--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I dropped out of my Ph.D. philosophy…" description: "\"I dropped out of my Ph.D. philosophy program at Northwestern in the summer of 2015, in my mid-20s. I kind of had the idea of writing fiction, and so I ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ad/contrapoints-21760_philosophy_i-dropped-out-of-my-ph-d-philosophy-prog_698399.jpg" --- # I dropped out of my Ph.D. philosophy program at… ![“I dropped out of my Ph.D. philosophy program at Northwestern in the summer of 2015, in my mid-20s. I kind of had the idea of writing fiction, and so I was working on that for a year but without ever having very much success at it.” quote by ContraPoints](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ad/contrapoints-21760_philosophy_i-dropped-out-of-my-ph-d-philosophy-prog_698399.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ad/contrapoints-21760_philosophy_i-dropped-out-of-my-ph-d-philosophy-prog_698399.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ad/contrapoints-21760_philosophy_i-dropped-out-of-my-ph-d-philosophy-prog_698399.jpg) > “I dropped out of my Ph.D. philosophy program at Northwestern in the summer of 2015, in my mid-20s. I kind of had the idea of writing fiction, and so I was working on that for a year but without ever having very much success at it.” [ContraPoints](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/contrapoints/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker left a doctoral program to pursue fiction writing, but struggled to find success early on. **In simple terms:** Left academia for fiction, faced early challenges. Key Takeaway Recognize that career shifts often involve setbacks. Themes career change creative pursuits academic departure Mood reflective determined Type personal inspirational When to use this quote - writing a novel - changing majors - seeking mentorship - building a portfolio Key Concepts existentialism self‑determination creative process Questions to Reflect On - What support could have helped the transition? - How do you measure progress in creative work? A Different Perspective Success may require time, networking, and skill development. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fiction Working](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction-working-1241236/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Philosophy Program](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-program-4085536/) [Program Northwestern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/program-northwestern-5533898/) [Programming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/programming/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Summer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/summer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-fiction/) ## Related quotes > [When I went to university, I was a philosophy major, but because I'm not very bright I chose to study philosophy at a performing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moby/when-i-went-to-university-i-was-a-philosophy-major-but-because-i-m/) [Moby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moby/) > [I wrote Baghdad Central right after translating a great work by Ibrahim al-Koni, who is sort of a master of Arab fiction. 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I'm working on fiction again, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-hamby/i-guess-it-was-easier-for-me-to-find-my-voice-in-poetry-than-it-was/) [Barbara Hamby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-hamby/) > [Writing fiction is an act of imaginative empathy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-sean-greer/writing-fiction-is-an-act-of-imaginative-empathy/) [Andrew Sean Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-sean-greer/) > [I find it only natural for a storyteller to be interested in storytelling and, for anyone who spends the better part of his or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-lock/i-find-it-only-natural-for-a-storyteller-to-be-interested-in/) [Norman Lock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-lock/) > [I don't want to write poems that are just really clear about how I'm aware of all the traps involved in writing poetry; I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/i-don-t-want-to-write-poems-that-are-just-really-clear-about-how-i-m/) [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) > [When you start writing fiction, you have to learn to invent, and it's very hard at the beginning to stop relying on facts and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fiona-barton/when-you-start-writing-fiction-you-have-to-learn-to-invent-and-it-s/) [Fiona Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fiona-barton/) > [The lovely thing about writing is, well, two things. One, writing fiction allows us to bring an order to our lives that doesn't exist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-e-butler/the-lovely-thing-about-writing-is-well-two-things-one-writing-fiction/) [Octavia E. Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-e-butler/) > [My job, in general, is nonfiction, so writing fiction was liberating. If you can't find the answer to something, you just make it up!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-tapper/my-job-in-general-is-nonfiction-so-writing-fiction-was-liberating-if/) [Jake Tapper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-tapper/) > [I have always known that writing fiction had little effect on the world; that if it did, young men would not have gone to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-dubus/i-have-always-known-that-writing-fiction-had-little-effect-on-the/) [Andre Dubus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-dubus/) > [“Yeah, I know what your English Professor tried to tell you. But if your English Professor could make a living writing fiction, they would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-wesley-smith/yeah-i-know-what-your-english-professor-tried-to-tell-you-but-if-your/) [Dean Wesley Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-wesley-smith/) > [Memory is like fiction; or else it's fiction that's like memory. This really came home to me once I started writing fiction, that memory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/memory-is-like-fiction-or-else-it-s-fiction-that-s-like-memory-this/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [I love writing fiction and can do it anywhere - I once even missed a flight because I was so engrossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prue-leith/i-love-writing-fiction-and-can-do-it-anywhere-i-once-even-missed-a/) [Prue Leith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prue-leith/) ## More by ContraPoints > [There are things you can say in the voice of a fictional character that you could not explore any other way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/contrapoints/there-are-things-you-can-say-in-the-voice-of-a-fictional-character/) [ContraPoints](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/contrapoints/) > [More than 40 per cent of my viewers are female. When I do meetups and events, oftentimes the majority of people who show up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/contrapoints/more-than-40-per-cent-of-my-viewers-are-female-when-i-do-meetups-and/) [ContraPoints](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/contrapoints/) > [When I was a prepubescent child, I never really had experiences of gender dysphoria. This is not something that started until adolescence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/contrapoints/when-i-was-a-prepubescent-child-i-never-really-had-experiences-of/) [ContraPoints](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/contrapoints/) > [I carry with me from my male upbringing a sense that femininity is forbidden. So when I appear on YouTube with forty butterflies glued…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/contrapoints/i-carry-with-me-from-my-male-upbringing-a-sense-that-femininity-is/) [ContraPoints](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/contrapoints/) > [I watch a lot of YouTube makeup tutorials. I also watch a lot of channels where all they do is eat inhumanly huge amounts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/contrapoints/i-watch-a-lot-of-youtube-makeup-tutorials-i-also-watch-a-lot-of/) [ContraPoints](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/contrapoints/) > [As a prominent trans person, you hope that someone feels they know you and then thinks of you at the polls; you hope to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/contrapoints/as-a-prominent-trans-person-you-hope-that-someone-feels-they-know-you/) [ContraPoints](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/contrapoints/) > [It's quite difficult to get through to the people who are really committed to these anti-progressive beliefs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/contrapoints/it-s-quite-difficult-to-get-through-to-the-people-who-are-really/) [ContraPoints](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/contrapoints/) > [A debate is a very specific kind of performance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/contrapoints/a-debate-is-a-very-specific-kind-of-performance/) [ContraPoints](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/contrapoints/) > [It's going to take me less time to wreck Ben Shapiro than it took me to curl my hair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/contrapoints/it-s-going-to-take-me-less-time-to-wreck-ben-shapiro-than-it-took-me/) [ContraPoints](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/contrapoints/) > [There's this artistic drive or something in me that impels me to sympathize with villains, but it's maybe not a great impulse as someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/contrapoints/there-s-this-artistic-drive-or-something-in-me-that-impels-me-to/) [ContraPoints](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/contrapoints/) > [I kind of hate the fact that I feel like people expect you to announce what you are, and then you become it. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/contrapoints/i-kind-of-hate-the-fact-that-i-feel-like-people-expect-you-to/) [ContraPoints](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/contrapoints/) > [What really excites me is the prospect of making people actually enjoy thinking about difficult topics, to laugh even while seriously engaging these very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/contrapoints/what-really-excites-me-is-the-prospect-of-making-people-actually/) [ContraPoints](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/contrapoints/) > [I listen to a lot of standup comics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/contrapoints/i-listen-to-a-lot-of-standup-comics/) [ContraPoints](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/contrapoints/) > [I've been harassed. I've been stalked. I've had every public pre-transition photo of me compiled alongside my deadname with the purpose of never letting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/contrapoints/i-ve-been-harassed-i-ve-been-stalked-i-ve-had-every-public-pre/) [ContraPoints](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/contrapoints/) > [I don't just want to show how somebody might be wrong;I want to know why people believe the things they believe in the first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/contrapoints/i-don-t-just-want-to-show-how-somebody-might-be-wrong-i-want-to-know/) [ContraPoints](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/contrapoints/) [Explore all 28 ContraPoints quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/contrapoints/) ## More Philosophy quotes > [“MIND & GRIND Self-belief and hard work can propel you past more talented peers”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamil-ali/mind-grind-self-belief-and-hard-work-can-propel-you-past-more/) [Kamil Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamil-ali/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) [Taf Teh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taf-teh/) > [Philosopher is a dictator who modifies accepted standards with his thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/philosopher-is-a-dictator-who-modifies-accepted-standards-with-his/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [“It takes tremendous courage, persistence, and perseverance to pursue your ultimate purpose.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debasish-mridha/it-takes-tremendous-courage-persistence-and-perseverance-to-pursue/) [Debasish Mridha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debasish-mridha/) > [No philosophy, no religion, has ever brought so glad a message to the world as this good news of Atheism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-besant/no-philosophy-no-religion-has-ever-brought-so-glad-a-message-to-the/) [Annie Besant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-besant/) > [“This is what is called "honor among thieves," for the really dangerous people are those who do not recognize that they are thieves— the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-watts/this-is-what-is-called-honor-among-thieves-for-the-really-dangerous/) [Alan W. Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-w-watts/) > [But I think that of all the literature that I studied, the book that did more than any other to fire my enthusiasm was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-nkrumah/but-i-think-that-of-all-the-literature-that-i-studied-the-book-that/) [Kwame Nkrumah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-nkrumah/) > [“If you start and persist you will succeed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debasish-mridha/if-you-start-and-persist-you-will-succeed/) [Debasish Mridha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debasish-mridha/) > [“The spirit of our accurate and exact philosophy is outraged by conclusions that contradict each other so glaringly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/the-spirit-of-our-accurate-and-exact-philosophy-is-outraged-by/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“I never knew any man who had once tasted the sweetness of experimental knowledge, that ever afterward fasted after ye Vapour garlick and onions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-zimmer/i-never-knew-any-man-who-had-once-tasted-the-sweetness-of/) [Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-zimmer/) > [“I fight with love and kindness as my weapons and compassion as my defense.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debasish-mridha/i-fight-with-love-and-kindness-as-my-weapons-and-compassion-as-my/) [Debasish Mridha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debasish-mridha/) > [Television's perfect. 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