I just discovered philosophy recently and I want to learn more. Where should I start?

I just discovered philosophy recently and I want to learn more. Where should I start?

Stoicism or Utilitarianism.

Really the only two good options when it comes to philosophy.

Plato's the Republic. Read an annotated version and watch videos.

Any other book suggestions?

Kids these days.

crash course is a great youtube channel they just finished creating a series on philosophy. covers most of the important topics. worth watching the entire playlist.

Jesus, Socrates, Plato(if you want vision), Aristotle(if you want realism), St.Augustine, Confucius, Miguel León-Portilla, and John Calvin.

I've heard stefan molyneux is pretty good for learning more. Is this true?

He's not trash but very pointed. I'd say its better to take on his stuff with an already decent understanding.

As much as people feel "ashamed" by it, dont be too proud to pick up "intro to philosophy" books. Because these books talk about (usually) the most agreeable and mutually established histories/summaries, they helps when diving into the source material (the only reliable thing...)

I'd recommend "Philosophy" Eyewitness Companions book by Stephen Law. Solid overview, clearly written, decently comprehensive on the macros of philosophy.

Just please, please do this. In starting this journey prioritize the love of sharing this information. Hoarding and excluding this information from those you have distaste for, like a political opponent or misinformed acquaintance, harms those people and the spread of these thoughts.

Idk, the last part is kinda soap-box talk but happy reading friend.

tldr: Get a good, basic "navigation guide" and just chug through classics/source material

Plato. Socrates never wrote anything of merit. Skip Aristotle

>Read Plato
>Socrates never wrote anything of merit
Are you kek'ing me?

>skip Aristotle
Yeah thats a kill-yourself on that one. Aristotle, whether you agree with him or not, is central reading.

>muh plato is just quoting aristotle meme

guy was a layabout who teached basic critical thinking and got killed for it. If you have a fly in your house you swat it. Fuck'em

The following is good place to start.
Stoicism
Epicureanism
Kantian Utilitarianism

>plato quoting aristotle
>aristotle
>aristotle
>using the gadfly analogy and the hemlock execution
>to reference aristotle

I've been had. Here I am, upon my hill to die on, and I've been rused. Duped. Rustled beyond repair. Officially kek'd to death.

If you are JUST starting to get into philosophy, you should really avoid people like Kierkegaard or Nietzsche, that shit is difficult. Start with the basics.

>Socrates, Aristotle, Plato
That'll fill your ancient greek philosophy quota to get you started
>Camus, Sartre, Bouviour
To make sure you learn why you shouldn't kill yourself
>Dennett, Rorty
More modern philosophy

Of course those are just some incredibly, incredibly basic examples of good thinkers that I know other phil anons will criticize me fore.


There are so many fields its difficult, you should really narrow it down.

Utilitarianism
Stoicism
Ethics (Normative, Meta-ethics...)
Deontology vs. Consequentialism
Hedonism
Epicureanism

Theres even more basics like simple logic like modus ponens and modus tollens...

I would honestly start there... Learn the basics of a good argument first, then read some stuff

This

Just skip to Wittgenstein.

Also since you mentioned Molyneux (who again I somewhat caution against), there are some modern philosophers that put out a decent amount of digital media for digestion. Usually comes with plenty of book recommendations.

Jordan Peterson and Sam Harris to name two.
>inb4 "ha what a fucking dolt for falling for meme philosophers"

>inb4 "ha what a fucking dolt for falling for meme philosophers"

Any philosopher still has something to contribute to the world, whether perceivably relevant or not.

When OP does get into Nietzsche, I suggest Beyond Good and Evil, The Gay Science, and (especially if TGS piqued your interest) Also Sprach Zarathustra

How the Internet Is Affecting Our Brains - Nicholas Carr
The Unabomber's Manifesto - Ted Kaczynski
The Technological Society - Jacques Ellul
Prometheus Rising - Robert Anton Wilson
The Anarchist's Cookbook - Jolly Roger

5 books are all you need to save your soul.

>Prometheus Rising

Equally underrated and unsubstantiated

Plato, then Descartes and Thomas Aquinas, then Locke, Montesquieu, Voltaire, Rousseau, Adam Smith, and Kant.

Only read Unabomber Manifesto (Technically called Industrial Society and its Future) and of course Anarchist Cookbook.

Crash course philosophy is nearly as bad crash course history. It's alright I suppose for an absolute ground-floor entry, just be prepared to dismiss a lot of what you hear and understand a lot of relevant counter-argument will be omitted. Honestly OP, I'd just start in this order: epistemology, then meta-physics, then ethics, by reading Wikipedia articles to get a basic sense of things and technical terms. Get a familiarity if you will. Also brush up on logic and fallacies if don't think you're especially keen on them. After that, start checking out some actual books and essays, most of the big names and their works will be obvious after reading a good amount of the major topics and concepts on wiki.

Also, don't forget this: you'll never understand philosophy if you don't have a genuine motivation to rationally understand the world and can appreciate its importance. Also, don't get arrogant as you get into it. Every time you think you've come up with some brilliant and original idea, every time you think you know better than the big players, just know that there is about a 99.99% chance you haven't and don't. You're not doing philosophy unless you feel more uncomfortable when you think you're right than when you think you're wrong.

Kaczynski was good but I think that it's really important to emphasize how much our brains are changing in unprecedented ways due to the rapid advance of technology. Nicholas Carr is excellent for this because highlighting this wasn't really the main intention behind his book, more just to explore if the internet makes reading physical books harder. But then if that's true, which most people agree it seems to be, then all kinds of disturbing questions are raised if you take the issue further.

Seriously heed this

I would almost contest that the immediate reflex to any thought you find original should be to look back in texts and see if its been thought before. Habitually hold your thoughts to great scrutiny and almost disbelief (not in a practical sense but an academic one).

This is also why engaging with source material is incredibly important. Why let anyone summarize anything for you? You, by having a unique brain, can likely contribute some unique interpretation on the source material. That's a truly valuable thing (again, academically not practically lol)!

Guides and summaries can be important but do not mistake them for sufficient.