Need advice on philisophical books

[mdppptro]

Hey there, just curious about getting started on reading some of the standard philisophical books that most adults should read. I will be incarcerated for the next year and am looking for a list of philosophy must reads. They could be Buddhist, Christian, Islamic, Greek, whatever. I just want to catch up on what most people have already read. Thanks for helping out!!!

[larryF]

Albert Camus, specifically The Stranger, The Fall, and The Myth of Sysiphus.
Nietzche - Thus Spoke Zarathustra and Beyond Good and Evil

[billl]

For just thinking about things philosophically, if you aren't familiar with Plato, then Plato's Republic has a lot of interesting things in it. When you say you're looking for philosophical books, Plato seems like a good choice because it has good examples of the application of logic, etc. Socrates is pretty fun sometime, and Plato is the (main) one that wrote about him.

Ralph Waldo Emerson's essays are fantastic (don't let that 'Waldo' scare you away.), that'd be my first recommendation. Pretty beautiful writing once you get the hang of it (took me maybe a couple dozen pages, but since then I've re-read them so many times.), and it can sort of pump a person up about life, put things in perspective, etc. He's an essayist, so calling him a 'philosopher' isn't strictly accurate--but it is said that Nietzche carried a copy of Emerson wherever he went.

I'll go ahead and be the one to recommend the Tao Te Ching (I suggest the Stephen Mitchell 'translation'). It's a central text of Taoism. It is pretty interesting to work on figuring out what's going on with it; just a couple dozen words might keep you thinking for quite a long time. It's very short though, and it might not interest you, so make sure you've got plenty of other stuff if you pick it.

[LitNetIsGreat]

Yes I would start with Plato as that is the fundamental starting block for just about all philosophical thought. I would also strongly recommend you to get a secondary book giving you an overview of key philosophical thinkers, you can then delve into each thinker in more detail. It would also seem wise to work chronologically as well. Don't forget you will be able to get a lot of stuff online too.

[Seasider]

I read Philosophy as a subsidiary subject at university and though I passed the course I didn't find it very inspiring.I read Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder about 8 years ago. Though it is not a deep academic study, it is a history of (mainly) Western Philosophy and its major figures and will give you a grounding from which to pursue any that interest you in more depth.
I enjoyed it.
There is also "The Problems of Philosophy" by Bertrand Russell which is a good introduction to some of the Big Questions that philosophers have been asking since earliest times.

[An Arab voice]

Hey there, just curious about getting started on reading some of the standard philisophical books that most adults should read. I will be incarcerated for the next year and am looking for a list of philosophy must reads. They could be Buddhist, Christian, Islamic, Greek, whatever. I just want to catch up on what most people have already read. Thanks for helping out!!!

I am a Muslim and I have written a novel called THE PHILOSOPHER. Find it in my web page.

[Alexander III]

I would suggest reading Epictetus and Marcus Aurelious - two of the greatest stoics

[Rores28]

I'll second this guy - Marcus Aurelious.
Siddhartha (Buddhist selection) is nice too, its short and a relatively easy read.

You also might wanna look at Bertrand Russel's "A History of Philosophy" and Brian Magees "Confessions of a Philosopher," which give an entertaining overview of philosophy in general.

So what you getting incarcerated for?

[mdppptro]

Thanks for all the responses, I think you guys have given me enough 'gas' to get this 'engine' started, thanks again...

[mal4mac]

I'll second this guy - Marcus Aurelious.
Siddhartha (Buddhist selection) is nice too, its short and a relatively easy read.

You also might wanna look at Bertrand Russel's "A History of Philosophy" and Brian Magees "Confessions of a Philosopher," which give an entertaining overview of philosophy in general.

So what you getting incarcerated for?

Good advice. I would start with Magee first, as he provides a criticism of Russell's work - pointing out that it was a rather a rushed job & reveals some bias, and lack of erudition in a few areas, especially relating to Kant & Schopenhauer. Russell is very readable though, so I wouldn't dismiss it completely. Maybe some of his other works would be a better bet - see Magee for suggestions.

[JBI]

I am a Muslim and I have written a novel called THE PHILOSOPHER. Find it in my web page.

I am a Canadian and I have written a post called THE CRITICIZER. Find it on this web page.

[iswarya]

your must read will be the stranger(Camus) and sidhartha(Hesse) which are my personal favourites.

[PSRemeshChandra]

As Billl and Neely pointed out, Plato's Republic is the first book to begin a serious and leisurely study of Philosophy with. It is one of the greatest arguments and dialogues in this world. If one has not read it in his lifetime, it is as if a learner in ancient Greece had not schooled himself under Plato. The benefit is that by reading one book, two great masters i.e. Socrates and Plato come to our aid and guidance in our future life. Moreover, the other various characters who were the prominent citizens of Athens then also provide us with excellent insight. The book is a French Door serving as a door to the future political, economic, cultural, philosophical and aesthetic advancement of the world, as well as a window into the intellectual history of the world. Reading this classic is like arming oneself against the world. Once we complete the book, whether there be rain or hail or storm without interruption, we simply become an Aristotle.

[Pierre Menard]

For western philosophy, if you want a real understanding of the most influential ideas, then something like this:

Pre-Socratics
Plato
Aristotle
Aquinas
Spinoza
Hobbes
Descartes
Kant
Locke
Nietzsche
Schopenhauer
Heidegger
Sartre
Camus

[stlukesguild]

I am a Canadian and I have written a post called THE CRITICIZER. Find it on this web page.

You're Canadian???!:confused::eek::sosp:




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