/lit/ - Literature

>>8496464
http://plato.stanford.edu/contents.html
Is an Excellent resource, also just start with your interests: metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, or aesthetics. You don't need to start in the beginning. Fill in blanks as you go.

>intrigued in metaphysics

retard alert

>>8496464
Start questioning thing, and then try to answer them. Simple and effective.

>>8496464
start by reading them in ancient greek
if you cant understand that from the get go just give up

>>8496464
dr. greg sadler on youtube is a damn good learning resource.

Socratic dialogues are a good start and DZ Phillips' "Introducing Philosophy" is pretty good.

>>8496610
Anon is right about finding a field that interests you and pursuing it.
Since you mentioned wanting to learn about living a good life, maybe try focusing on ethics or existentialism.

>>8496464
Starting with the Greeks is a well know lit meme, sorry dude. Start with Heidegger (preferably in German). He has the fullest comprehension of Western Philosophy, being closest to the present. Then Wittgenstein, he has some pretty cool thought about language which are good starting points to ease in to. From there straight to Kant and Hegel, Western esotericism, the kabbalah, the Hermetic corpus, medieval biblical criticism, Aramaic pottery fragments, Sumerian number tables, etc.

that is a GREAT shirt

https://docs.google.com/document/u/0/d/1y8_RRaZW5X3xwztjZ4p0XeRplqebYwpmuNNpaN_TkgM/pub

"Moby Dick is about a lot more than whales, and Socratic philosophy is about a lot more than a wise man walking around saying enigmatic, sometimes ironic things"

Professor Sugrue takes interpretation of the Dialogues to a new place. It is almost as if these characters were his intimates and he is reporting events as he witnessed them. This is truly excellent work

http://www.thegreatcourses.com/courses/plato-socrates-and-the-dialogues.html

What Socratic Dialogue is Not

https://youtu.be/mx5qg3dijnU

Though he never wrote down his thoughts, he had a brilliant pupil in Plato, who immortalized his teacher's legacy in 35 timeless dialogues that laid the philosophical basis for Western civilization. In fact Alfred North Whitehead once famously remarked, all of philosophy is but a footnote to Plato

Dr. Michael Sugrue is Professor of History at Ave Maria University. A graduate of the Great Books Program, he earned his B.A. in History from the University of Chicago and his M.A., M.Phil., and Ph.D. in History from Columbia University. Prior to taking his position at Ave Maria University, Professor Sugrue taught at Princeton University, the City College of New York, Columbia University, Manhattan College, New York

>>8497557
>>8497562
things you will need OP

>>8496464

Read at least one college textbook introduction to critical thinking. Start applying the precepts you learn as much as possible.


Read a selection of Montaigne's essays. This will teach you how to think about everyday things using the precepts you learned.


Read a good history of philosophy or two. I suggest Anthony Kenny's history. Also try some lighter books on the subject, like The Stone Reader, Think, etc.

Move-on from the history to topics or philosophers who interest you using primary texts in conjunction with secondary material. The Standford Encylopedia of Philosophy online, and the Blackwell Guides are both excellent resources.

>>8497503
>>8497542
hey great courses anon, i see you recommending a lot of these great courses stuff. just a question though - are these all locked behind a paywall?

>>8496464
How do I "learn philosophy"? What does that mean?

You can read all the books on philosophy in the world; will that mean you "know philosophy"? The great philosophers you hear about like Socrates would probably deliberately refuse to read "books on philosophy" because the concept is so trite.

The nature of """"philosophy"""" means that it's not a general subject like history or programming where you can just read the facts and understand it. Philosophy is a way, a method; something deeper - another sense, like a new type of vision. It's a place where it doesn't matter who you are or how many kiddy books you've wead in mommy's cwass. An illiterate man can be the greatest philosopher. All you have to do is think, think freely of the shit they try to shovel you. In a way, the more populist philosophy shit you read the more it'll cloud your mind.

I'm no philosopher so you don't need to listen to me, but philosophy is about finding a path. Finding your own path using philosophy as a tool can be a way to start.

>>8496464
>I want to study how to live a good life

lel love this meme