Philosophy is a bunch of hogwash written by self-righteous, pie-in-the-sky, detracted from the real world, idealists. Or at least that’s what I’m used to hearing every day from politicians, hard science educators, and even my own parents. (Edit: my parents have come around…for the most part.)

As a newly accepted student to the University of Scranton, to which I begrudgingly agreed to go after my father made a deposit without talking to me, I received the craziest letter in the mail. Paraphrasing: You’ve been selected to enroll in the University of Scranton’s Special Jesuit Liberal Arts program, invite-only for the [insert some string of flattering adjectives here] students. (Note: When I was there, SJLA wasn’t called an “honors” program. In fact, at least one professor was actually disgusted by anyone who referred to it as such. Times have change.) While it sounded terribly boring, I signed up. I figured it couldn’t hurt my resume and I could always leave the program later if I hated it.

What that letter should’ve said was “Dear Student, welcome to a program that will challenge your very concept of existence, cause you endless anxiety for the next four years of your life, only to leave you scarred with the inability to avoid over-analyzing every aspect of the human condition forever.” Okay, no one would have signed up. But at least I would have known the truth.

As an SJLAer, I studied the philosophical greats, from Plato and Aristotle, to Kant and Nietzche, to Heidegger and Agamben. I learned more ways to structure, decompose, recompose, and disfigure an argument than I’m ever proud to admit. And I can promise you I’m no closer to proving much of anything. But you know what I am closer to doing? Being a better marketer.

News flash: marketing today is philosophy in action. If you read the Marketing Canon (as I call it), it’s easy to see how the philosophical becomes the literal, the theory becomes the practice.

Seth Godin, Jay Baer, Simon Sinek, Ann Handley, and Joe Pulizzi aren’t just great business people with a knack for selling. They are philosophers in their own right, revolutionizing the marketing industry–and making the world a better place in the process. Godin’s descriptions of authenticity in All Marketers are Liars (Tell Stories) is practically Heideggerian.

Companies won’t teach you how to think, read, write, persuade, and problem-solve. That’s what philosophy is for.

As I once explained to a group of parents who looked horrifyingly on the philosophy department table at the Welcome Freshman event my senior year, any company that hires you out of college (or, let’s face it, long after college) will do “things” their own way. The company will train you on their processes and the software they use. For new marketers, the basics of brand strategy, tone, style, and voice can all be taught. Heck, that’s what style guides are for anyway.

But a company won’t, and arguably can’t, teach you to be a better marketer. Companies won’t teach you how to think, read, write, persuade, and problem-solve. That’s what philosophy is for. And I’m not just talking about in the ivory tower of academia (no offense, SJLA!). Your mentors, innovative and disruptive industry leaders, colleagues, and networks are all outlets to study philosophically.

When we stop asking questions like “how do I sell more widgets?” and start asking questions like “how can I help this group of people with this common problem?” we are better marketers. When we stop writing “catchy” headlines and start writing blog titles that answer people’s real questions, we are better marketers.

Solve the problem and the sales will follow. Pretty philosophical, right?