosophy, npot someone that doesn't know about philosophy. The reason there are more lawyers is that more people have legal problems than philosophical problems. Every society has set aside people that think about matters not immediately practical, like philosophers or purely theoretical scientists and society has also always set aside a clas of people to adjucate disputes between members of that society. With todays division of labour and highly advanced communication systems between people, more problems in the legal field are likely to occur. More problems means more lawyers.
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