Do you have any recs for Philosphy for a noob?

[AcademicTerror]

I'm a high schooler and would like to read more philosophy books. The problem is where do I start? What books should I read first then progress onto different ones? Please no books that are anti-religion

Thanks for the help

[DanielBenoit]

Plato and Aristotle are usually the most often reccomended. As for me I started with Nietzsche, but since you asked for no anti-religous writers, you definitley wouldn't like Nietzsche.

If you are looking for religious philosophers, I reccomend Pascal and Kierkegaard highly.

[mal4mac]

Bryan Magee's "Confessions of a Philosopher" might be a good overview for you. Although not a Christian, he's quite respectful to religious philosophers. More so than Nietzsche, Russell, and Dawkins, anyway.

[stlukesguild]

Plato and Aristotle... certainly. Check into the Romans: Marcus Aurelius, Lucretius, Seneca, St. Thomas Aquinas' Summa Theologica, St. Augustine of Hippo's Confessions and City of God, Boethius' Consolation of Philosophy, Thomas à Kempis' The Imitation of Christ, Sir Francis Bacon's Essays, Michel Montaigne's Essays, Baruch Spinoza, Erasmus' In Praise of Folly (among other works), Lao Tse Tao Te Ching...

Just a few ideas.

[JBI]

Confucius and LaoZi (preferably good translations) then add in Han FeiZi and some military classics.

[heethar73]

The Consequences of Ideas by RC Sproul is a nice introduction to several philosophers and is a VERY easy read - unlike the works of the philosophers! Good luck.

[OrphanPip]

I would start with Plato, simply because he is much easier to read than most philosopher's you encounter.

Kierkegaard is the most interesting religious philosopher I've encountered, although you should be aware that even though he is pro-Christianity, he is in many ways highly critical of organized Christianity (he wasn't the best of friends with the Lutheran church). Existentialism also has a wonderful appeal when you're an angst (to use a Nietszchan term :p) ridden teen.

There are some very interesting post-war philosophers too. I've found Elizabeth Anscombe (a Catholic philosopher) very interesting, her condemnation of the use of nuclear weapons in WWII was particularly compelling for me. Peter Singer is interesting as well, but he might fall into the anti-religious category.

[Uberzensch]

I would recommend reading someone that is writing about something you are really interested in at the moment or feel strongly about. This way, you can engage the text and form your own dialogue with it.

If you are into politics, look at some political philosophy dealing with the political questions that most interest you. If it's ethics, find a defense of some position you love or hate.

Basically, find something you can engage personally, which I think will help maintain your interests and help you start on a fulfilling path. This should work better than simply reading what is important to the canon.

[OrphanPip]

I would recommend reading someone that is writing about something you are really interested in at the moment or feel strongly about. This way, you can engage the text and form your own dialogue with it.

If you are into politics, look at some political philosophy dealing with the political questions that most interest you. If it's ethics, find a defense of some position you love or hate.

Basically, find something you can engage personally, which I think will help maintain your interests and help you start on a fulfilling path. This should work better than simply reading what is important to the canon.

That is a good recommendation.

You also don't have to read the collected works of a single philosopher, it is alright to read a couple essays/books here and there from different authors.