Good philosopher to start off with?

[George_Berkeley]

I started out reading The Works of Plato, it was a good introduction. I felt that this is what made me pro-metaphysics.

[sauron89]

Rather than trying to use philosophy so generally as something you want to learn, try to single out a topic that you want to be more aware of. Passion for a topic will allow the subject to be more accessible than another.
And I don't agree with you mal considering your notion that philosophy should be regarded aesthetically. Philosophical literature, in my opinion and I believe general consensus, should be regarded as scholarly works that should be carefully examined and engaged.

[mal4mac]

"Beauty is truth, truth beauty," - that is all
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.

Keats

[blazeofglory]

In point of fact truth is something else and philosophy is a quite another thing. Do both go together? Of course they do. But philosophies at times keep on layering and layering truth and simple things become more complicated with philosophies. Yet we cannot do without philosophies in today’s world. I have too many questions about the world and most of my questions get answered thru philosophies. But there are certain questions that cannot be answered or philosophies simply seem hogwash. I can ask a question like the existence of God, the meaning of life and the universe. We seek to answer ourselves partly through religions, partly thru mythologies and of course partly thru science and philosophies. Many of my questions find answers through philosophies and logics rather than science and as such I love philosophies despite the fact that it is very intricate

[JommiL]

Desolation; You like Nietzsche. What do you think about his idea about ubermench?

[ThomH]

You could try Bertrand Russell's 'History of Western Philosophy' and also his 'The Problems of Philosophy'

Really good place to start. Both excellent books.

(And hello, fellow Plymouthian!)

[blazeofglory]

J Krishnamurti is a philosopher to start off with. I have read most of his books and all are very insightful and as a matter of fact reading him is very enlightening.

[Itsonlytrung]

You should definitely start with Hegel. He might be very hard to read but his dialectic is nothing short of spectacular, especially the synthesis of being and nothingness. This guys is the father of existentialism and, therefore, the father of Sartre.

If philosophy is nothing more than whimsical romanticism of life then Nietzsche is sadistic and subjective, while Hegel is more objective and practical.

[AcademicTerror]

Hegel? Sounds cool. I'm going to read some of his works later next month. I'm also a novice/ or rather a scrub to the world of philosophy. Thanks fam for the recs

[emfayemc]

My first "major" work of philosophy was Plato's Republic. I completely fell in love with it, and philosophy.

[zeeshan89]

I think that one should avoid reading the above-mentioned books. When I was a novice, and wanted a deeper acquaintance with the subject, I asked the Head of Philosophy Department at J.U. for a reading list. The one I got (after waiting for two weeks or so) consisted mainly of books like 'The Story of Philosophy' and 'Philosophy' of the Oxford Very Short Introduction series. I think she even suggested 'Existentialism For Dummies'. True, these books arent written by renowned philosophers but they do provide a comprehensive study in simple and elegantly written english. They also have a decent bibliography.

After all, we all know what little drops of water are capable of, right?

[Uberzensch]

I'd second Plato's Republic. While I am at it, here is a list of books I've assigned in my Introduction to Political Philosophy Courses. They are mostly standard canon and very relevant. The list is all over the place, but I find that different people latch on to different philosophers. What I like, you may hate, etc. (For example, I love Rousseau and Nietzsche.)

Aristotle's Politics
Machiavelli's Prince
Locke's Second Treatise
Rousseau's First and Second Discourse, Social Contract
Nietzsche's Beyond Good and Evil, On the Genealogy of Morals
Freud's Civilization and its Discontents
Camus' The Rebel
Foucault Power/Knowledge, Discipline and Punish

Most of these books are relatively short. Try some.

P.S. I'd ignore mal4mac's advice here. I actually tend to agree with him, or I should say Rorty, as far as the whole literature thing. But, that is a debate and discussion that falls well beyond the scope of your original inquiry. I'd be glad to continue that discussion, but I think it's disingenuous and wrong to steer someone in that direction when they clearly asking a straightforward question.

[blazeofglory]

There are too many books of philosophers and philosophers and I like to refer to the Vedas.

[jajdude]

J Krishnamurti is a philosopher to start off with. I have read most of his books and all are very insightful and as a matter of fact reading him is very enlightening.

And you can check him out online easily enough

Texts or videos

[Darcy88]

Maybe Aristotle and Plato? But then agian, Aristotle can be very dry, and you are bound to reencounter their ideas again and again in philosophy, whether you have read them or not.

I too started out with Nietzsche, but probably isn't the best place to start. Might I suggest Desartes or Hume? One of the most basic ideas of philosophy is that dichotemy between empiricism and rationalism.

This post says what I intended to say when I saw the question posed in the title of the thread.

The intro to philosophy course that originally got me into philosophy focused primariliy on Plato's Apology and Descartes Meditations. Having read a lot of philosophy since then, I can`t think of two better texts with which to begin one`s journey into the discipline.

I think that gaining a thorough understanding of Plato in particular will open your eyes to much of the thought that's shaped culture period, be it western or eastern, for the last several thousand years. Plato, Plato, Plato!

And I hate Plato. I just think he is the quickest route to realizing what's been going on in the philosophies and religions of the world since god knows when.

To me Nietzsche is the be all end all of western philosophy, and it can't hurt to read a text by him, even if it might not make a lot of sense considering your lack of familiarity with the overall tradition. May I recommend Twilight of The Idols. Its a very succinct statement of his philosophy.

I'm also a huge fan of the Chinese Daoist philosopher Chuang Tsu. Check him out. It'll blow your mind for sure.