what are the qualifications and credentials a person must have,in order to be called a Philosopher?

Question

i've read two publications this week in which they mentioned two different modern day philosophers,and that question has been in my head for a while!

Answer 1

You can become a philosopher simply by deciding to call yourself one. If thinking about life is practicing philosophy, who's to say that you have to be paid by a university to do it? Henry David Thoreau retreated from his fellow human beings, built a cabin at Walden Pond, and wrote books of philosophy. It helps to get published, of course, but you don't necessarily have to care whether other people follow and study your philosophy.

Unless you plan on taking the Walden Pond approach, a Ph.D. in philosophy is a prerequisite in this field. This involves five to seven years of study after completion of a college degree, including two to three years of course work. The rest of the time is spent writing a dissertation, which must be an original manuscript analyzing some aspect of philosophy. More so than in many of the other humanities professions, philosophy departments specialize, choosing to have a majority of analytic philosophers, continental philosophers, comparative philosophers, or some other branch of the field. The young philosopher's choice of a dissertation topic, therefore, has a significant impact upon the institutions where jobs will be available at graduation. Like all the academic disciplines, relationships with senior faculty are extremely important in finding a job, as positions are often filled through recommendations from colleagues.

People with training in philosophy turn up in a wide variety of fields. The training is flexible enough that philosophers can become bankers, writers, policy analysts, or almost any other profession imaginable. Perhaps because the training includes substantial elements of political philosophy, many people decide to go from philosophy to the legal profession. (Besides, lawyers have a better chance of making a living.)

Answer 2

Maybe a degree in Philosophy? Being a philospher usually requires long thought processes about grandiose ideas such as the purpose of life, and philosophers are, by definition, people that quest for knowledge.

Answer 3

It is hard to pinpoint such requirements to be a philosopher as philosophy is mastery of knowledge about various aspects of life! For instance, those who are answering questions like yours could be construed as philosophers as they share their experience and wisdom with people like you and through that experience, they also further enrich their knowledge! It's like two birds in one shot!

Answer 4

Firts thing. He should be clear in his thoughts and opinions. Confused cannot make philosophers at all.