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Ask HN: Learning about philosophy

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Re: Ask HN: Learning about philosophy

#181

Post by danielam »

ethn wrote: post #166

It's best to start with epistemology, epistemology is the foundation for all works in philosophy, which an understanding of is necessary for not only a good rigor but to know what is possible to know, so you don't your waste time. Like others I recommend going through Aristotle, Plato, and Socrates--they are valuable in themselves but it will further allow you to see the motivation for the later works I'm going to re…

> It's best to start with epistemology, epistemology is the foundation for all works in philosophy, which an understanding of is necessary for not only a good rigor but to know what is possible to know, so you don't your waste time.

I could not disagree more with this position. This is a common view in philosophy Descartes onward, but it is untenable because to know what can be known presumes knowing what is to be known first. Similar attitudes exist with respect to methodology. Method always follows knowledge of the real. Otherwise, how could you know which method to use? Before you decide to use a hammer, you must first know you have a nail and a couple of planks to assemble. The style of philosophizing that Descartes initiated is ultimately the death knell of philosophy and frankly all knowledge.

Epistemology is always done reflexively. We can only examine what knowledge is after we've come to know something. Metaphysics is really the best place to start and on which everything else depends.

Re: Ask HN: Learning about philosophy

#182

Post by kaichanvong »

You could try searching "introductory philosophy course" and it might return some kinds of searches for this... Consider bias, succinct detailing and noteable figures. Some of the greatest philosphers out there had their works changed because of laws and different stories. As for myself. I read biographies and other different understandings of philospophy

Re: Ask HN: Learning about philosophy

#183

Post by jaxn »

kpsychwave wrote: post #159

As a philosophy major, I would advise you to pay attention to the order in which you expose yourself to materials. The earlier stronger impressions in your journey will naturally have a weight on your opinions of later materials. In addition, academic departments usually have an -ism bias so that will also influence their content recommendations. A neutral starter would be: Introduction to Logic and Critical Thinking…

As a former philosophy major, I concur 100%.

There are many great recommendations of philosophy works to read, but logic itself is how philosophy works. I would even go as far as to say logic is the class that has had the single largest impact on my life.

Re: Ask HN: Learning about philosophy

#184

Post by bordercases »

gjsman-1000 wrote: post #143

If you are interested in Western Catholic philosophy (considering its dominance from 500-1500 and ongoing influence in our world), I'd recommend reading from the Summa Theologica by St. Thomas Aquinas. Even if you are not Catholic, it will give you a much better understanding of the origins of modern Western thought. From Wikipedia: "Throughout the Summa, Aquinas cites Christian, Muslim, Hebrew, and Pagan sources, in…

I'm an Albertus Magnus guy myself. He understood the act of being in a personal relation with God better than Aquinas did.

Re: Ask HN: Learning about philosophy

#185

Post by Debug_Overload »

I think having a good introduction before reading the big books suggested here is a good idea. For an introductory book, Think: A Compelling Introduction to Philosophy is pretty good. It's short, and covers the important topics and how philosophers thought about them. You can then move on to reading the classics.

Re: Ask HN: Learning about philosophy

#186

Post by crazygringo »

bordercases wrote: post #172
crazygringo wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At some point you should get to the original sources if you want to be an academic, yes. But the reality is that 99% of the original source material is not relevant, will not be particularly rewarding, and may require a grad-level background to even understand many of the sentences. You want to read Hobbes Leviathan? Guess what, the only parts that matter today are a handful of pages. Same with Kant's Groundwork, Ari…

At the same time these primary works are the main examples of philosophy actually being done . Any summary material can only speak to the results of philosophy, while the primary sources when closely analyzed (like source code!) yield the process . Which will be more helpful if one wants to develop a "personal philosophy"? Working out the chains of reasoning or picking-and-choosing from a menu?

I honestly can't agree at all.

The primary works often just blatantly "state" things as if they were opinions. Then it's up to generates of scholars afterwards to argue about what the actual process of logical argument was.

Historical philosophy books aren't mathematical proofs. They don't necessary demonstrate process at all, it's not philosophy being "done" but just stated. Very often, it's precisely the summary works that situate the thinkers in a context that illuminates the process that led to their conclusions.

Also I don't know what you mean about "developing a personal philosophy"... I'm talking about academic philosophy here.

Re: Ask HN: Learning about philosophy

#187

Post by maxerickson »

pmoriarty wrote: post #23

The best way to learn about philosophy is to take a good introductory course. Books aren't nearly as good because you won't get to discuss the ideas with other students who are also learning the subject, which is half the fun and half the point of philosophy. You'll also miss out on the insights and explanations of the professor, which will be very valuable, if the professor is any good. As for books, the Socratic di…

I liked the instructor I had for my 101 class and really didn't enjoy the discussions at all. So much of what people raised didn't engage with the material, questions that were straightforward to address, or simple clarifications (that they asked as 'gotchas' more than out of confusion).

I think it's unfortunate that so much of the pedagogy is focused on following the history. Of course it's useful for people that plan on continuing with it, but it's a terrible introduction.

Re: Ask HN: Learning about philosophy

#189

Post by originalvichy »

steerpike wrote: post #34

I recommend the Philosophise This podcast[0]. It has a lot of episodes on the classic philosophers but it also delves into some of the contemporary philosophers that I find very interesting. I lot of other philosophical discussions seem to act like philsophy stopped around Russell and Wittgenstein. [0] https://www.philosophizethis.org/

Recommend. Many can sneer at a podcaster trying to tackle philosophy, but he does it well enough to get you interested in seeking the original theory. That’s what he does best. I love his podcast.
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