doc911 Posted August 13, 2015 Posted August 13, 2015 I would appreciate if someone could recommend the best way for me to learn the basics of philosophy. It could be a book, an audio book or a video course etc. I've been listening to Stefan for a while now, buy still feel that I don't really "own it" when it coms to explaining to others things like Metaphysics, Epistemology, First Principles, Virtue etc. Also, English is not my first language, which makes it a bit more difficult. An introduction or summary of the big philosophers that we are concerned with here, would also help, as in Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Kant, Hume etc. Thanks! 1
Carl Green Posted August 13, 2015 Posted August 13, 2015 look up videos by Rick Roderick https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=rick+roderick I liked his delivery. Others will have to verify the content of his coverage as I'm still quite ignorant on the subject as well.
Donnadogsoth Posted August 13, 2015 Posted August 13, 2015 Copleston's A History of Philosophy was recommended to me by a friend, though I haven't located it yet. It's lengthy (11 vols), but just the first volume should prove useful in acquainting one with the important foundations that are Greek and Roman thought. The safest general characterization of the European philosophical tradition is that it consists of a series of footnotes Plato. --A.N. Whitehead
wdiaz03 Posted August 14, 2015 Posted August 14, 2015 I have enjoyed Stephen West podcasts at http://www.philosophizethis.org/
jason_ Posted August 14, 2015 Posted August 14, 2015 Alain De Botton has a project on YouTube called the School of Life: "At The School of Life, we're fascinated by the sort of questions we're never taught enough about at school or college: How can relationships go well? What is meaningful work? How can love last? How can one find calm? What's gone wrong (and right) with capitalism? We love the humanities, especially philosophy, psychotherapy, literature and art - always going to them in search of ideas that are thought-provoking, useful and consoling. We're all about wisdom, emotional intelligence and self-understanding." Here's a link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7IcJI8PUf5Z3zKxnZvTBog On the channel, they present philosophical ideas of notable historical philosophers as well as ideas on what they mean for us in our daily lives. Philosophy is not only about learning what others have thought, but developing our own powers of reason. For this I recommend starting with a study of logic. The first chapter or two of this book introduce logic for computer science, but the rules of inference apply to philosophical arguments as well.
doc911 Posted August 14, 2015 Author Posted August 14, 2015 OK, thanks guys! I'll definitely check out your recommendations!
jason_ Posted August 14, 2015 Posted August 14, 2015 look up videos by Rick Roderick https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=rick+roderick I liked his delivery. Others will have to verify the content of his coverage as I'm still quite ignorant on the subject as well. Thanks Carl for sharing. I enjoyed two lectures from Prof. Roderick on youtube and plan to watch more.
Recommended Posts