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11505603 No.11505603 [Reply] [Original]

What should I read if I want to become a more rational person, especially when it comes to political philisophy?

I'm trying to better develop my own political views, but I'm worried that my current views are based off of kneejerk responses and emotional biases from when I was more impressionable. I also don't want to read a lot of political ideology/manifestos yet, because I feel like I'll be reading biased material that I'll gullibly eat up because I can only take anything they say at face value.

>> No.11505712

Davy Crockett biographies
Textbook on Logic
How To Read And Why
How To Reason
Thank You For Arguing
Tao Te Ching
The Confucian Meditations
The Enchiridion
The Book of Exodus
The Book of Leviticus
The New Testament
Aurelian Meditations (meme)
Prayer of St. Ignatius
...
Textbook on Anthropology
Textbook on Sociology
Nicomachean Ethics
On Providence
The Consolation of Philosophy
Meditations On First Philosophy
Groundwork For the Metaphysics of Morals
Hume's Work (take your pick)
Excerpts From George Berkeley
Excerpts From Baruch Spinoza
...
The Republic
Excerpts From Locke
On Sovereignty
The Leviathan
The Social Contract
A Preface To Democratic Theory
On Liberty (JSM)
Basic Economics
The Wealth Of Nations
On The Industrial Revolution
On The Jewish Question
Abridged Version of Kapital
Textbook on Understanding Statistical Inference
Critiques Of Marx, Adorno
The Age Of Anxiety
Deleuze's Work, smatterings of other work
Peterson's Work

And then you're done!

>> No.11506252

>>11505712
Or you could just read the bible.

>> No.11506278

>>11505603
Honestly, read the Constitution and the Federalist papers carefully, then work on from there

>> No.11506573

My diary desu

>> No.11506617
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11506617

Start with the Greeks. read:
- The Complete Works of Plato
- The Organon, Politics, Nicomachean Ethics, Metaphysics, Rhetoric – Aristotle
What is so important about these works isn't necessarily the answers you'll find in them, but the development of rational thinking which reading Plato and Aristotle provide. No matter what field of Philosophy you intend to study, you should pay special attention to your foundations. Plato is entirely about challenging and interrogating your preconceptions on certain subjects; as long as you properly and earnestly engage in his work you will come out the better. Aristotle teaches you a different kind of reasoning, which is much more structural and precise than the flowing allegories of Plato. After reading this you can go on and read the great works of Political Philosophy (actually, you'll have already read two of the best by reading Politics and The Republic!).

>> No.11506624

>>11506252
I know you're memeing but
>people actually believe this
yikes

>> No.11506636 [DELETED] 

>>11505712
It's kind of amazing how quickly that list nosedives at the end, like a plain running out of fuel or a train charging into an unfinished bridge.

>> No.11508205

>>11505603
Get the relevant textbooks OP.

>> No.11508230

>>11505603
I wouldn't worry about reading about different political positions per se, rather I'd focus on learning to develop critical thinking skills that will help you see past the bullshit of the different ideologies and allow you to make judgements for yourself was is true and what isn't.

Always ask yourself "who does this benefit?" "why is this particular language being used, and not another?" etc. etc. Take inspiration where you see fit, but don't let yourself believe any one worldview or ideology is "the truth."

Reading about logical fallacies and basic points of rhetoric can help you out with this.

>> No.11508255
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11508255

>>11505603
Have you even read Herodotus? Cicero? St. Augustine?

Are you even interested in life? In humanity? Do you realize you live in the same world that Xerxes and Leonidas, Plato and Socrates, St. Anthony and Yajnavalkya lived in? We're here, man! Forget about your pathetic contemporaries and tap into the precious veins of history and the cosmos!

>> No.11509353

>>11505603
The completed works of Kant.

>> No.11510254

bump

>> No.11510432

>>11505712
Not OP, but thanks!