>>9321949# General advice
- start with the Greeks
- if you start to fall asleep stop reading
- to analyse a segment, write down key conclusions and summarize or otherwise look at the premises and logic
# Main topics
- history of philosophy
- metaphysics (
- epistemology
- ontology
- aesthetics
- ethics
- theology (is its own entire field too)
# Optional: introductory texts
http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Philosophy_(Bookshelf)#General_introductions# Starting out with Plato
The appropriate reading order is sometimes debated. My favourite order is by topic:
>1st tetralogy (getting started): Alcibiades I + Lysis/Laches/Charmides>2nd tetralogy (the sophists): Protagoras +Hippias major/Hippias minor/Gorgias (updated 10/21/2017, see note above)>3rd tetralogy (Socrates'trial): Meno + Euthyphro/Apology/Crito>4th tetralogy (the soul): Symposium + Phædrus/Republic/Phædo>5th tetralogy (logos): Cratylus + Ion/M Euthydemus/Menexenus>6th tetralogy (dialectic): Parmenides + Theætetus/Sophist/Statesman>7th tetralogy (kosmos): Philebus + Timæus/Critias/Laws(Source:
http://plato-dialogues.org/email/950404_1.htm)
Laws and Republic are very lengthy so you might want to continue reading through the list even if you haven't finished them yet. Online HTML versions are available here:
http://classics.mit.edu/Browse/browse-Plato.html; but eBook versions are rarer to come by.
# Why start with Plato?
After Socrates/Plato, many Greek and Roman philosophers will make a lot of sense.
# But I want to start with Kant/Hegel/Nietzsche/Descartes/Aquinas
You can, if you like. Some modern philosophical work is really accessible.
>HURRR philosophy isn't scienceScience is a subset of philosophy. Without philosophy there is no science.
