The title text under Descartes' name says 'Confessions', which is an unfortunate error made during the editing process. The text recommended is, in fact, the Meditations. This link in the description takes you to the correct book.

@SWABManutius

Жыл бұрын

One of Descartes lesser-known assertions: Je pense, donc je fais des coquilles.

@AlasdairAly

Жыл бұрын

Thanks for this video, but would you be able to recommend a print edition of Russell's 'Problems of Philosophy'? I have difficulty reading large sections of text on a screen, and a printed copy would be really helpful. Much obliged!

@_jared

Жыл бұрын

@@AlasdairAly To my knowledge, there are no good print editions right now. When I taught this text in the classroom, I advised students to print off the version I linked to.

@Yatukih_001

Жыл бұрын

The new atheist movement was created by the elite to divide and conquer the people. Your video is excellent and has great and powerful narration which is totally on point! Kind regards from Ásgeir in Iceland.

@BobHowler

Жыл бұрын

Also, he doesn’t say “I think, therefore I am” in Meditations. It’s in the Discourse on Method. The meditations contains “I am, I exist” as an a priori intuition. I wouldn’t be able to sleep if I let that slip. Sorry. From one philosophy lover to another.

I was bored one day and randomly read the Meno by Plato from a book of classical literature I found at a thrift store, and it really spoke to me. I never thought much about philosophy before then. That was about two years ago, and it's led me down a wonderful rabbit hole. I've read many of your suggestions, and I'm currently on St. Augustine.

@Platonist

Жыл бұрын

#platonism

@luisapaza317

Жыл бұрын

Wow, thats awesome. Thanks for sharing buddy

@sempressfi

Жыл бұрын

Yeah I've been dabbling in it off and on for a few years but stayed really getting grabbed by it mid 2022. It's been such a wonderfully complex and challenging yet enriching experience

@Midnight4K

7 ай бұрын

My study of philosophy, especially Aristotle, St Augustine, and St Thomas Aquinas is what eventually turned me catholic 😂

@saminjarif6522

5 ай бұрын

7

Thank you for the disclaimer at the beginning. Everybody else mostly gloss over that fact and pretend philosophy is a western thing.

@arednadnalba1605

Жыл бұрын

That’s not true and you know it, stop lying. No one has ever thought that philosophy is only a western thing, stop acting like victims all the time 😂

@Postelnikov

Жыл бұрын

Can you recommend to read something after Buddhism creation philosophy (that is more religious) and Confucius. Something of the level “Kant and later”? It is interesting for me to read those philosophical works.

@MahSAM

Жыл бұрын

@@arednadnalba1605 🤣🤣🤣 you are an ignorant moron who has no idea what I was saying here and you know it. Stop acting like a child looking for attention all the time LMAO

@konstantinosvassiliadis6853

Жыл бұрын

​@@arednadnalba1605 I mean there are some people who actually think that but typically they're people who have never studied philosophy

@DanKaraJordan

Жыл бұрын

​@@Postelnikov For Mahayana Buddhism, read Nagarjuna's Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way, for Zen read Dogen's Shobogenzo, for Advaita Vedanta read Shankara's commentary on the Bharadaranyaka Upanisad, for Confucianism read Wang Yang-Ming's Practical Instructions, for Daoism, just read Zhuangzi a second or third time :-)

Such a calm and chilled video. It's nice to see someone who is both extremely qualified and yet pretty humble - in terms of the way they discuss the topic. Watched a few videos from this channel and, as a history postgrad, they're a nice introduction into a field I'm horribly new to. It would be great to have a video explaining each field of philosophy, key thinkers within it, and some key ideas that it espouses. Thanks for the video and Merry Christmas!

I took a philosophy 101 course in undergrad and always wanted to expand on that basic knowledge. I have 2 degree in social work and the more I advance in my career the more I connect philosophy to human nature and human problems. So glad I found your channel.

What I like about Decartes is that he writes in a very beginner friendly way. He explains his problems, how to tried to solve them, and his method, and then his eventual answer. You don't have to agree with him, but he is very open about his process which makes it very useful to learn how to think systematically about philosophy.

I recently decided to rediscover my love for reading and philosophy and I’m super glad to have found your channel. It has been a great companion to do so and keep being motivated. Besides that you intro to the video was really refreshing to hear, thanks for including that!

It was actually Sophie’s world that started my love for philosophy when I read it as a teenager… honestly I don’t remember it well but I guess it worked I’m even if not perfect :) I remember how much I loved it when I was reading it and it really shaped me as a reader… maybe I should go back to it as an adult to see if I still feel that way

@alextamang7983

Жыл бұрын

Loved Sophie’s world :) Pretty much the reason I struck an interest in philosophy too!

@Ayesha_F

Жыл бұрын

Same

@dean1111

Жыл бұрын

Same, I should really go reread it

@StinFriggins

Жыл бұрын

I've scribbled all about mine :)

@scottwatson9064

Жыл бұрын

A mere bagatelle...

What surprised me the most about Confessions was just how honest St Augustine was about what he struggled with.

@alexandraiacob8359

9 ай бұрын

Thats the thing about christianity that is honestly practiced and not just performed. It demands the most brutal self honesty.

@BatTaz19

7 ай бұрын

​@@alexandraiacob8359 The guidelines around slavery are also problematic.

@alexandraiacob8359

7 ай бұрын

@@BatTaz19i actually think that the Old testament is surprisingly ahead of its time if you look at how slaves were treated at the time. Alaves were not supposed to be mistreated, they got a day off at shabbat, they were set free every seven years and if a slave rhn away from the master, the master was considered to have mistreated him and therefore lost all rights over the slave

@TheEmmaLucille

7 ай бұрын

@@BatTaz19 Yeh, and not a word on Me Too, BLM, FGM... nor on free education and access to heath care. Bumer.

@vaukest5888

4 ай бұрын

@@TheEmmaLucille You're just yapping dude

This was a fantastic set of recommendations. I have read 3 of those books and know the others by reputation and I believe that all have been foundational for the way we think in the west, and they are also a very good way to start awakening our philosophical minds. As soon as I finish reading my current book, I'll read some Plato's dialogues which I already bought. I'm really looking forwards to it. Also, I agree that in the future, some videos on specific types of philosophy would be very useful for intermediate readers. Keep up the good work! (Btw, I think you kept saying Decarte's meditations and the video text said confessions)

I've read "Think" and I agree with you that that's an excellent intro to Philosophy for beginners. I read it after I got my BA in Philosophy and remember thinking "I wish I had read this one before I began my studies".

Thank you so much! Loved Plato & Aurelius so much during school. This is a much needed refresher course and shock back on the philosophical path. Much love!

Great list! I really appreciate what you're doing with your channel.

Great list for beginners - loving your channel, keep up the good work.

A beautifully-written, page-turning introduction to philosophy that reads like a novel is Richard Tarnas, The Passion of the Western Mind. While primary texts are a second step, Tarnas (and even Sophie's World) give you a structure - a first take of ideas at the primary level - that you can then build on. When you get that structure first, it's easier to read a primary text and then integrate more complexity into your mental framework.

amazing video! exactly the type of information I needed to continue my philosophy education. I love your disclaimer at the beginning of the video about western philosophy, so much of philosophy on youtube tends to completely ignore all other philosophers that aren't speaking Indo-European languages with no acknowledgment of their work. Just appreciated you spending the extra time to put that in :)

This is the first video i watched from you and i must say that i‘m truly impressed. You present your ideas in a calm way with enough knowledge to back all of it up. Would love to sit in a lecture of yours and just listen haha! I got into philosophy through stoicism a few months ago and just finished Meditations by Marcus Aurelius a few weeks ago. I can probably say that this will forever be one of my favorite books. I think what most people like about stoicism is the practicality in every day life. And that‘s how it was for those pioneers like Marcus, Seneca and Epictetus back then. They were contemplating on their life and how to make the best out of it. Philosophy is truly something everyone needs to have in their life! Thanks for covering these topics🙌🏼

Really interesting list! It's interesting to hear you go against big surveys as starter points. I like that thinking. I'll be really curious to hear your deep dive into stoicism. It is for sure a favorite of mine but has been blended when it comes to my personal philosophy. I think people like it because it is more accessible and immediately applicable.

Awesome video. I'm a newbie to the topic so this is very helpful. Thank you for your time in sharing the info.

Intros and suggested reading lists for different branches of philosophy, as mentioned at the end, would be very welcome! Thanks for this video. It prompted me to discover and borrow Blackburn's book. Looking forward to it.

Im definitely interested in those things you mentioned at last. I would also love if you would discuss your favorites. Maybe just discuss a particular dialogue by Plato, in that way you can encourage others to read it as well

A list of books for metaphysics will be highly helpful! Thank you for this video.

Thank you so much Jared for this very helpful video. I'm studying education and bioethics and absolutely agree with your recommendations here. Have a good new year and please keep up your great work. :)

I remember getting my hands on Aristotle's Poetics when I was really young. I picked up the book thinking it would just be a play and boy, was I wrong. I was left scratching my head. So, a book that helped me immensly as an absolute novice, was "Reading Philosophy" by Samuel Guttenplan, Jennifer Hornsby, Christopher Janaway and John Schwenkler. Highly recommend! Bonus point: it starts with Rene Descertes's First meditations. UPDATE: I got Think by Simon Blackburn after your recommendation and after just reading the first chapter, I absolutely love it! It's well written and great introductory lessons for any novice. Again, highly recommend! Thanks for the recommendation, Jared :)

Thank you so much I just discovered your channel it’s so helpful and I enjoy o lot and can’t wait to watch them all 😂❤

This is a great video. Solid recommendations and presented so well. Thank you!

I’m a high school student in France and philosophy is mandatory on our last year. It’s really comforting to see that your approach, as an overseas philosopher, is the same as my teacher’s. There’s this vague sense of conformity on what to start with which is reassuring. My teacher is a little more radical. He mostly tells us that no one knows how to read (as in, read between the lines, understand all the references and the ideas and the concepts that lie in one single sentence of a great philosopher’s work), and just says that if we want to know how to read, we just have to read. Immediately start reading. He said he’d bought a Hagel book (and Hagel destroyed my brain when I studied him in class) at age 14 and read the whole thing and said he didn’t understand a word, and when you don’t understand you just read it again. And with time and more reading you get a huge cultural and conceptual foundation for philosophy. I did as he told me to, and I’d really gotten into Freud from our lesson on the unconscious. I read the Metapsychology once and didn’t understand anything. I read it twice and became more familiar with certain concepts. I’m half-way through reading it for the third time and everything is already much clearer in my head. The only advantage I’d have is that my teacher says this class in not made for us graduating high school (linking to the idea we will anyway since the French system is flawed and it’s too easy to graduate) but rather for us to be able to read. He teaches us the basics of concepts so we can have some idea of what we’re reading when we open philosophy book. And if I hadn’t had that lesson on Freud I would have made much less progress by know. He also knows what translations to recommend, what are the “good” (as in worth reading) philosophers, and he’s pretty strict about all that. All this to say, just start reading, it works 😂

@reginaldforthright805

Жыл бұрын

I find it odd how philosophers are spoken of as if they were gods and their works bibles

@emeric7422

11 ай бұрын

@@reginaldforthright805 Well yes, philosophers (at least the most important ones) are the most cultivated and intelligent people that have ever lived on earth. Nietzsche and Marx knew the Bible almost by heart, and had read all of the major philosophers' works (Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Hagel and many more). You can spend an year studying just one sentence of Kant's works because of how many references and concepts he put in those. The real geniuses are those who invent concepts. But they aren't gods and their works aren't bibles, it would be philosophically unaccurate to say that anyway. What they are is geniuses and their works are extremely dense and necessary. Without Descartes none of modern physics would exist because we wouldn't use math in physics (so there would be no Einstein), and without Kant there would probably be no romanticism. Without Rousseau there wouldn't have been a French Revolution (he created the revolutionary concept of the republican State). And without philosophers in general (including Eastern ones), humankind would most likely not be as evolved as it is now. Their influence is extremely discrete yet extremely important.

@hhh.00

10 ай бұрын

Je suis moi aussi une lycéenne ( je rentrerai en première dès septembre ) et je suis admiratrice de ton anglais très beau et technique. J’ai découvert la philo il y a 2 semaines sur un podcast spotify par hasard et je suis tellement heureuse. Je sentais qu’en moi il y avait un vide, et je savais que ce vide était un manque de savoir, et c’était un lourd fardeau car quand je regardais certains de mes camarades avec de grandes connaissances ( géographiques, scientifiques, etc… ) j’étais jalouse. Pourtant, ces choses-là ne m’intéressaient pas et j’en venais même à me forcer à apprendre une langue par complexe. Mais comme dit au-dessus, j’ai découvert la philosophie, et je ne sais même pas quoi dire pour exprimer mon ressentit. J’apprends de grandes pensées qui ont influencé le monde et qui le font encore aujourd’hui, tout en adorant apprendre ! J’apprends, c’est long et c’est dur, mais quand je comprends, je suis fière et j’en veux encore. Je considère la philosophie comme un privilège que j’ai, car c’est une chose que beaucoup redoute ou que trouve ennuyant. Et j’aime à me dire que j’ai trouvé “mon truc” sans avoir l’intention après d’aller me vanter. Non, la philosophie, c’est le début de ma nouvelle reflexion et mon regard sur le monde qui se développera peu à peu. M’enfin, pour l’instant je n’écoute que des podcasts mais j’ai acheté en livre papier un discours de Rousseau que je lirais prochainement. Je parle beaucoup mais je suis contente de voir un français sur la chaîne de Jared que j’aime tant :)

@emeric7422

10 ай бұрын

@@hhh.00 Génial! Merci pour le compliment sur l’anglais, je suis en fait moitié américain donc l’anglais est aussi ma langue maternelle, je triche un peu 😅 Depuis mon commentaire sur cette vidéo j’ai fait un cours de philo sur Rousseau et lui aussi a des concepts tout autant génialissimes que les autres donc j’espère que tu apprécieras son discours qui vaut certainement le coup d’être lu! Ça fait vraiment du bien de voir d’autre gens qui sont intéressés par la philo, en plus par soi-même et même pas d’un prof, qui ont soif d’apprendre. Après je tiens à préciser que je veux pas paraître comme le messie de la philo dans mon premier commentaire, je suis encore débutant et j’ai énormément de taff devant moi. Et effectivement pour moi aussi c’est sympa de voir des français sur des chaînes anglophones lambda :) En tout cas je te souhaite bon courage dans ta découverte de la philosophie parce que moi pour l’instant j’adore!

@HamzaBappah

8 ай бұрын

​@@reginaldforthright805define "gods”

I loved your suggestions, especially Augustine's Confessions. And I wanted to recommend things that made me interested deeply in philosophy. Though these two essays are not very easy to read, I really recommend Ralph Waldo Emerson's 'Self-Reliance,' and 'The American Scholar.' His essay, 'Nature,' can be read later. Thank you for your amazing video.

Just found your channel today after searching ‘philosophy books for beginners’ and I am so glad I did! Right before I found this video I watched the one on logical fallacies. Love your content it’s very easy to follow without being “dumbed down”. 😃

I’ve always felt intimidated when looking for philosophy books. Thanks for making this video and sharing your thoughts!

Definitely needed this. I became interested in philrel a couple years back and have watched many KZread videos and debates. I've started buying books and some are way too advanced for me right now (like Logic and Theism from Sobel). Now just to wait for Amazon to bring me my more beginner-appropriate material in a couple days haha.

Maybe the best book review/recommendations I have seen on this platform. Great job 👍

I have learned more from watching your videos and getting some books that you have recommended that I'd learned in high school + a semester of philosophy and ethics at college you definitely have a gift to teach and share knowledge to others, it would be greatly appreciated if you can also recommended websites where we could get Articles and commentaries to complement the readings, I wish you the best for this 2023 and I am 100% sure it will be even greater than the last 5 months of this 2022! Cheers!

So glad I was just recommended this video.. I gave up on trying to educate myself in philosophy about 2 years ago. I was always trying to find a syllabus. Thinking about starting a reading journal now.

Hello, I just found this channel and I love it! I love the diversity of books you suggest.

A great book for those like myself that only like to read a few pages a day is: A Calendar Of Wisdom by Tolstoy. It’s a book full of philosophy quotes that is easy to read.

@Reinhardisbetter

Жыл бұрын

Tolstoy was a gem

As a former aspiring philosopher (ABD), I think those are some solid recommendations. I've long thought that there are three points in the Western canon where a beginner can dive in: Plato's dialogues, Descartes's Meditations, and Russell's Problems of Philosophy, so I was glad to see you in agreement on all three. My first philosophy class was a historical survey. We started with Descartes's Meditations, all six IIRC. Then we read selections from Hume's Inquiry Concerning Human Understanding, which was the point where I fell in love with philosophy. Then we read selections from Kant's Critique of Pure Reason. That was definitely too heavy for a first class in philosophy. After than we read some Kierkegaard's Either/Or. That was an idiosyncratic choice on the part of our professor, who was a big Kierkegaard fan. Next we read selections from Nietzsche's Genealogy of Morals, followed by William James's Will to Believe, which was the easiest text we read. Last we read selections from Wittgenstein's Philosophical Investigations, which is not a book I would recommend reading without having read the works it was reacting to. I'd be very interested in hearing your recommended place to start with Plato. I'm a believer in starting with Euthyphro. Then once you've got a feel for the character of Socrates, read the Apology. After that some of the classic material from the middle dialogues: the Meno, and selections from the Republic (books I and VI maybe?).

Where I live, we have at least 3 mandatory philosophy courses to do to graduate & have a diploma. I have to say that I honestly felt completely lost during a portion of these classes and burned out of it. Lately, I've been reading novels with underlying philosophical themes, and it's sparking my interest for philosophy again. I found your account yesterday, and I've already watched so much! Thank you for your content, it's very interesting and it's helping me get back into it! Definitely will be revisiting my Plato's complete works book. Keep doing great things!

Love your idea about starting with a question. A question is indeed a door to philosophy.

Thank you for this, Im currently a theology student and I have begun studying Philosophy on the side and it's challenging but so rich.

Great stuff on recommending primary texts directly! For history too for example herodotus landmark edition is great. Also there are great KZread videos about these books

Ok, sounds like what I was looking for ! (Yes, to intros for particular studies for beginners) Thanks!

The prince by Machiavelli is a worthwhile read for anyone and everyone. Short, quite simple yet extremely clarifying and helpful for understanding the world.

@vasugupta7519

Жыл бұрын

For an absolute beginner as well having no knowledge of the common philosophical terms used like metaphysics etc. ?

@vege4920

Жыл бұрын

Is it something like: How to torture peasants 101?

@sebastianuhre525

Жыл бұрын

@@vege4920 LoL you are one of those that have fallen victim for like 500 years of slander. He wrote an other book too about republics. Where he basically roasts dictatorships. Without once invalidating the facts he presents in the prince. Simply put he was a political realist seeing how things works without adding his own wishful thinking on top of it.

@sebastianuhre525

Жыл бұрын

@@vasugupta7519 Yes absolutely, he isn´t concerning himself with all that. As he wrote in the book "Since I have decided to write something which is actually useful for those who understands it. I will depart massively from what all previous authors have said on this topic." He basically laid out in a very straightforward way how power works. So well that now 500s years later hardly anyone is trying to dispute him.

@Yatukih_001

Жыл бұрын

I think that Phasmaphobia is going to play a major role in the development of western philosophy and a lot of modern day philosophers are going to discuss it and how it impacts our sense of reality. This is a fascinating tool for critical thinking and other such things and covers a lot of the problems discussed in modern day eastern and western intellectual thought.

What a great selection. I agree that it's very good to begin by reading the classics. I would just add too works by canonical philosophers of modern and contemporary period: "What is enlightment ?" by Kant and "Existencialism is a humanism" by Sartre.

Thank you. I'm 2 weeks in to an online philosophy degree with Domuni Universitas and this video contains some really good advice to the beginner as to how to begin to approach philosophy. I also found reading Zena Hitz's books on the religious and intellectual life inspired me to get started.

As a French person with the baccalauréat, I studied philosophy during my last year of high school, 10 hours a week. Freaking interesting. We spent hours on Descartes, we started with Plato though. I have kept reading philosophy ever since. As for the success of stoicism, I can partake of my experience. I suffer from debiliitating illnesses so that philosphy helps me cope with life, simple as that. It has made me stronger and more resilient and due to that change of attitude, I started working up the ladder.

Hi Jared, I'm glad that KZread suggested your video. I immediately subscribed. I would add one step before a complete beginner read your suggested books: Read an introductory/ a survey book first, something like DK's "The Philosophy Book", Cassell's "Cracking Philosophy", or Oxford's "A Very Short Introduction to Philosophy". Those are just the titles that come to mind but there are plenty of similar books. After that I think the person will find the books that you recommend even easier to read, now that they have a general idea about what is it that they're getting into. Cheers!

Such a good video, very informative! Thanks very much Jared u legend x

I have recently arrived at this channel as someone in their thirties looking to expand my understanding and rekindle my joy of research and learning which I have not really experienced since leaving academia in my mid-twenties. Work and the grind of life simply got in the way, which I accept is not a good reason but nevertheless it's the truth, so it has taken me some time to realise that the feeling of personal development is what I have been lacking. Philosophy is a vast topic of interest that I have been interested in previously but have never really studied in any detail - as a student of Ancient History my knowledge is limited to excerpts and 'iconic' works of Ancient philosophers. Thank you for the clear list, alongside other clear suggestions and thoughts in other videos on this channel, I look forward to exploring these books and one day joining your discord to strike up conversations with others who enjoy the pursuit of knowledge.

Love your videos, man. I hope you can make a video of why and how read Plato. Thanks.

Thanks for the list! I studied philosophy in university and was offered a masters afterwards and, regretfully, didn't take up the offer. Wanted to dip my toes back in! That Steve Blackburn book looks great so going to give that a go!! Great channel! :)

My favorite recommendation is Good and Evil by Richard Taylor. He was a famous analytic philosopher in the 70s and this book was a response to the vacuity of that tradition with relation to the meaning of life. It represents an interesting and remarkable combination of virtue ethics and moral psychology. It is particularly great because his insights are predictive of much of the findings of X-Phi and empirical moral psychology today.

Seneca's "Moral Letters to Lucilius" is also worth mentioning to beginners. Great book to read before Marcus Aurelius' "Meditation" for me

Thanks. I just read The Problems of Philosophy. I think it's a great first philosophy book. It really helped me to understand what philosophy is and to put me in the mindset of taking on other books in the future.

Been an avid science fiction and fantasy reader my whole life. Finding philosophy through your content. Thank you!

@_jared

Жыл бұрын

I have a science fiction and fantasy list coming out soon too! So happy I can help people discover philosophy. It is life-changing stuff.

Such a great channel. I enjoy listening to your videos. Also, when you said your wife also studied philosophy, I wondered what some of your dinner conversations must be like!

This video is helpful and guides me more towards this topic, thanks.

Agree with the Russell pick. The book is so clear and interesting and after reading it you have a very good idea what philosophy is all about. Everyone getting into philosophy should start with that book

Thanks. I’ve been considering some stoic learning and hadn’t read anything from the humanities part of my college books in some time. I have been considering meditations by Marcus Aurelius and I am happy you consider it accessible to beginners. I did not know about skeptics in its previous forms as described. I have heard of Descartes but I didn’t know why he was noteworthy.

I would definitely love to hear more on metaphysics and epistemology!

@benfisher3368

Жыл бұрын

If you're looking for an excellent book about language and how it deals with metaphysics and a fantastic introduction to Wittgenstein I just read Wittgenstein's Ladder by Marjorie Perloff and it was fantastic. Great read, can get it finished in under 3 days.

Cool recommendations! It would be cool to have more of these, perhaps more specialized ones.

thank you for this. So v helpful. Would you recommend reading in the order you've presented?

When I was an undergrad, I really enjoyed those enormous topical anthologies. I got to delve into a specific set of questions that interested me, while also getting a broad overview of the landscape surrounding those questions through reading many shorter essays by a diverse array of philosophers. I engaged a lot more with the "Ethics in Practice" anthology than any other book I *had* to get.

Great suggestions. As a beginner, later in his life, I appreciate the opinion of a expert in Philosophy!

I don’t know that I’d recommend it to a complete beginner, but I think I would recommend Cora Diamond’s The Realistic Spirit as an introduction to the analytic tradition. I like using her essays to help people feel the force of some of the apparently simple/naive questions Frege and Wittgenstein puzzled over (which can be difficult to feel without relevant background) and to help them see why our answers to those questions matter so much. (It also works nicely as a counterbalance to a certain conception of the tradition, one exposure to folks like Russell, Moore, Ayer, and Carnap can create, of analytic philosophy as impatient and narrow-minded.)

Great recommendations! My entry into philosophy was through a practical problem: as a PhD student in computer science I was having difficulties writing research papers - more precisely, structuring my thoughts in a piece of writing. After a lot of searching, I found Aristotle's Rhetoric, and that opened my eyes for a (for me) an entirely new way of thinking. The Rhetoric has some pointers to some other of his works, for a more in-depth view on specific areas, and so I read Categories, Topics and Sophistical Refutations after that. After that I was hooked.

@barspinoza

Жыл бұрын

That's very interesting to hear. I'll check out those books. Thanks for sharing.

@ReiImpact

Жыл бұрын

I have a similar kind of blind spot in my work, although I'll only be starting on an undergraduate STEM degree in September; I'll use this summer to read Rhetoric and see if it improves my own writing too. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

Two works I would highly recommend to anyone who wants to get into philosophy are Diogenes Laërtius' _Lives and Opinions of the Eminent Philosophers,_ and Cicero's _Tusculan Disputations._ The first book, while not the most reliable biography of the ancient Western philosophers is still a great summary of ancient Western philosophy in general. The second book is, in my opinion, the best distillation of Stoic philosophy and how it relates to the other popular philosophical systems at the time, such as Epicureanism and Pyrrhonism (aka Skepticism).

I love your channel. Please keep it up.

THANK YOU, for this, Jared!

I don't know if it's been mentioned on this channel, but D.C. Schindler's "Plato's Critique of Impure Reason" has opened up Plato's Republic to me in an intense and beautiful way. I can't recommend it enough. I honestly have never found this much insight in a reading before.

I could find how kind you are and how deeply your life was enrichd through reading those books. I felt like being in a reading circle and enjoying discussing what is really important in life.

Excellent list! Definitely time I reread Augustine's Confessions. Didn't gel with it too well the last time I read it. City of God is calling out louder though, as are a thousand other books.

I’m working my way through Russell’s History of western philosophy, and it’s an absolute gold mine of information, I’ve used it as a springboard for other philosophical studies, I’d recommend it emphatically.

As a common mortal completely outside academia: based in my learning experience in classic literature classes, picking the best translation is REALLY important as it will make your reading journey easier and even pleasant. I studied Homer and believe me, if it wasn't for the amazing translation I would have failed miserably. You could tell how passionate the translator was, and that is SO important when translating classical texts imo.

@xanthousjeremiah5046

10 ай бұрын

I'm looking to read Homer, what translation did you find success with?

Amazing video. My interest in philosophy started with some meaning crisis in my life. Apparently I digged into existentialism, absurdism and nihilism - Sartre, Camus, Nietzsche, Dostoyevsky. These cured my depression and helped to find peace and understand life a little bit better. Also was familiar with stoicism, but this type of philosophy is more practical.

Many thanks for your valuable recommendations. Can you also provide a kind of syllabus by which follow a reading path?

Love the video! Why do you specifically recommend reading or starting with Augustine over Aquinas for theologians?

I absolutely love your videos! As someone who is currently thinking about going into a masters program in philosophy, how did you make the decision that philosophy was the program you wanted to pursue? Any advice would be extremely helpful!

This is great. Thanks for your efforts in giving of your time to produce your videos and especially for providing the lists of books in this episode. I would enjoy a discussion that describes how the Bible (Old Testament) is related to the early philosophies that predate Christ. Thanks.

I love your your style of communication! Thank-you. I study a very analytic course at Glasgow University, and intend on leaning more into continental over my summer! Are there any hermeneutic thinkers you would recommend after Heidegger? Also, as an academic in Analytic Philosophy (assuming that's not a contentious term) with foundations in the Continental Tradition, do you think there is a future 'post-analytic' stage in which both traditions form / are their ways of discourse incommensurable? Love the channel, and thanks for your time!

Hi Jared! Thank you for your channel. I recently took a historiography class, and it was exhausting but enriching to see how philosophy shapes how history is told. As I progress in my studies, both at school and independently, I want to expand my understanding. If you know of any books that relate to the relationship between philosophy and how we tell stories, I would love to get some recommendations. I just found out about Ludwig Wittgenstein.

What a wonderful mindset! Gives me hope i can do so too!

Thank you for this video. I'm in my 2nd year of philosophy, yet I'm not finding it so easy. I'm studying it in a foreign language (french) and it makes it a little more demanding for me. I haven't read any philosophy book in English nor have I completed any in french. Laughable. With this video, I think I've got a better idea. Maybe I'll start my personal research afresh and see how it goes. Double work that can pay off well. I'm confident. I'm open to more assistance. Merci bien!

Lovely video. No goofs or gaffs, just delivering on your promise made in the title. Great intonation, calm setting, great camera quality. Instantly subbed and will for sure look out for the books you recommended next time I'm in a book store. A journey into philosophy for me would mean a journey into learning how to use my mind in different (not necessarily better) ways. Thanks for sharing these thoughts with us!

Great video. Concise and clearly explained. One of the main reasons I'm restoring to Philosophy basics is that I want to understand more about Nick Land, Focault, Sartre... I know Nick land's aceleracionism is Economic phil, but unsure of what main problems/questions do Focault and Sartre approach, in the sense of "categorizing them" Is that ontology or ethics perhaps?

Thank you. And I really appreciate it if you make similar video on "political philosophy".

The value of philosophy by Russell is actually amazing and probably the only think I like about his work in philosophy.

Hey! I'm a beginner and also started my journey into Philosophy just this month. Will be saving the books you've recommended here. A resource I found insanely helpful was Jack Sanders' lecture series right here on KZread called "Introduction to Philosophy". The weekly readings are in the comments, and I've found myself absolutely obsessed with the lectures and lessons. Sometimes it's nice to try and read texts and then have someone review it with me. This has helped me learn some pretty basic yet core foundational concepts so I definitely recommend beginners check that out!

@degla232

Жыл бұрын

no one is ever new to philosophy ;)

Thanks Jared for the list

Thanks, I'll work through the list

I'm very philosophically minded and took philosophy in 11th grade with "From Socrates to Sarte" as a text book. Metaphysics and ethics, primarily from a Christian perspective, have always been of interest which has moved me more into theology. My main problem is having working definitions of words given may aren't used outside of studying the topic (ontological, existential, etc). Fun fact: Pete Doctor who heads Pixar was in my high school philosophy club and getting to know him helps me see alot of his philosophy in his animations.

Would definitely love a more topical video. Thanks for the recommendations. Would love to read Blackburn's book. Any good intro logic books for the novice in analytic philosophy? Thanks! :)

@_jared

Жыл бұрын

Forallx is an open access logic textbook that is very good, but it may be a bit advanced. As for other textbooks, I think many are good. I prefer ones that don’t use truth trees but instead teach proof methods like natural deduction.

Great post. Thank you. No need for the disclaimer when suggesting ‘Confessions’. To be genuinely religious is to think deeply. With an emphasis on genuinely.

If you have any particular philosopher who interests you but are completely new to them, the Oxford very short introduction series can be a good stepping stone to the primary text

Reading primary texts is probably a good idea (I vividly remember reading Plato, Augustine, and Descartes as a younger person). There's something to be said for a good introductory survey, too, to know what direction to go in. For just the continental tradition, I thought two introductions to the field were pretty good: David West's An Introduction to Continental Philosophy and Time and Philosophy: A History of Continental Philosophy by John McCumber.

Thanks a lot for the recommendations. I like your channel a lot. I am studying a Ph.D. in Political Science in Mexico. Unfortunately, in my country more social and political postgraduate programs are putting aside philosophy from their syllabuses, even political philosophy. Particularly, I am interested in the Philosophy of Science and Epistemology because those disciplines teach the basic rules of any scientific inquiry. So, maybe you can recommend me some basic books or texts to start in the Philosophy of Science and Epistemology? Cheers.

I just finish reading the last chapter of "The problems of Philosophy" by Bertrand Russell and let me tell you, I've never read anything that encourage me to pursue the learning path of philosophy like that. Fucking incredible. For example he wrote in that chapter, the reason you have to put your Self down in order to start philosophize is because "Through the infinity of the universe the mind which contemplates it achieves some share in infinity." Such a humble thought that the universe is infinite and you cannot ever get into the final truth of many of its questions, but also such a motivational thought, as because just by stand aside, put down all of your previous ego and belief, you can "see through" and can becoming parts of something way bigger than yourself.

@_jared

Жыл бұрын

It really is a mind-blowing essay.

I have read three of Russell's books, including his 'Autobiography'. My plan is to read his 'History of Western Philosophy' and jumping off from there into the other thinkers.

Thanks a lot for your recommendations. I like the idea of learning from BOOKS, using this platforms for encouraging reading rather than pretending to Learn philosophy just from videos.

Empirically allowed the minds to learns more, and see things in broader experiences. For example; let say I read the Republic by Plato for the first time. I may understood some but not all of the author originated ideas. Now, the more I read the works of other philosophers , that will open up my minds even more. When I read the Republic again on the second or third times, my mind allowed me to understand more , perhaps, my mind allowed me to see and even forms totally different perspective other than that of the author . It all about Empiricism! Thank you for the very informative video, and keeps up the good works!