Philosophy was once called the 'mother of sciences' or, as Aristotle considered it, the fundamental root from which all other sciences branched. Some even granted it the title 'queen of sciences.' However, it has been dethroned for some time by the dominance of sciences with their empirical and inductive methods capable of achieving tangible results. The need for philosophy diminished, and it came to be seen as secondary importance, intellectual luxury, and mental exercise, as if time had passed it by.

But the situation changed when artificial intelligence permeated our lives and surpassed knowledge workers in answering everyday questions. Yet there are major questions whose domain is philosophy. If science provides answers to questions about 'how' the world works and the laws of nature, philosophy seeks to answer questions about 'why' in matters of ends, values, and metaphysics.

How was the situation then, and how has it changed? The status of philosophy was constantly declining; for example, the number of philosophy degrees awarded by American universities dropped from about 8,000 in 2011 to less than 6,000 in 2024, while this number doubled in computer science to more than 100,000 degrees.

In 2015, Japan's education minister asked its universities to take 'effective steps to abolish' social science and humanities departments 'or convert them into fields that better serve societal needs,' according to The Economist, which also notes that you can study philosophy at a British institution, provided you combine it with politics and economics at Oxford University. However, with the rise of artificial intelligence and its reasoning models, and its superior ability to provide answers in the field of knowledge—though diverse and varying in ethical, psychological, and intellectual domains—generating increasing anxiety and confusion, science alone is no longer able to provide satisfactory answers. Hence, the importance of philosophy has emerged in providing different ways of thinking and perspectives on life, helping us overcome epistemic problems, manage their difficulties more effectively, and understand ourselves more deeply.

This year, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York published statistics showing that American philosophy graduates are more likely to find jobs than their counterparts who studied computer science. In 2024, the most recent year for which statistics are available, the unemployment rate among computer science graduates was 7%, compared to only 5.1% among philosophy graduates.

Currently, leading AI labs (such as Google, DeepMind, Anthropic) employ philosophy graduates as an operational strategy to improve the intellectual performance of AI models, prevent bias, and translate complex human values into software that deals with ethical dilemmas, benefiting from philosophers' ability for critical thinking and rational analysis (The Percolator, The Economist).

The renewed interest in philosophy can be explained by several factors, including the desire to understand an ever-evolving digital and consumer world, which has made philosophy an important tool for understanding and discussing ethical dilemmas related to AI and emerging technologies (Reddit Philosophy).

Moreover, the AI boom and machines' superiority in processing data and information—but without consciousness—highlighted the need for philosophy to answer questions about consciousness, conscience, ethics, and human meaning, in order to possibly shape an ethical framework for dealing with everyday life challenges and expanding the mind's horizons.

Amid digital distraction and the turbulence of contemporary crises, the search for a practical tool to manage anxiety and stress and achieve inner peace has intensified, especially with emerging interest in Stoic philosophy, which focuses on finding tranquility and living in harmony with nature and reason.

Institutions for health and medical research

Finally, scientific research has also shown that studying philosophy enhances mental flexibility by developing critical and logical thinking, making it a sought-after skill for understanding the complexities of the contemporary world.

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