Valerie Sanders, B.A. 1995

1995 Major: Philosophy; Juris Doctor/Law (1999)

How has being a Philosophy graduate from Duke helped shape you personally and/or professionally?

"I hope it's become trite to say that studying philosophy makes you a good lawyer. Training your brain to break things into pieces, to look for logical connections (and notice their absence), and to recognize ambiguity will make negotiating and documenting deals, or structuring and writing arguments, much easier. I'd add, though, that having studied philosophy (and in particular philosophy of language) has also helped me understand how little I understand what other people are saying--not only at work but in every aspect of life. Disputes by tweet, for example, are considerably less stressful (but also potentially less interesting) when you perceive that the writers are almost certainly not using "equity," "gender," "honest," or some other word in precisely the same way--and may not be using words precisely at all. And recognizing the limitations of what we generally regard as a common language is a good reminder to learn about other people, their cultures, their histories, and their values by getting to know them and not just by exchanging words with them."

What advice would you give students in Duke's Philosophy programs? 

"Not to feel pressure to define themselves prematurely as either Serious Philosophers or Philosophy Majors Who Will Just Be Lawyers or Something. Part of the luxury of being able to study at a place like Duke is that your degree is valuable whatever your major, so do what makes you happy to be doing it and let the rest sort itself out later."