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Thread: I want to start reading Philosophy

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    Registered User malayang-diwa's Avatar
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    I want to start reading Philosophy

    So I just got a few works by Sartre(Being and Nothingness, Nausea and Transcendence of Ego), Nietzsche(Beyond Good and Evil), Descartes(meditations), and Plato(The Republic). But I have to admit that I'm having struggling to comprehend what they're saying.

    I have some trouble getting (1) they're ideas,(2)the constant reference of other Philosophers, and (3)why they think that way. So I feel like I there are prerequisites before I start reading any of these.

    I have read some Albert Camus and was able to grasp his ideas, but I what I've read from him were novels. I want to read they're non-fiction works. Any advice?

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    Registered User billl's Avatar
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    An easy thing to do would be to check the Wikipedia pages for those books. It'd be a shame if that was the only commentary you were exposed to, but it would be a convenient next step, and probably expose you to some important perspectives and provide a more condensed version of the arguments.

  4. #4
    My God, how to begin at philosophy! I say that you should shoot yourself before you start but barring that that you should start on more general works. I couldn't finish Sartre's Being and Nothingness, it was too advanced for me. It is best to get a general feeling for philosophy if you are going to be an amateur. But the thing that you must never do is to feel intimidated: philosophers can be the greatest fools at times, but there is no greater philosopher than the one who can talk plainly.
    Last edited by G L Wilson; 09-11-2011 at 03:30 AM.

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    Registered User malayang-diwa's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by billl View Post
    An easy thing to do would be to check the Wikipedia pages for those books. It'd be a shame if that was the only commentary you were exposed to, but it would be a convenient next step, and probably expose you to some important perspectives and provide a more condensed version of the arguments.
    Yeah, but I read Philip Stokes' 100 Essential Thinkers. He gave 100 western philosophers and their ideas. It's pretty helpful, and it's one of the reasons why I got interested in reading about Philosophy.

    Quote Originally Posted by G L Wilson View Post
    My God, how to begin at philosophy! I say that you should shoot yourself before you start but barring that that you should start on more general works. I couldn't finish Sartre's Being and Nothingness, it was too advanced for me. It is best to get a general feeling for philosophy if you are going to be an amateur. But the thing that you must never do is to feel intimidated: philosophers can be the greatest fools at times, but there is no greater philosopher than the one who can talk plainly.
    I was more of overwhelmed rather than intimidated. But yeah I did feel that Being and Nothingness was too advance for me.

    And I agree with your last statement. As a matter of fact, I find Eastern Philosophers more comprehensive than most Western Philosophers.

  6. #6
    From the start, you should read:

    Bertrand Russell's A History of Western Philosophy. He is mighty prejudiced but he is an Englishman and therefore can be forgiven his little errors of judgement.

    David Hume's Enquiry. Not his Treatise, a commentary on the Treatise will serve just as well.

    Thomas Paine. He is plain.

    Friedrich Nietzsche. He is plain.

    Arthur Schopenhauer. He's a joy.

    Immanuel Kant. He is to be avoided, except in summary.

    Plato. Dull.

    Aristotle. Not so dull.

    J. S. Mill's On Liberty. He can be enjoyed in summary.

    The Scholastics. Medieval philosophy is important and should be learnt. I would try a history of some sort on this one.

    The Sophists. Appallingly maltreated by religious fanatics like Plato. Interesting.

    The end.

    Afterwards, people that you should read are:

    The Postmodernists. To speak the unspeakable is never advisable. Amusing, all the same.

    A. J. Ayer. Kant reborn but clearer.

    Descartes. You can't do without Descartes.

    Hobbes. Yawn read monarchist.

    Rousseau. Slow clap read anarchist.

    Voltaire. Boo read fat old bastard.

    Shakespeare. Sublime.

    In short, read everything, you never know what might be useful.

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    Registered User malayang-diwa's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by G L Wilson View Post
    From the start, you should read:

    Bertrand Russell's A History of Western Philosophy. He is mighty prejudiced but he is an Englishman and therefore can be forgiven his little errors of judgement.

    David Hume's Enquiry. Not his Treatise, a commentary on the Treatise will serve just as well.

    Thomas Paine. He is plain.

    Friedrich Nietzsche. He is plain.

    Arthur Schopenhauer. He's a joy.

    Immanuel Kant. He is to be avoided, except in summary.

    Plato. Dull.

    Aristotle. Not so dull.

    J. S. Mill's On Liberty. He can be enjoyed in summary.

    The Scholastics. Medieval philosophy is important and should be learnt. I would try a history of some sort on this one.

    The Sophists. Appallingly maltreated by religious fanatics like Plato. Interesting.

    The end.
    Quote Originally Posted by G L Wilson View Post
    Afterwards, people that you should read are:

    The Postmodernists. To speak the unspeakable is never advisable. Amusing, all the same.

    A. J. Ayer. Kant reborn but clearer.

    Descartes. You can't do without Descartes.

    Hobbes. Yawn read monarchist.

    Rousseau. Slow clap read anarchist.

    Voltaire. Boo read fat old bastard.

    Shakespeare. Sublime.

    In short, read everything, you never know what might be useful.

    Interesting. But are you suggesting that I read them in the order of your list?

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by malayang-diwa View Post
    Interesting. But are you suggesting that I read them in the order of your list?
    No, read whatever you wish. If you feel overwhelmed, move on to other reading. You should read philosophy, but it is entirely voluntary.

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    nothing lasts forever maraki16's Avatar
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    When I was in high-school, we were taught philosophy. I remember we had started with an introductory course that dealt with the history of philosophy, the main theories and philosophers from the beginning of ancient history till the modern era. After that, in the second year we were taught Plato and Aristotle. My point is that, this introductory course was really helpful. I think it would be a god idea to find an intrductory book to philosophy and read this first, cause these usually summarize the main ideas of each philosopher and they give you a clear insight on the basics. I remember that after I had read about Socrates, and the main points of Plato's and Aristotle's theories, then it was much easier to move on and study the Republic and the Poetics and their other works. The same thing happened with other European philosophers, for we studied them progressively (I think there is usually a connection between them, so it might be better to start studying them in a chronological order, at least the basics, before you move on with all the works you want to read).
    Good luck, philosophy is great. But I don't think you should try to understand every word. After all, no one can assure you that what each one argues is right. It is just food for thought.
    love is like a flower; it needs warmth and light as well as some space and care in order to grow. if you take care of it it grows and blossoms and you can taste its scent and touch its velvet surface and look at its bright colours. if you don't, it dies. and of course a flower has no meaning either if you don't give it to someone or have it growing next to another one. flowers are delicate. and so is love.

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    Is there like a philosophy anthology that just gives the essential excerpts from major works? Sort of like Norton's anthologies of literature, that have footnotes and stuff. I'd like to read philosophy also, but I don't have the patience for whole books--I just don't have it in me.

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    Bibliophile Drkshadow03's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mutatis-Mutandi View Post
    Is there like a philosophy anthology that just gives the essential excerpts from major works? Sort of like Norton's anthologies of literature, that have footnotes and stuff. I'd like to read philosophy also, but I don't have the patience for whole books--I just don't have it in me.
    You really should try to read the philosophical works themselves in full. Otherwise it's like reading an excerpt of a novel that gives you the Top Five Most Memorable chapters of a novel. How could you possibly really know about the novel after that? Plus writers like Plato straddle the line between philosophy and literature, as do many other philosophers.

    If you're really that reluctant to read the actual philosophical works there are always: Bertrand Russel's History of Western Philosophy, Will Durant's The Story of Philosophy, and Copleston's History of Philosophy (11 volumes). Supposedly Copleston's work is the best, but well, it's 11 volumes and that can get expensive.
    Last edited by Drkshadow03; 09-11-2011 at 06:31 PM.
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    Registered User Calidore's Avatar
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    How's Philosophy for Dummies as a primer? I understand that the ...Dummies line is by and large pretty decent.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Drkshadow03 View Post
    You really should try to read the philosophical works themselves in full. Otherwise it's like reading an excerpt of a novel that gives you the Top Five Most Memorable chapters of a novel. How could you possibly really know about the novel after that? Plus writers like Plato straddle the line between philosophy and literature, as do many other philosophers.

    If you're really that reluctant to read the actual philosophical works there are always: Bertrand Russel's History of Western Philosophy, Will Durant's The Story of Philosophy, and Copleston's History of Philosophy (11 volumes). Supposedly Copleston's work is the best, but well, it's 11 volumes and that can get expensive.
    I'd just like to know enough to make somewhat informed opinions, that's pretty much it. In any case, it'll be a while before I get around to philosophy, just from looking at my to-read tower of books.

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    Registered User malayang-diwa's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by maraki16 View Post
    When I was in high-school, we were taught philosophy. I remember we had started with an introductory course that dealt with the history of philosophy, the main theories and philosophers from the beginning of ancient history till the modern era. After that, in the second year we were taught Plato and Aristotle. My point is that, this introductory course was really helpful. I think it would be a god idea to find an intrductory book to philosophy and read this first, cause these usually summarize the main ideas of each philosopher and they give you a clear insight on the basics. I remember that after I had read about Socrates, and the main points of Plato's and Aristotle's theories, then it was much easier to move on and study the Republic and the Poetics and their other works. The same thing happened with other European philosophers, for we studied them progressively (I think there is usually a connection between them, so it might be better to start studying them in a chronological order, at least the basics, before you move on with all the works you want to read).
    Good luck, philosophy is great. But I don't think you should try to understand every word. After all, no one can assure you that what each one argues is right. It is just food for thought.
    I wish my high school taught philosophy. Anyway, I was thinking of reading the "basics" (if you can call them that). However, I am having a hard time knowing which work I should start out with.

    Quote Originally Posted by Drkshadow03 View Post
    You really should try to read the philosophical works themselves in full. Otherwise it's like reading an excerpt of a novel that gives you the Top Five Most Memorable chapters of a novel. How could you possibly really know about the novel after that? Plus writers like Plato straddle the line between philosophy and literature, as do many other philosophers.

    If you're really that reluctant to read the actual philosophical works there are always: Bertrand Russel's History of Western Philosophy, Will Durant's The Story of Philosophy, and Copleston's History of Philosophy (11 volumes). Supposedly Copleston's work is the best, but well, it's 11 volumes and that can get expensive.
    I've been seeing Bertrand Russel's History of Western Philosophy a lot lately, so I'll probably look into his stuff. What about the ones that I should avoid?; you know, the ones that are not so informative or reliable(or in some cases boring and hard-to-grasp)?

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    Berty russells history of philo-sophie is a good read. Personally i would advise you to stop after that. Most philosophers explain things really badly and takes thousands of words to state things that are either obvious or imaginative nonsense. Shakespeare has economy of phrase and he hits the mark bang on in his later works,revealing the limits of language and the superiority of 'thinking by feeling/experience'. In the eastern world its the same with only the zen masters being the equivalent of sheikh-Zubair. 99% of philosophy is nonsense on stilts as wittgenstein would say.

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