I am really a big fan of Wayne Dyer. I don’t know if he’d be considered a philosopher, per say, however, he speaks of different philosophers that have impacted him (Jesus Christ, Nietzsche, Frankl, etc.). Who are your favorites? Who do you reccomend I read?
I really enjoyed MacIntyre’s After Virtue. He opines in that book that modern philosophy has largely been an attempt to respond to Nietzsche’s deconstruction of the great philosophies. He ends up postulating that Aristotle’s concept of virtue survies Nietzsche’s demolition of most philosophies. He then goes on to adopt virtue to modern thought. Very interesting even though I don’t necessarily agree with him.
I should say that as far as philosophy goes, I am particularly interested in the development of thought and the continuing dialogue between philosophers through the ages–so that colors my perception of what I like.
Don’t study any specifically first. Start off by reading about philosophy generally. Sophie’s World would be good book for that. If any specific philosophers intrigue you after that, you can get books by or about them. Also, don’t just adopt a philosophy that sounds good. Think about it and come to your own conclusions.
I agree with that. A good place to start is with the ancients (ie, the pre-Socratics, Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle) because they set the scene for most disputes, like teleology, in later generations. It is pretty tough to read Nietzche or Fitche without understanding what they are rallying against. There are several good text books that will give you snippets of each major philosophy through each age. However, I have found those books don’t always accurately represent the philosopher’s thoughts.
I’m not the sharpest tool in the shed, will I be able to understand the philosophers you’ve mentioned? Are you familiar with any elementary philosophers? 
Personally,
I think Socrates is a good place for anyone to start. Some philosophers’ writings are really dense and takes a while to chew through them.
Plato takes a little to get used to and The Republic can be a little long winded.
Another thought, there was a book by John Searle that got me to major in philosophy back when I was in college. I forget the name, but he deals with issues like whether or not AI is possible and other modern issues. So, you could try philosophers like him and then work backwards through time to other authors that may be a little more difficult to apply to modern times.
sorry for the double-post, but i’m about as sharp as a pair of those plastic scissors they give you kindergarten so you can’t cut yourself. 
A good place for you to start is with Alain de Botton’s The Consolations of Philosophy. It is very readable, and he illustrates how reading Socrates, Seneca, and Montaine can help you better deal with the complexities of life.
He even has illustrations! He’ll make it easy for you.
I agree. “Sophie’s World” is an excellent primer. My wife, the Sophist, uses it to teach Intro classes. I think I am most influenced by a man who is actually still alive, Jurgen Habermas. But then, philosophers are like funnels and one feels the influence of all that influenced the writer.
I’ve heard lots of people reccommend Sophie’s World, but have never read it myself. It sounds like it might be a good ‘introduction’ to philosophy though. I, personally, started out reading random philosophy books we had at home on the bookshelf - my parents had a few Bertrand Russell books on some of his more contemporary thoughts about society (CND type stuff, and his thoughts on Christianity), rather than his heavier ‘real’ philosphy stuff (like Principia Mathematica). I really enjoyed his writing style, and found it reasonably easy going. I would reccommend his *Problems of Philosophy * as a good starting point. It’s fairly general, and gets into some deeper philosophical issues in a straightforward way.
Searle was also mentioned - He’s an interesting philosopher as well who also deals with issues that are of general interest rather than just dealing with complicated analytical philosophy (which he also does). Might be a good starting point as well.
If you’re into more ethics type stuff, Peter Singer might be of interest. He is probably the best known philosopher on Animal Ethics. He also has a book out called The President of Good and Evil: The Ethics of GW Bush which looks interesting (I haven’t read it though) - always interesting to look at modern issues from a more philosophical standpoint I think.
I wouldn’t necessarily recommend starting with the ancients, though, like Try As I Might… does. but, that’s just me - I much more enjoy going straight to the modern stuff and looking back at the ancients when I want more background and to see how it all started. I did enjoy Aristotle’s Nichomachean Ethics though and would recommend that if you’re into the ethics side of things.
I suppose I’m really saying that it depends what your looking for and enjoy reading. I’m a philosophy major, so most of this stuff I’ve read because it was for a class. I mean, there is also plenty of more pop-philosophy out there as well, but I’d say just stick to the ‘real’ stuff - it’s really not that difficult, and is usually far more interesting (and better written).
I do not recommend reading Kant as a good intro - Critique of Pure Reason is killing me trying to understand it at the moment. But, then again, metaphysics just isn’t my thing…
I thought Derrida was difficult until I picked up the Critique of Pure Reason. Maybe German just doesn’t translate well, but dammit, I’d rather eat broken glass than have to write a paper on Kant again.
I second the recommmendations of Sophie’s World. I read Bertrand Russell’s A History of Western Philosophy when I was a teenager, and that broad introduction to philosophy gave me a solid foundation when I studied philosophy in college.
An excellent starting place for you might be Mortimer Adler’s How to Think About the Great Ideas: From the Great Books of Western Civilization. Adler was one of the drivers behind the 52 volume The Great Books of the Western World. Adler said “Philosophy is everybody’s business.”
Here are the main chapters from the table of contents:
- How to Think about Truth
- How to Think about Opinion
- The Difference between Knowledge and Opinion
- Opinion and Human Freedom
- Opinion and Majority Rule
- How to Think about Man
- How Different Are Humans?
- The Darwinian Theory of Human Origin
- The Answer to Darwin
- The Uniqueness of Man
- How to Think about Emotion
- How to Think about Love
- Love as Friendship: A World Without Sex
- Sexual Love
- The Morality of Love
- How to Think about Good and Evil
- How to Think about Beauty
- How to Think about Freedom
- How to Think about Learning
- Youth Is a Barrier to Learning
- How to Read a Book
- How to Talk
- How to Watch TV
- How to Think about Art
- The Kinds of Art
- The Fine Arts
- The Goodness of Art
- How to Think about Justice
- How to Think about Punishment
- How to Think about Language
- How to Think about Work
- Work, Play, and Leisure
- The Dignity of All Kinds of Work
- Work and Leisure Then and Now
- Work, Leisure, and Liberal Education
- How to Think about Law
- The Kinds of Law
- The Making of Law
- The justice of Law
- How to Think about Government
- The Nature of Government
- The Powers of Government
- The Best Form of Government
- How to Think about Democracy
- How to Think about Change
- How to Think about Progress
- How to Think about War and Peace
- How to Think about Philosophy
- How Philosophy Differs from Science and Religion
- Unsolved Problems of Philosophy
- How Can Philosophy Progress?
- How to Think about God
Don’t let anyone talk you into reading Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance as a starting point. It’s just not that good. And ignore any further mention of Derrida. He’s Marxist crap. These are just my opinions.
(Caution: Worthless comment below. Read at your own risk.)
And Mortimer Adler is the single most horrific author and speaker in the world. His book, “Six Great Ideas”, is the biggest flaming pile of crap I ever had to suffer though. Ugggggggh. We had to watch several hours of the video series based on that book, too, and it will easily go down in history as the worst-ever abuse of VCR technology.
Adler is a bigoted asshole that likes to preach his own brand of bullshit. If you already agree with him, he’ll sound like a holy man, but he is unable to cope with the idea that other viewpoints may exist. He is unable to explain anything clearly and he just assumes you’re not a worthy recipient of his ideas if you don’t already agree with him.
Nietzsche is similar to a degree, but Nietzsche is cool. Nietzsche is also right, while Adler is an idiot. Nietzsche frees us. Nietzsche is our savior. Nietzsche also, unfortunately, will not make any sense unless you first learn the stuff he complains about.
“Nietzsche is our savior.” Tell me about the group that says Nietzsche is their savior.
Nietzsche has some things of value to say. When you’re an adolescent, he’s a philosopher worth reading and thinking about. And then outgrowing.
Pop philosophy may be fun, but there’s no reason not to read the real stuff. Sophie’s World gives a good overview, though, and many people my age list it as the book that got them interested in philosophy in the first place.
To Try As I Might…‘s post I’d like to add that you can’t actually read Socrates, you’ll just read Plato’s “Socratic” dialogues, such as Euthyphro, Crito, and Book I of the Republic. All are quite readable. Read them now! You must also read Descartes’ Meditations. But after Plato. Descartes can wait. Read Plato! :calms down:
For introductory readings, avoid: Aristotle, Kant, Spinoza, any postmodernists. Thank me later.
I second Russel’s book. Also try Will Durant’s history of philosophy.
For fun, read Martin Gardner’s Thoughts of a Philosophical Scrivenor. It’s his reasons for believing what he believes, with arguments for and against specific philosophers.
Very true! These, one must build up to.
For a flavor of different philosophers, try Kendall Hailey’s The Day I Became An Autodidact. She was a teenager when she wrote it, but she decided to be self-taught rather than going to college. This is her diary, and she writes about what she reads. It may give you some ideas about what you’d like.
I second the notion of reading Plato. He’s not that difficult and, really, once you’ve read Plato, you’ve got a good grounding. Personally, I also liked Boethius’s The Consolation of Philosophy. Kind of Job-like, but non-Biblical. But I’d start with Plato and see where that takes you.
I’ll second both of these. Durant’s Story of Philosophy is a good overview/intro to the big names of Western philosophy. It’s several decades old by now, but I’m not sure that matters.
The Whys of a Philosophical Scrivener. Martin Gardner is better known for his writings on recreational mathematics and on science and pseudoscience, but he has a degree in philosophy, and here he gives his own (well-read, well-thought-out) opinions on political philosophy, art, religion, and other topics. Warning: I thought the first chapter or two of this book were the least interesting; you can probably read the chapters in whatever order strikes your interest.
I would NOT redcommend G.W.F. Hegel’s “Phenomenology of Mind”…unless you really want a good headache! (or you are having trouble falling asleep-it’s good for that).
When my mom was studying philosophy at night we all sat down and read the chapter titles of Soren Kierkegaard’s Fear and Trembling and the Sickness Unto Death aloud. We thought it was hilarious!
Plus, the title is such an extreme downer!
I seriously doubt that I could ever read the book now.