How to start reading philosophy?

ViveLaVie

I have quite a bit of free time and I am interested in learning a bit of philosophy. Ideally I'd like to be able to do some reading on my own and 'pick' it up.

I have some knowledge of literary theory if that is of any benefit (perhaps it's not). I don't really know where to start though. It seems really daunting. I do have a friend who did some philosophy in college and criticises how I argue, saying that I don't have a proper understanding of how to construct an argument etc so I'd like to look into that, as well as feminism, and I'd ideally like to have a basic knowledge of the big thinkers such as Kant, Nietsche etc.

Does anyone have any advice? Something light and interesting would be best as I will probably get confused/bored if the text is too dense.

Regarding your want for a basic knowledge of the big thinkers and big ideas, I'd recommend Bertrand Russell's A History of Western Philosophy — it has its flaws and biases, which are arguably inherent in every book, the author being a human, after all, but it is, nonetheless, a fantastic work. A casual reading will give you a basic knowledge of most, if not all, of the great philosophers and great ideas from the past three millennia. A more careful perusal will impart a huge amount of information — it did for me, at least. It will also allow you to find which aspects of philosophy and what schools of thought interest you most.

18AD

I found the "Very Short Introduction" series to actually be quite good.


What area of philosophy are you interested in? There's so much to choose from. That's the daunting part. Usually introductory and secondary sources are going to have more obviously laid out arguments than source texts.
eg. Nietzsche is a dream to read, but a nightmare to pinpoint his arguments.

Some source texts that are not too dense would be Plato's Republic, Aristotle' Nicomachean Ethics, Descartes' Meditations. Rousseau, Locke, Hume and Berkeley aren't so bad either. But again, we're veering into too much choice! :P

username123

Im in my last year of a distance learning philosophy degree with University of London and they do a short Intro module as a standalone (the idea is to let people dip their feet before committing). Anyway, the textbook for it is Reading Philosophy which you can get on Amazon, so you could get that for a browse (rather than signing up for anything). Its a good intro.

Cannibal Ox

I'd stay away from Russell's book - it's very much a work of its time and written from a very particular point of view of what philosophy is and should be.

My advice would be to start by looking at what interests you rather then trying to get to grips with the whole. You'll be bored to tears ten pages into the Critique of Pure Reason if you're not interested in the argument that Kant is putting forward. And it'll just put you off doing more, so definitely find what interests you and pursue that rather then making it a job.

In saying that, Plato is always worth a look. Maybe not the Republic, but the shorter pieces like the Symposium and what Penguin publish as the Death of Socrates are good introductions and (relatively!) engaging pieces. .

More broadly, Isaiah Berlin has some brilliant pieces in The Crooked Timber of Humanity and The Roots of Romanticism. Peter Gay's book on Modernism is very approachable, as is Marshall Berman's book on Modernism All that is Solid. There's no easy way to approach the Enlightenment although The Philosophy of the Enlightenment is probably one of the finest books on it. I know absolutely nothing about Feminism, but if that's something that grabs your interest the Short Introduction guides are usually fairly solid (and short!) so it might be a good place to start.

Cannibal Ox

Cannibal Ox wrote: »

I'd stay away from Russell's book - it's very much a work of its time and written from a very particular point of view of what philosophy is and should be.

I've read the book myself, and I've read several (scathing) criticisms of it, but despite that I still thoroughly enjoyed it — I find Russell to be a fantastic writer, and his work is easy to engage with. I suppose my own limitation is my limited knowledge of philosophy — everything I know is self-taught: I have no formal qualifications — so my criticisms or appraisals of Russell's work mean very little. Would you have any recommendations for a book similar in scope to Russell's? One that deals with philosophy as a whole, from its foundations in Greece to modern times, and traces threads of thought through the ages? I enjoy having a broad, encompassing knowledge of things: to know a little about a lot rather than to know a lot about a little, so I enjoy books like Russell's.

Cannibal Ox

I don't really think it's possible to do a summary, but the edifice that is Frederick Copleston's History of Philosophy is probably the best overall summary I've ever looked at. It's a serious commitment and it is heavy going. I haven't come close to working my through all of it, and honestly unless I find myself stuck in a monastery for 12 months I don't think I ever will.

And as someone who tried to go at the whole at once, I'd say pick up on periods you're interested in and cover the overall that way. My feeling is that the whole is so big and complex that trying to grasp it in its entirety is near impossible - better to grab bits and pieces and build up a picture from them.

You're also inevitably going to be bored and hugely uninterested in some of it. Some people find Plotinus a riveting read, I personally can't imagine anything worse then a thirty page summary of several hundred pages of Plotinus. I think you'll get more enjoyment out of it by picking the pieces that interest you most, and I'm not sure why you'd do it if it wasn't at least a little bit enjoyable!

Autonomous Cowherd

Oh, i Loove this thread..I'm in the same place as OP trying to start out on a self-taught course of Philosophy. I will start with the Russell book....in spite of it being of its time, it is often recommended.....Just piping in here really so i can keep in touch with the recommendations on the thread. Oh ! Goody!!!

Cannibal Ox

Cannibal Ox wrote: »

I don't really think it's possible to do a summary, but the edifice that is Frederick Copleston's History of Philosophy is probably the best overall summary I've ever looked at. It's a serious commitment and it is heavy going. I haven't come close to working my through all of it, and honestly unless I find myself stuck in a monastery for 12 months I don't think I ever will.

And as someone who tried to go at the whole at once, I'd say pick up on periods you're interested in and cover the overall that way. My feeling is that the whole is so big and complex that trying to grasp it in its entirety is near impossible - better to grab bits and pieces and build up a picture from them.

You're also inevitably going to be bored and hugely uninterested in some of it. Some people find Plotinus a riveting read, I personally can't imagine anything worse then a thirty page summary of several hundred pages of Plotinus. I think you'll get more enjoyment out of it by picking the pieces that interest you most, and I'm not sure why you'd do it if it wasn't at least a little bit enjoyable!

I thumbed through a copy of Copleston's History of Philosophy in a library several years ago (I think it was the first volume as it dealt with Greece and Rome), but I hadn't realised there were another 8 volumes after the first! It seems like a real tome, and I can see why you'd want to be locked in a monastery for 12 months to read it; reading thousands upon thousands of apparently endless pages is a daunting prospect. I think I'll pick up the first volume and give it a go as it is seemingly held in high regard.

I agree with you about reading books or works that deal with individual periods, schools of thought, themes, or philosophers — it's the only way to get a true understanding of particular aspects of philosophy — and I have read dozens of such books, ones that weren't necessarily summaries or overviews of all of philosophy, but works by particular philosophers or books about particular schools of thought. I've found works like Russell's help to tie it all together; seemingly disparate facets of philosophy can often be "linked together" when viewed in the context of a wider, less specific, and more general overview.

Thanks for the tips. I've added a few books to my shopping cart on The Book Depository.

sedric

If your objective is to improve the quality of your arguments , consider looking at books on Critical Thinking, this area helps us avoid fallacies.
Rather than splash out on what can be expensive literature, look at free material on Open University, also the Itunes U site has free written and audio material on constructing valid argument.

Studying the philosophers is a rather long way around improving one's own thinking,
I would also consider using the many teach yourself books especially the pictorial ones. This may seem patronising, but the better examples of these books get to the point quickly and avoid long-winded explanations

After starting your study be prepared for some surprises, you will find that many arguments especially in the media and from political leaders are clearly invalid and yet apparently accepted.

Autonomous Cowherd

Thank you for this information.

breadmonkey

sedric wrote: »

If your objective is to improve the quality of your arguments , consider looking at books on Critical Thinking, this area helps us avoid fallacies.

Could you recommend any literature in this regard?

breadmonkey

breadmonkey wrote: »

Could you recommend any literature in this regard?

This recommendation is slightly off topic, as it's not exactly pertaining to logic or the art of argumentation, but a fantastic book to read if you're interested in argument and debate is Daniel Kahneman's Thinking, Fast and Slow. In it, Kahneman explores and details decades of research (a lot of it his own) on how we think, what cognitive biases pervade our thought and our methods of thinking, what cognitive errors we're naturally predisposed to, and so on. To be able to construct a good argument, or evaluate the quality of an argument another person makes, it's important to be aware of our intrinsic cognitive biases and predispositions, and Kahneman's book is probably the best that I've read that explores this area.

Autonomous Cowherd

Thank you again, that looks very interesting, I will check it out on Amazon...now if only i could find a patron to cover the costs of my book habit...:)

sedric

Surely recommending that someone look at critical thinking literature when they have said "I do have a friend who did some philosophy in college and criticises how I argue, saying that I don't have a proper understanding of how to construct an argument etc so I'd like to look into that..is not off topic.
Here's a link to a free Itunes Open University course It has audio and slides. Best of luck !
https://itunes.apple.com/us/itunes-u/critical-reasoning-for-beginners/id387875756U

sedric

sedric wrote: »

Surely recommending that someone look at critical thinking literature when they have said "I do have a friend who did some philosophy in college and criticises how I argue, saying that I don't have a proper understanding of how to construct an argument etc so I'd like to look into that..is not off topic.
Here's a link to a free Itunes Open University course It has audio and slides. Best of luck !
https://itunes.apple.com/us/itunes-u/critical-reasoning-for-beginners/id387875756U

I was saying that my recommendation was slightly off-topic, considering the genre of the book I recommended is psychology — specifically, cognitive biases and predispositions — and this is the philosophy forum. In other words, I was qualifying my own recommendation. But, as you say, if somebody is interesting in learning how to think well and is interested in critical thinking and argumentation, then a psychology book discussing cognitive biases is quite relevant, and a distinction between philosophical literature and psychological literature need not be drawn.