~~How should I start?~~
Why should I start?
this post was submitted on 27 Sep 2023
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Asklemmy
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Take a community college introduction course.
It's only partially good to read the big texts, but it is useless if you don't know how to understand them in broader connections.
Don't think PhilosophyTube has been mentioned. Abby's great at taking complex topics and condensing them down to understandable discourse, and the videos are funny to boot. She used to do videos focused on philosophy but now applies that philosophy to popular subjects.
You have already started, my friend
I really dig Philosophize This
Not as in-depth as reading books of course, but it's very pleasant to listen to and you'll get a rough overview of who's who and can then go on to reading something referenced in the podcast that interests you.
Agreed, it was my gateway to philosophy. It's gives you a good idea of who the most famous philosophers were, and their greatest contributions. It's very superficial, because you can only say so much in a 20 minutes format, but it's a great start to find who you want to get into.
I want to thank you so much for suggesting this. I'm almost caught up with all the episodes of the podcast and I'm hooked. I just wish I had the time to follow up each episode with supplementary reading.
P.S: sorry for necroposting !
Hey, glad you like it. Such an awesome series, I really admire that guys ability to grasp and summarize these concepts so aptly.
You might like Michael Sugrue, too then https://youtu.be/7Kuk35VNSEc?si=vVHbLlL_vqglSKAq He also covers literature talking about the philosophy behind those books. Also incredibly good.
Crash Course by PBS features has an entire Introduction to Philosophy course for free on YouTube
Also, it's hosted by Hank Green who is a great presenter and very charming. I've watched the whole thing a couple of times now. It's very well explained and never dull.
Study it. Go to a university or community college. There are several offerings for adult education out there. This is 'the best' way to do it.
In case you don't want that: Take another form of couse or read a book that is made specifically to teach about the subject or give a proper introduction.
Start with a survey book or course. Do not start by diving directly into the primary literature.
As far as where to start - thatβs really something that should be driven by your interests. You donβt need to start with the Greeks and work your way forward.
Iβd say to start with an overview of modern philosophy. It will likely be more familiar to you in terms of the problems and the thinking patterns, and might apply more directly to problems youβre interested in. If you find something that you want to learn more about, turn towards βIntro to X,β and from there branch out into the individual philosophers and their works.
When I started diving in to philosophy I found The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy to have handy to go "What the fuck did I just read?!" too
If you're still not very knowledgeable, "Sophie's World" by Jostein Gaarder is an awesome read. Don't let the fact that it's a novel fool you, it's perfect to understand who's who across philosophy's history.
I came here to say this. The Tao of Pooh and the Te of Piglet by Benjamin Hoff are also solid reads.
Comments be like: start by reading the philosophy topics I like and I am biased towards
Kane B, on YouTube! https://youtube.com/@KaneB?si=p60dIrloVkPLdqSp
Has almost a decade of videos covering all sorts of topics. His videos are academic and to the point. He'll usually discuss the topic and motivations for the philosophical thought, then discuss any criticisms and counter examples.
Let Michael Schur guide you! - Watch The Good Place and read How to Be Perfect
you don't want to start. trust me on this.
As a person that started by randomly reading different philosophical works, I'd actually start with general overviews. Like, you might be interested to know that the Tao Te Ching is a response to the strict rituals of Confucianism. Introduction to Classical Chinese Philosophy is an excellent book in this regard. It's like putting all these different Chinese philosophies side by side, seeing how they grew out of each other, and you get to decide which you agree with and why.
I think the context is important because you get an idea of why they said what they said. The Tao Te Ching kinda seems like it's own book, a unique ahistorical perspective of living. But, if you think that (as too many people do), then you don't understand its limitations and its strengths. So, if you don't know what problem Confucian rituals are trying to solve, then you won't really understand why the Tao Te Ching eschews rituals in favor of "living in accordance with nature". It'll just sound like some hippy nonsense (which is, admittedly, very attractive on its own).
You might do the same for Stoicism, though I don't know any resources like the above for stoicism.
I really enjoy the Wisecrack YouTube channel for my philosophy phix.
The YouTube channel Then and Now is pretty good for beginners.
CCK Philosophy is good for Nietzsche, Marx, and postmodern / continental philosophy broadly, but you'll get more out of his work after reading a bit of those first.
Ben Burgis is a Marxist who teaches logic. He's not always a great public speaker, but he's very affable and generally on point. Will interview interesting people too.
Philosophy is more of a meta science. It's people commenting on other people's thoughts all the way down.
So you won't get any actual answers on how to live, you might find how a lot of people tangled with different aspects of reality and producing their views.
If you like the ideas of stoicism and taoism you can read on those subjects. If you want a philosophic approach you learn about idea structures leading up to them and contemporary with them, like epicureanism and confucianism.
There's plenty of good advice in this thread already, so take your pick! I always found a cool vibe between presocratics and Taoist thought.
May I suggest Wisdom of Insecurity by Alan Watts (1951). Fairly clear and direct.
Lots of good recommendations already, but my personal favorite is PhilosophyTube, both on YouTube and Nebula. The terribly depressing reality of many topics is couched by elaborate theatrical sets and costumes. At this point, there is a huge back catalog of topics that cover everything from traditional Socratic thought to modern social issues and everything in between.