okay. im looking for some direction now. ive been in and out philosophy forums and websites. somethings i can grasp, somethings i cannot comprehend. im not studying philosophy and if age matters, im 18.
im fairly acquainted with the basic whatswhat and whoswho of philosophy (the ABCs only rather) but nothing more. thanks to ‘philo for dummys’ and introductory sites.
i have started reading mostly into the existentialist realm, that being my favourite. i have read most of all, nietzsche (because he writes rather straightforwardly and like ‘favourite books’ i relate to his ideals)
but speaking generally, what would you hand to a philo n00b to read? to where do i take the next step? what are the starters of the must haves?
It really depends upon what kind of philosophy you are interested in. You can probably find people knowledgeable of all types on this site. Just go with whatver sounds interesting because we can suggest until we are out of breath and you may like none of what we suggest. Perhaps, ask a philosophic question that you would like to know about and then we can direct you to who is good to read at the level you are at right now.
I would recommend ‘The History of Western Philosophy’ by Bertrand Russell, as an introduction to philosophy it’s quite good. While not perfect, and no philosophy book is, it’s a good place to start. It covers all Western Philosophy, plus it includes some of the history behind the thinking, making it easier to understand why some philosophies that seem stupid now, but weren’t back then. Also, because it’s an overview of most of the thought up to about 1900 its possible to get an idea of what areas of philosophy interests you the most and then go read the works in questions.
If you can find it look at “An Introduction to Western Philosophy” by Anthony Flew.
It teaches not philosophy, but how to philosophize which is the point.
As Wittgenstein said, philosophy is not a theory but an activity.
Good suggestions from all. Glad to hear that you like Nietzsche, he uses non-technical terms and writes well.
I recommend The problems of philosophy by Bertrand Russell. Bertand Russell's books are frequently non-technical too.
I think it is important to find a thinker you can identify with and understand and learn from.
Also it is important to realize that philosophy is divided into metaphysics, ethics, epistemology, politics, logic, aesthetics, and the like. at some later point perhaps you'll want to specialize.
although I am not a proponent of Wittgenstein as you all know, that last quote that kennethamy mentioned was superb.
And yes I agree with Mcdaniel, you will want to specialize at one point, Karl Jaspers “Way to Wisdom” is an amazing start up book and it has a guide in the back on how to become a philosopher, although if you are looking towards the analytic/logic/language/mathematical side of philosophy, you will have to ask one of these other ladies and gentlemen because that is not my specialty.
All this is very intimidating. I am a philosophical infant, but have read Plato’s Republic and Rene Descarte’s Discourse on Method. And that is about it. A common aspect of philosophy that I have noticed is the language used to convey thoughts. My grammer isn’t much, and being that I did drop out of High School, that doesn’t make me much of a scholar. My question is, do these books that say they teach you how to philosophize actually help? To me it seems that knowing how to philosophize is something left for the intellectuals, which I’m definitly not.
— I don’t think you have to have an education to have a philosophical bent, (I graduated a year early from High School and have not yet attended college), although to my mind an education will help you to appreciate it more and perhaps be better at it.
— The appreciation of something is one thing and actually doing it is another. I’ve found, that to a certain degree, reading all these philosophy books has actually impaired my ability to think for myself. That is one reason this forum is really great for trying out one’s arguments. it provides balance to all my reading.
— Books on logic may help you think more clearly, Which will help you in any endeavor in life, don’t get discouraged, search until you find a philosopher that you can understand and appreciate, i can tell you it’s well worth it.
It is the same concept of using a calculator to solve math problems. Im not implying that books act as your algebraic calcs, im just saying that if used improperly, you short sight yourself.
you mean kind of like spellcheck on Microsoft word. I used to be a good speller in elementary school. But with the advent of spellcheck, I can’t spell for sh#t! I have become so dependent on it, it is amazing.
Interesting.
So the more thoughts of others that I read, the less original my ideas become. Because my brain will start to mimick these great minds’ patterns of thought. Am I getting this right. Wow, this is amazing.
So is it smart to continue my journey into philosophy? I don’t want to risk impairing the ability to think for myself.
No, continue your journey into the world of philosophy, just remember to keep those words of wisdom in mind. In fact, the best way to learn is to keep an open mind.
My mind can’t be any more open. I sometimes feel I have no convictions. I switch point’s of veiws as much as I change underwear. I argue veiws with myself and others just to see how strong that point is. Last example was Kenethamy and I speaking about something/nothing. Wow, that was awesome. Maybe there is no nothing, but all somethings. And so my journey continues. Hopefully I don’t go too crazy.
— You guys pretty much pegged what i was saying about my reading impairing thinking ability. Sometimes i think i’m more of a scholar than a thinker, but you pretty much have to be the former in order to do anything with the latter.
— Scales have to be used and calibrated many times before they begin to adequately reflect the true measure of things.
Wow, what’s the irony in this. The more you learn, the more you realize that you don’t know anything. I should have been taught philosophy in third grade!
You have to share knowledge somewhere. Would philosophy have done you any good, if you had not first learned how to write and speak? but the purpose of education should not be to indoctrinate. The ultimate purpose of the true teacher is to make himself obsolete for the student.
Marshall, do you think that knowledge (or maybe I mean wisdom. I don’t quite know the true difference. I think wisdom is knowledge with understanding.) comes from within or that it gets introduced into your psyche.
And I think that the responsibility that we put on our teachers should be put on the parent. I want to try to raise a theory to the forum. What if a law was written that would make parents more responsible in the manner they raise their children. I mean the morals and values that they have is subjective (if I’m using the word correctly), but certain aspects of their children.
Perhaps wisdom is the response from within against what is without (but this works both ways).
I mean’t teacher in a more general sense.
The parent has been hogtied. Both parents have to work to make a living (if the child is lucky enough to live in a two parent household), probably can’t afford anything but public education. Furthermore, parents are constrained by laws. In the end the Television, baby-sitter, and uncle sam have more of an influence.