ProgrammingAndPhilosophy

Quora Answer : Specialize in logic, study Prolog, then use your skills in Prolog to become a programmer. Is this a realistic career path for someone doing philosophy?

Jan 18, 2018

In practice, there seems to be quite a lot of overlap between the thinking required in programming and the thinking required by philosophy.

I've known several philosophers who've had to pick up a bit of programming and done pretty well at it, almost immediately.

But there's no particular need to start with Prolog. And it's so unusual that it may be confusing as a first language.

So try to learn a mainstream language like Python. You're not going to find Prolog significantly easier than Python just because you're a philosopher. Both are fairly logical. Both have some counter-intuitive quirks and awkwardnesses.

OTOH, Prolog is certainly interesting to know in general. And will give you some extra insight (as you compare it with other languages). There are few pure Prolog jobs, but a reasonable understanding of it might give you some kind of extra edge at interviews. Have something more "mainstream" though, as well.