Well...now what?
I'm hoping this is an appropriate place for this post, though I'm sure the moderators will be dutiful in deleting it if it's not. I'm currently a graduate student in theology and it has opened up a fascination with philosophy and a desire to supplement my theological study with philosophy.
However, I have one important question as I have begun to dip my toes in the water. How in the world do you read philosophical works or comprehend what someone is saying? I am an amateur of amateurs who lags in general reading comprehension abilities as it is. As excited as I get about studying a certain topic like religious pluralism or God and time, I am immediately lost in the waters of technical terminology and rhetoric and my excitement is exhausted and replaced with intimidation. When I listen to a lecture series where someone has mined through the works and explains them clearly, I can latch on and understand. However, when I engage with the works directly myself, I struggle to pull clear systematic information together.
I'm hoping someone would be willing to offer some tips on comprehending and critically engaging philosophy, not the history, but the theory and development. A simple search on Google would likely yield some reasonable results, however, I'm hoping that a sympathetic philosopher who remembers being in the state that I am in, could offer some testimony, guidance, and maybe even encouragement for myself and for anyone else who may feel this way.
Thank you in advance.
However, I have one important question as I have begun to dip my toes in the water. How in the world do you read philosophical works or comprehend what someone is saying? I am an amateur of amateurs who lags in general reading comprehension abilities as it is. As excited as I get about studying a certain topic like religious pluralism or God and time, I am immediately lost in the waters of technical terminology and rhetoric and my excitement is exhausted and replaced with intimidation. When I listen to a lecture series where someone has mined through the works and explains them clearly, I can latch on and understand. However, when I engage with the works directly myself, I struggle to pull clear systematic information together.
I'm hoping someone would be willing to offer some tips on comprehending and critically engaging philosophy, not the history, but the theory and development. A simple search on Google would likely yield some reasonable results, however, I'm hoping that a sympathetic philosopher who remembers being in the state that I am in, could offer some testimony, guidance, and maybe even encouragement for myself and for anyone else who may feel this way.
Thank you in advance.
Comments (8)
That is the best way to get started, reading and listening to other experienced people's summaries and explanations. Then analyze and form your opinion about the work. Then try reading the work itself.
Personally I would recommend starting with ethics or aesthetics if you have a choice about it. Then logic.
It depends on the philosopher. Who are you trying to understand?
Perhaps this recommendation will help:
The Philosopher's Toolkit: A Compendium of Philosophical Concepts and Methods (3rd Ed), Peter S. Fosl and Julian Baggini
All I'll add is I really wish this book had been available when I began studying philosophy on my own four decades ago. I gave the 2nd edition to a precocious nephew about ten years ago and by all accounts he's still using it. Keep this reference handy as you read through surveys and summaries of topics* and you should progress without much frustration (well, that depends, of course, on the particular philosophers you tangle with).
*Peter Adamson's podcast & book series A History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps ...
Then buy his books. You'll get it. :up:
Try "Sophie's World." It's a novel about a young girl learning about philosophy. It's aimed at a very general audience, but it has some substance.
A few more along that line.
Breakfast with Socrates, Robert Rowland Smith was a good read.
Aristotle and an Aardvark Go to Washington, Thomas Cathcart, Daniel Klein ,
and
Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar, Thomas Cathcart. Both were worth reading just for the laughs, but are thought provoking as well.
Plato at the Googleplex, Rebecca Goldstein Definitely worth reading.
• An Outline of Philosophy by Bertrand Russell,
• The Great Philosophers: An Introduction to Western Philosophy by Bryan Magee
and, of course, more in line with theological ("prophetic") affinities
• The American Evasion of Philosophy: A Genealogy of Pragmatism by Cornel West.
Quoting Sir2u
:up:
:up: