Think , by Simon Blackburn : opinions?

[Phobos]

so then,

how does one determine what foods are to what benefit, and which food is actually meant for our stomachs at all?

[Marshall_McDaniel]

— Everything is related. You study one thing, it leads to another interesting discipline, you look at that, but behold! The prinipal exponent derived his ideas from an earlier predecessor. Nothing wrong with a large appetite, but as Trix said, “Don’t believe everything you swallow.” E.G. i’m an atheist, but this does not prevent me reading: the Koran, The Bible, various Indian religious texts, The baghavad Gita, etc.

As Nietzsche said, “When you stare into the abyss, be careful that the abyss does not stare into you, and when fighting monsters one must be careful not to become a monster oneself.”

[Kennethamy]

@trix

kennethamy wrote:

Well, I guess that’s right. Of course, if you happen to read a philosopher who bores or baffles you, it is likely that you will throw the book down and never want to look at philosophy again.

So, maybe it would be better to get a taste of several philosophers, or even better, to read a book like “Think” or “The Problems of Philosophy.” and find out something about what it is philosophers do after all. How about that as an alternative?

That’s a pretty shitty alternative. don’t take my liberal use of emoticons as a signal for my intelligence. an unwillingness to begin the study of philosophy because a single philosopher failed to capture your interest indicates that the person is unwilling to study philosophy.

studying philosophy and, more importantly, doing philosophy consists of reading, critiquing and analysing other philosophers. if one where to start by reading a well-known and legitimate philosopher (like Aristotle or locke) there are many guides available and resources out there that will help with this study. further, this is valuable training ground to learn how to philosophise, by being able to recognise how one philosophy school does this and also how the individual chooses to also enage in this.

reading second hand accounts of the philosophers are good only if one uses them to pick a field or thinker to study. they should not be taken as legitimate ways of philosophising and a person wanting to get introduced to the subject should regard them in the same way a person who reads the blurb at the back of a book wants to know about the novel; as a brief summary from an angle that may not be agreed on by everyone. the only way to know the book is to read the book. the only way to do philosophy is to be able to read, write and argue philosophy. the sooner the better.

hence, your proposal was not a good one. phobos, while a large appetite is good, do not believe everything you swallow – something that those books will force you to do.

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First, Russell’s “The Problems of Philosophy” isn’t what I would call a “secondary source,” since it contains a lot of first rate philosophizing by great philosopher in his own right.

Second, I think it is a good idea when newly coming to a subject like philosophy (and philosophy may be unique in this respect) about which you probably have no idea, and, even if you do, probably have the wrong idea, since you may mix it up with religion or some kind of mysticism. or even self-help, to get a first rate introduction to what it is that philosophers are about, and the sorts of problems they discuss. Anthony Flew’s “Introduction the the History of Western Philosophy” is very good in this respect, and, in addition, Flew is, himself, an excellent philosopher. The same goes for Blackburn.

[Marshall_McDaniel]

— Avoid anything which you have to chew 32 times to digest, if you can’t understand it you don’t need it. Avoid anything that causes indigestion, if it’s not right for you, don’t eat it. Seek to maintain a well balanced diet but start off early in the morning with something simple like bread. This should lead to fairly good rumination.

[Kennethamy]

@Marshall McDaniel

— Avoid anything which you have to chew 32 times to digest, if you can’t understand it you don’t need it. Avoid anything that causes indigestion, if it’s not right for you, don’t eat it. Seek to maintain a well balanced diet but start off early in the morning with something simple like bread. This should lead to fairly good rumination.

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Whatever it is, you have said it all.

[si1 (si)]

My (explicit) philosophical escapade began about a year ago. I was lucky engouh to encounter Craig’s Very Short Introduction, a book (heartily recommended) which balances all the concerns hitherto presented. It is almost wholly secondary analysis (with some original meta-philosophy), but strongly encourages its use beside the original texts discussed (which are carefully selected across genre, epoch and geographical context). It offers a helping hand through the most basic concepts of each philosophy, gives a sense of context for each writing, and most importantly is incredibly humble; he repeatedly implores the reader to make their own independent sojourns into philosophy as soon as possible.

[Marshall_McDaniel]

Welcome to the forum Si. Is Craig the last name?

[si1 (si)]

Edward Craig, Knightbridge Professor of Philosophy at Cambridge. Also edited the Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. An impressive individual…

[Marshall_McDaniel]

Thanks.