Can anyone recommend any good philosophical literature!? [Archive]

MIKEMIKEMIKE

05-30-2009, 01:58 PM

Uberzensch

05-30-2009, 06:54 PM

I'd recommend Albert Camus' The Stranger or The Plague.

Eryk

05-30-2009, 07:11 PM

dreamtime

05-31-2009, 02:16 AM

Hi everyone:

I am new to the board and happened to find you as I was looking for poetry. I read a lot of Don Miguel Ruiz. His work is based on Toltec philosophy which has most certainly changed my whole outlook on life.

I also enjoy Rumi and Sufi philosophy as well...

I look forward to learning and sharing with everyone.

~d

billl

05-31-2009, 02:34 AM

I second dreamtime's suggestion of Rumi. It's poems, but they're very interesting (Make sure Wings of Desire is in there). Beautiful stuff, but also philosophical, and very human. Meditative and emotional. Romantic and spiritual (often at the same time).

Also, the Tao Te Ching, by Lao Tzu. It's a very short book of 'poems' or 'teachings', and is talking about similar stuff to what Tolle is. It's an extremely important book for Chinese philosophy. It's very mysterious, and I read it differently as years go by. (My favorite translation is by Stephen Mitchell).

So, Rumi might be great if you want to get some passion going again (after all that Tolle ;)), or maybe Lao Tzu if you want more entrancing, meditative stuff about the void.

Helga

05-31-2009, 11:43 AM

Sophie's World (http://www.amazon.com/Sophies-World-History-Philosophy-Classics/dp/0374530718/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1243725007&sr=8-1)

And the plays of Jean-Paul Sartre. (http://www.amazon.com/No-Exit-Three-Other-Plays/dp/0679725164/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1243725172&sr=1-1)

I totally agree with these, but I'd also mention other books by Jostein Gaarder who wrote Sophies world, like The_Solitaire_Mystery but you should know that these books were intended for kids but I just read sophies world a year ago and loved it(I'm 23)

sarte was very interesting I think and also his partner Simone de Beauvoir, her books are good too...

NikolaiI

05-31-2009, 02:13 PM

I suggest Descartes' Meditations on the First Philosophy. Also, essays by R. W. Emerson. Afterward, I would also suggest Bhagavad-Gita.

librarius_qui

05-31-2009, 10:08 PM

Try Plato.

I'd recommend Heraclitus of Ephesus, but ... you might find it too weird, for a beginning.

From the Romans, people like Cicero, Seneca, but I woundn't recommend either of these. Seneca's theory seems to be interesting, but by his pupil (Nero, the King) I think he wasn't quite an example of a good teacher!

Instead, I'd council you to read King Solomon's writings, easy to find: "The proverbs", "The qohelet" (people call it "The ecclesiastes", a Greek word ...), and "The shir" (or Shir Ha-Shirim, literally, "Song of songs").

Job is an interesting writing, as well. A bit more intriguing, though, than common philosophy, because it's a play, not a treaty ... It's actually listed in my profile as my favourite book, along with another book, made for children ...

lq~

Maximilianus

06-01-2009, 12:42 AM

...Seneca's theory seems to be interesting, but by his pupil (Nero, the King) I think he wasn't quite an example of a good teacher!

Remember my good friend:

To judge masters we feel tempted
Though at times may not be wise.
Little matters Master's mood
When the pupil's born screwed
Much before his very rise.

:)

amarna

06-01-2009, 06:59 AM

"Sophies World" is an excellent introduction and very amusing.
As to non-fictional philosophical writings I think that it may be ok to start with political philosophy for is has a tangible topic :) and is much easier to understand than the ontological and epistemological stuff.

Platon "Republic"
Augustinus "Hierarchy of Angels" (It'll bore you the pants off but it's representative for medieval political philosophy)
Morus "Utopia"
Hobbes "Leviathan"
Rousseau "Social Contract"
Marx "18th Brumaire"
Camus "Rebel"
Popper "Open Society"
...

Lust Hogg

06-02-2009, 06:20 PM

That's kind of tough, philosophical concepts are not traditionally elucidated in any kind of literary style. i do agree with most of the above recommendations, i would also suggest notes from the underground by Dostoevsky. Existentialist ideas are most adequately conveyed in more literary style which, surprisingly enough, seems to be the reason for all the above recommendations. Philosophical ideas are usually reserved for rigorous, succinct argumentation. Coming across something inherently philosophical and profound in a literary work is certainly enjoyable, but sometimes not fully satisfying. Being familiar with certain philosophical notions then encountering them in the context of a story or character can often add content and substance to the sometimes abstract character of these notions. A good example for me was understanding Ethical responsibility philosophically. I then read Conrad's Lord Jim and this only added to my understanding. Philosophy and literature supplement each other.

billyjack

06-03-2009, 01:14 PM

zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance by Bob Pirsig. enjoyable and a good intro to zen buddhism (not a religion, more of a way of thought).. and its a lot like the philosophy of Taoism, which was suggested above in the form of Lao Tzu--personally, i think Chung Tzu is the superior Taoist of the two---he's funnier

billl

06-03-2009, 01:38 PM

zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance by Bob Pirsig.

That's a great suggestion, since the OP is probably looking for something besides poems.

But I think Lust Hogg makes a great point--a lot of this stuff is going to be muted in mood, meditative at best, and even depressing at times.

Mutian

06-03-2009, 03:30 PM

Sophie's world;The history of western philosophy by Bertrand Russell;Meditations, objections, and replies by Rene Descartes; Metaphysics by Aristotle; On liberty by Mill/ All dialogues written by Plato regarding Socrates/ Tao-te Ching by Lao-tzu/Analects by Confucius/Social contract by Rousseau/The second treatise of Government by John Lock/

personally, I am interested in moral philosophy. The following books are about this topic.
Nicomachean ethics by Aristotle/Groundwork of metaphysics of morals by Kant/Utilitarianism by Mill

Many of the above books were read for my philosophy classes from which I have learned a lot, thereby make this recommendation to people who need such a list. I am also a curious student who would like to know more great books. Everyone in this forum must have some special wisdom to share, and I would both like to benefit from it and also be a contributor to it.

blp

06-04-2009, 06:34 PM

I second the Aristotle and Plato recommendations. They're relatively easy to read and make a good starting point, since they're pretty much the starting point for all of western philosophy.

For a simple overview, I'd strongly recommend getting hold of Bryan Magee's Story of Philosophy. (http://www.amazon.com/Story-Philosophy-Bryan-Magee/dp/0751333328/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1244154670&sr=8-1) There was an accompanying TV series, all of which, I think, can now be seen on youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44h9QuWcJYk

beroq

06-05-2009, 01:54 PM

So I was just wondering if anyone had any good recommendations.

Im barely starting off into this madness.

I just need somewhere to start.

What im reading right now is...THE POWER OF NOW .ECKHART TOLLE. A NEW EARTH...

I DONT KNOW WHO HE IS OR WHY IM READING.I JUST AM

Kind of ..you give me a gun ill pull the trigger kind of thing
but then again not necessarily.

Logic and Transcendence, 1975, Perennial Books, 1984 by Frithjof Schuon and Knowledge and the Sacred by Seyyed Hossein Nasr.

Strongly recommended...

beroq

06-05-2009, 02:04 PM

So I was just wondering if anyone had any good recommendations.

Im barely starting off into this madness.

I just need somewhere to start.

What im reading right now is...THE POWER OF NOW .ECKHART TOLLE. A NEW EARTH...

I DONT KNOW WHO HE IS OR WHY IM READING.I JUST AM

Kind of ..you give me a gun ill pull the trigger kind of thing
but then again not necessarily.

Good news...

I just found out that you can read the second book I recommended above online.

Here's the link:

http://www.giffordlectures.org/Browse.asp?PubID=TPKATS&Volume=0&Issue=0&TOC=TRUE

rabid reader

06-12-2009, 02:22 AM

Ones that I have enjoyed were Neitzsche's "Thus Spoke Zarathustra", Marcus Areliues' "Medititations"

acdouglas92

06-15-2009, 06:25 PM

If I'm looking for a book that examines morality moreover than philosophy...
Anyone know where to start? I've read some classic books on bioethics, but nothing's really "clicked" for me yet. Any suggestions?

Buh4Bee

06-16-2009, 09:11 PM

There is a Wednesday group meeting to discuss the Confessions of JJ Rousseau. It's pretty good so far, but more of a narrative than heavily philosophical.

acdouglas92

06-16-2009, 09:34 PM

Excellent, I'll try to check it out...who's it by?

trueromantic

06-18-2009, 08:26 AM

I second everything Muscian reccomends, I'd also reccomend Plato, the undisputable Timeus, anything by Bertrand Russel, you can't go wrong with Russel's history for detailed summaries of different schools.
Arguably the greatest philosophical work ever written- The White Goddess by Robert Graves. The Tao Te Ching. Gulliver's Travels anyone? It's prety amazing taken as a fictional work of philosophy. I love how it compares different philosophies by imaginary visits to lands which represent them so we as the reader actually get to experience their pros and cons..a sort of geographical philosophy, plus its a good story with an Alice in Wonderland feel.
P.S Dreamtime, I love Rumi's poetry and other Sufi poets and their views on philosophy. My penguin classics copy of his collected works says their translations "makes him one of the most widely read poets in America" but you very rarely hear about him. Have you read his biography, about how his best friend dissapeared from his home in Afganistan so he walked to..Baghdad I believe it was..absolute poet to the core!