How do I read philosophy without becoming a pretentious faggot?

How do I read philosophy without becoming a pretentious faggot?

>read philosophy
Don't even read philosophy. Get acquainted with certain ideas first. Understand their criticisms, biases, and then formulate new theories. I have honestly never read a book in my life (I didn't have the attention span for it). Instead, I base my life around basic axioms and descartes method.

The most true thing in my life is that I exist. From that, I question the senses.
My senses question its environment. I question my environment and the authorities within the environment. I have general order in my head how the world works, and I've never been wrong once.

Yeah, how do you avoid becoming like this?

Start with Plato and absorb his ideas about the Socratic method, and then pursue what interests you.

Read down to earth philosophy.

Stoicism, Epicureanism and Classical philosophy in general is simple and practical.

cross reference analyists of what you read and then read it yourself.

Be a well rounded individual.

People become faggots because all they do is philosophy, while in other aspects of their life are nothing. No social life, no hobbies, no physical activity, no human experiences. Thus all they do is mull ideas over in their heads and become insufferable out of touch ivory tower types

Take Socrates, he was a mason, and a soldier, and was friends with average guys like merchants. He traveled, and participated in politics. Philosophy was just one aspect of his life, not his life

This is a good recommendation

Trick question, if you're a pretentious philosophy faggot it's not because you read philosophy, it's because you were a pretentious faggot all along.

>"Take Socrates, he was a mason, and a soldier, and was friends with average guys like merchants. He traveled, and participated in politics. Philosophy was just one aspect of his life, not his life."

The soldier and politics part is just being a citizen at the time.
Socrates was also criticized for being to philosophical and not being a good politician or businessmen.

Philosophy clearly was his life since he died for it.

Step 1: do less talking and more listening

Step 2: read philosophy for the pure love of wisdom, not because you’re trying to impress anyone.

Step 3: don’t rub it in anyone’s face that you enjoy reading and studying philosophy.

Step 4: don’t try to dazzle people with fancy language or excessive verbosity. Practice breaking down philosophy into simple every day language. Brevity is the soul of wit.

Step 5: do less talking and more listening.

>Step 1: do less talking and more listening

...

This user gets it. Be more like Socrates and less like the sophists he dunked on.

>" Don’t try to dazzle people with fancy language or verbosity."

Lol way to practice what you preach faggot.
Also teaching people by using more proper terms in a way they understand is way more beneficial then talking simply to them and secretly think yourself superior.

>"brevity is the soul of wit"

It is much more pretentious imh to talk in such a way as makes you appear more witty instead of patiently explaining something in a thorough way to someone.

Dont study it to learn to "gotchas" ie don't be a sophist. In other words study it for it's own sake, not to BTFO people.

Never pretend being a philosopher and completely assume being an hobbyist not really getting anything at deep level.

Stoicism is self help bullshit that turns most of its readers into pretentious assholes in my experience. Maybe you should read "the Art of Manliness" or something if you want pseudo deep platitudes but philosophy is really not practical enough for you, sorry.

>Lol way to practice what you preach faggot.
There's a difference between speaking simply and dumbing down.

>Also teaching people by using more proper terms in a way they understand is way more beneficial then talking simply to them and secretly think yourself superior.
Shit like this is why you people think you're pretentious

>It is much more pretentious imh to talk in such a way as makes you appear more witty instead of patiently explaining something in a thorough way to someone.
If you can't explain something simply, you don't have a full understanding of what that thing is

>"There's a difference between speaking simply and dumbing down."

But you were using difficult language to make yourself appear smarter not to be more precise.

>"Shit like this is why you people think you're pretentious"

I dont think I am.

>"If you can't explain something simply, you don't have a full understanding of what that thing is."

Maybe, but that just means that when you explain something in a simple way you are claiming you have a full understanding of something, which is usually pretentious. You are simplifying things to avoid being contraindicated like a coward.

>"I think therefore, I am" is fedora

It is if you get it from wikipedia and refuse to read any other philosophy because of it tbqh senpai.

>But you were using difficult language to make yourself appear smarter not to be more precise.
There's nothing difficult about the word "verbosity". Even if you you've never heard it used before you can more or less gather what it means, and that's what makes the difference between simplifying and dumbing down.
>I dont think I am.
They never do
>Maybe, but that just means that when you explain something in a simple way you are claiming you have a full understanding of something, which is usually pretentious. You are simplifying things to avoid being contraindicated like a coward.
No, it's simply sparing people the technical details that would go over their heads. Of course it's a different story if they actually do care about the technical details, but that's where the whole "listening" business comes into play

>"There's nothing difficult about the word "verbosity". Even if you you've never heard it used before you can more or less gather what it means, and that's what makes the difference between simplifying and dumbing down."

So were you using it to teach people in a way they can understand, then?

>They never do.

So do you think you are pretentious?

>No, it's simply sparing people the technical details that would go over their heads. Of course it's a different story if they actually do care about the technical details, but that's where the whole "listening" business comes into play

I disagree, sparing people the details of your reasoning just makes them see the right opinion you state, instead of showing how and why you think these things leaving them open for criticism. You thinking it will go over their heads is almost certainly an underestimation and a sign of pretention.

>I have honestly never read a book in my life
let me stop you there

>So were you using it to teach people in a way they can understand, then?
having a large vocabulary is different from throwing technical philosophical words at them like "phenomenology" or "heuristics"

>So do you think you are pretentious?
I make a concerted effort not to be, and I do that by spending less time talking and more time listening

>You thinking it will go over their heads is almost certainly an underestimation and a sign of pretention.
No it is not. putting terms and phrases into common use language is how you convey information to lay people. Ask any salesman, they'll tell you that there is a such thing as too much information, and beyond a certain point people stop paying attention and just tune you out. Again, putting things in plain spoken language is NOT the same thing as dumbing down. You speak like you've never done public speaking or done any research on communication at all.

>having a large vocabulary.

So you just use it to convey you have a large vocabulary? Since it definitely didnt anything of substance to the point you were making.

>I make a concerted effort not to be, and I do that by spending less time talking and more time listening

That was the best principle you stated imh, however I also think that while listening you can be just as pretentious by silently judging or refuting.

>salesmens pitch argument

I agree. But what is good for the salesmans pitch might not be necessary for an evening with friends, or an argument or when talking with students. You are talking like the best way to not appear pretentious is to be a flatterer like the rhetoricians, which almost makes me belief you study philosophy as a way to attain powers of persuasion.

Ignore nihilism and you should be good

>So you just use it to convey you have a large vocabulary? Since it definitely didnt anything of substance to the point you were making.
Did you have a difficult time figuring out what the word "verbosity" means?

> I also think that while listening you can be just as pretentious by silently judging or refuting.
That's just projection. You can listen because you appreciate the fact that there is wisdom to be found everywhere, even in the most unlikely places, if that's what you really love.

>But what is good for the salesmans pitch might not be necessary for an evening with friends, or an argument or when talking with students.
which goes to one of my tertiary points: you need to read your audience to know how and why to convey wisdom without coming across as pretentious.

>which almost makes me belief you study philosophy as a way to attain powers of persuasion.
philosophy is the love of wisdom, which is invariably mastering the art of human relations. Certain eastern philosophies draw a distinction between someone who achieves personal enlightenment verses someone who can bring enlightenment to others. We're not talking about mastering one's inner thoughts, we're talking about how to discuss philosophy without sounding pretentious, and being persuasive is an important component of that, and there are lessons to be learned from salesmen, pastors, public speakers, teachers, everyone whose job it is to convey information

>just figure it out urself bro

>and I've never been wrong once.
did he just give away the troll?

He died for what he though is right, which everyone should do.

>Did you have a difficult time figuring out what the word "verbosity" means?

No and I laud you for teaching me by your use and context.

>That's just projection.

Everyone has these experiences, just listen to them and they will tell you.

>without coming across as pretentious.

Surely the aim of your five point plan was to read philosophy without becoming a pretentious faggot, not to merely avoid coming across as such?

Thinking you have a peculiar wisdom is pretentious what the rest of the world thinks of you does not matter in that respect.

>everybody dies in a span of weeks

Great advice user

>Veeky Forumstards now calling anything and everything /pol/
HURRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

/pol/ living rent free on multiple boards at this point