/lit/ - Literature

[Anonymous No.1210884]

/lit/, could you recommend an entry level philosophy book?

Something that's easy to read and covers the basics of a few major schools.

Thanks.

[Anonymous No.1210900]

Plato's Republic is about as entry level as you can get.

Some others would be:
Thomas Moore
Machiavelli
Kierkegaard
Sartre
Aristotle
Kant

[Anonymous No.1210905]

>>1210900
I know the names of the different philosophers.

What I am looking for is what I said I am looking for.

Also, I know the basics of The Republic already. I don't like it.

[Deep&Edgy !pSkjEcB9sQ No.1210907]

>>1210900
>covers the basics of a few major schools

OP is one of the few people to come here who recognises that reading an introduction to philosophy is not the same as reading a history of philosophy

[Anonymous No.1210912]

>>1210907
That book looks fantastic. Thank you.

[Anonymous No.1210917]

This book's fairly approachable.

[Deep&Edgy !pSkjEcB9sQ No.1210921]

>>1210912
Np, so long as you don't start wondering what it's like to be a bat or anything

[Anonymous No.1210929]

>>1210905
>Also, I know the basics of The Republic already. I don't like it.

So, you're looking for some entry level philosophy, yet you didn't like what basicly laid the foundation of western philosophy? I'm wondering if you're actually looking to learn something about philosophy or you're just looking for something to "blow your mind"

Anyways, Albert Camus' The Stranger is really good.

[Anonymous No.1210944]

>>1210929
This. Absurdist philosophy is best philosophy

[Anonymous No.1210949]

OP here,

I've ordered What Does it All Mean by Thomas Nagel and Philosophy: The Basics by Nigel Warburton (recommended on Amazon).

Thanks for your help.

>>1210929
I guess I don't know enough about it to say that I don't like it. Isn't his idea of a good republic a place where there is a massive class gap with a ruling elite that lies to the working masses? I don't like that.

[Anonymous No.1210951]

If you are looking for a nice overview, you can do a lot worse than this little thingy

[Anonymous No.1210959]

>>1210951
Noted.

Will check it out if I enjoy the other books.

Thanks, bro.

[Anonymous No.1210965]

Perhaps this is the kind of thing OP is looking for? An easy read and and an entertaining introduction to philosophy.

[Anonymous No.1210968]

>>1210949
>I guess I don't know enough about it to say that I don't like it. Isn't his idea of a good republic a place where there is a massive class gap with a ruling elite that lies to the working masses? I don't like that.

Basicly, yes, that's how his utopia is, but that is a tiny part of what The Republic is about. The cave analogy in your own pic is part of it. He also discusses dualism, the theory of forms, justice, governments, etc, etc and it is basicly the entriest of entry level philosophy. The image you got of the book is definitely wrong. Nevertheless, you might as well skip it if your intention is to buy all these guides to learning philosophy.

[Anonymous No.1210976]

>>1210968
I think I'd get more out of something like that if I read a book that is easy to read that covers the basics. I will read The Republic once I have a better grasp of the basics.

[Anonymous No.1210975]

I'm surprised this hasn't been mentioned yet. Tells the story of a young girl while interweaving the history of western philosophy. Entry level at its best.

[Anonymous No.1210977]

>>1210929
A: This concrete foundation isn't very homely. I think I'll come back when the house is finished.
B: If you don't like the foundation, how could you like the house?

(Plato is worth reading, but let's be honest, Socrates is a bit credulous compared to the post-Descartes crowd.)

[Anonymous No.1211062]

You must begin your journey with Willard Van Orman Quine.

[Anonymous No.1211183]

>>1211062
FUCK YEAR QUINE!

[Deep&Edgy !pSkjEcB9sQ No.1211195]

>>1211062
>suggesting a mid-20th century philosopher working against Kant, Ayer etc
gavagai a break, would you?

[Truman Capote !kwxizAOFlk No.1211261]

"Entry level" is an obtusely pretentious term, but if you're looking for philosophy which is concise and readily understood then try this.

[Anonymous No.1211266]

>>1211261
This. Read it in philosophy class and the absurdist philosophy is imo one of the most relevant today.

[Truman Capote !kwxizAOFlk No.1211280]

>>1211266

It's the first book that comes to my mind when I think of literature which accurately portrays my personal beliefs on life.

[Anonymous No.1211289]

>>1211195
Okay, I laughed. I feel a little ashamed but I laughed.

[Deep&Edgy !pSkjEcB9sQ No.1211293]

Myth of Sisyphus is a rather redundant work (and littered with Camus' tiresome unneccessary rhetoric, what can you expect from a writer) in light of the fact that Diogenes solved the question of suicide many centuries ago and Camus' suggested response is simply a glorification of the heroic ego, which given the illusory nature of the self, is simply philosophical wild-goose chasing. Both Nietzsche and Stirner did it better in that vein anyway.

[Anonymous No.1211303]

>>1211261
>"Entry level" is an obtusely pretentious term

No it isn't.

It's short for 'concise and readily understood'.

[onionring !Rrxa7zePwI No.1211302]

>mfw people recommend existentialists as philosophy

[Anonymous No.1211309]

>>1211302
It distracts you from your yogurt?

[Anonymous No.1211320]

>>1211261
No, using obtusely is being pretentious.
Entry Level is admitting your a novice

[Truman Capote !kwxizAOFlk No.1211361]

>>1211302

>implying existentialism is the same as absurdism

>>1211303

Entry level implies simplification for accessibility, and that the concepts discussed are somehow intellectually inferior to other more magniloquent books on the subject

>>1211293

>Diogenes solved the question of suicide many centuries ago

Camus deals with suicide as one of the choices one is faced with when one becomes conscious of the absurd, and explains how killing yourself does not free you from the absurd but instead makes everything much more absurd.

>the illusory nature of the self

I didn't know you were a Buddhist.

[Deep&Edgy !pSkjEcB9sQ No.1211370]

>>1211361
>Camus deals with suicide as one of the choices one is faced with when one becomes conscious of the absurd, and explains how killing yourself does not free you from the absurd but instead makes everything much more absurd.

Camus gets awful absurdly anal about this absurd business. The universe is about as absurd as any other projected human term for what is the case.

"Diogenes was asked, "What is the difference between life and death?

"No difference."

"Well then, why do you remain in this life?"

"Because there is no difference.""

>I didn't know you were a Buddhist.
I'm not

[Anonymous No.1211371]

>>1211361
Even if we accept that definition of "entry level" its neither pretentious nor obtuse.

More over, since many philosophical works, call back to earlier works, debating the distinction between analytic and synthetic as put forward by Kant, and contested by Quine and what not. You could easily separate philosophical works, between those that would greatly benefit from reading earlier works first, and those that don't. The ones that don't could be aptly described as entry level.

In closing shut up.

Sincerely,
Anonymous.

[Truman Capote !kwxizAOFlk No.1211385]

>>1211370

>The universe is about as absurd as any other projected human term for what is the case.

You're right, all human projections are objectively absurd, he doesn't dispute this. What he does argue, though, is that it is our absurd mission to create a natural meaning for our own life's based on our individuality.

>>1211371

If only this is what people meant when they say "entry level".

Perhaps I have been on /mu/ for too long.

[Anonymous No.1211390]

>implying you understand the definition of "pretentious"

STOP USING THIS WORD WHEN YOU WISH TO INSULT OTHERS.

[Anonymous No.1211392]

Vote Quine / Whitehead 2012!!

[Anonymous No.1211395]

"Pretentious", "entry level", and "hipster" should be wordfiltered, on all boards, to "I am a gigantic shithead".

[Truman Capote !kwxizAOFlk No.1211397]

>>1211390

>pre·ten·tious

>Adjective: Attempting to impress by affecting greater importance, talent, culture, etc., than is actually possessed.

How is this not a character flaw?

[onionring !Rrxa7zePwI No.1211406]

>>1211361
>implying calling it absurdist improves its standing

w/e i'm too tired to even troll. but seriously though, it's not worth much

[Deep&Edgy !pSkjEcB9sQ No.1211417]

>>1211385
>our absurd mission to create a natural meaning for our own life's based on our individuality.

>illusory nature of the self

And this isn't completely restricted to buddhism, Hume's bundle theory of the self comes from a similar tradition of skeptical concerns about personal identity

[Anonymous No.1211420]

>>1211395
You are such a I am a gigantic shithead I am a gigantic shithead with I am a gigantic shithead taste.

Yeah, I approve.

[Anonymous No.1211427]

>>1211397
It is a social skill, and not measurable but only questionable. What you are calling a flaw is dynamic and authoritative in most situations. One often called pretentious can logically and eloquently dissect arguments beyond the ken of the accuser, thus making the word more of a crutch of the user's (lack of) intelligence akin to responding to a statement such as "In the overall scheme of global weather patterns, 2010 was the hottest year on record, yet we should question the accuracy of measurement methods employed 300 years ago," with a retort as witty as "Says you".

I find it odd that a fucking tripfag would consider the term "pretentious" as a character flaw when the very use of a tripcode signifies the poster's need to feel somehow separated and more authoritative than everyone else. In fact, it is the proper definition of "irony".

[Deep&Edgy !pSkjEcB9sQ No.1211448]

>One often called pretentious can logically and eloquently dissect arguments beyond the ken of the accuser, thus making the word more of a crutch of the user's (lack of) intelligence

Hey guys smart people get called pretentious sometimes who would have known.

[Anonymous No.1211449]

lol did someone just accuse Quine of being an Existentialist? I may have not followed the posts properly, in which case, everyone is piling on Sartre and rightly so because he isn't a philosopher, he is an overrated casual with a newsies hat

[Deep&Edgy !pSkjEcB9sQ No.1211455]

>>1211427
>akin to responding to a statement such as "In the overall scheme of global weather patterns, 2010 was the hottest year on record, yet we should question the accuracy of measurement methods employed 300 years ago," with a retort as witty as "Says you".

What does wittiness have to do with anything? That's not witty, that's equivalent to say "well that's your opinion", which is an entirely different claim to saying someone is pretentious

[Anonymous No.1211460]

>>1211448
HAHAHAH TRIPFAG. Hey man, do you have a website, blog, or facebook page so that I may follow your blazing intellect daily? Maybe a podcast or e-mail list that I can sign up for? I mean you are, after all, of such grand importance that I must invest more in your posts reading the content; I must know that the content came from an officially labeled expert.

[Anonymous No.1211463]

>>1211449
>lol did someone just accuse Quine of being an Existentialist?

No, they were talking about Camus. Which isn't technically accurate either.

>everyone is piling on Sartre and rightly so because he isn't a philosopher

Don't you start that shit.

[Deep&Edgy !pSkjEcB9sQ No.1211473]

>>1211460

lol look @ this guy fly off the handle it's hilarious XD

[Anonymous No.1211484]

>>1211455
In fact, it is the exact same claim. Was Einstein pretentious? Is the distinction drawn at what a population readily accepts as beyond their knowledge or is it just pretentious to you? In either case, one has no claim to unwarranted authority of any subject. Einstien is just as pretentious to an infant as an elementary math teacher to the same. The denigration ONLY insults the accuser.

[Anonymous No.1211489]

Many of the suggestions in here are stupid. You should read something like Quine's introduction to philosophy (The Web of Belief) or Russell's (Problems of Philosophy) both are available for free online. And they are short. Enjoy.

[Anonymous No.1211492]

>>1211484
Agreed. Using the word is like holding up a white flag and beckoning others to do the same. If you can't follow, don't swallow.

[Anonymous No.1211501]

>>1210975

Sophie's World. It's basically an introduction to history of philosophy. Those like me that think history of philosophy is utterly being will find that book utterly boring.

[Deep&Edgy !pSkjEcB9sQ No.1211506]

>>1211484
>In fact, it is the exact same claim
No it's not, saying that something is someone's opinion is a different claim to saying that they are appearing to be more than they are.

[Anonymous No.1211628]

>>1211506
Again, it illustrates the subjectivity of the word pretentious. The word itself is a measure of self to another and not a measure of speaker to credibility. It is self-deprecating . AND AGAIN, A FUCKING TRIP FAG ARGUING ABOUT THE AUTHORITY OF AN ANON IS HIGHLY SUSPECT. Grow balls, lose your shitty name, and become a contributor, not an elevated observer, you pretentious fuck.

You don't seem to understand that in the quote you are protesting, provided the perfect example. A source--(anonymous, I may point out, neither venal or combatant) --provided a statement which implies years of research, dedication, cross-checking, referencing, and evidential--and is met with the word "pretentious". Did you study weather patterns over the last 300 years and/or can faithfully criticize the methods by which measurement instruments have been constructed during that time? Did you dedicate your entire working career to ensure that the observation of these patterns is subjective when the scale is in the 1/100th degree debate? You have the nerve to call these people pretentious when they condense a lifetimes worth of knowledge into one sentence? They have given you their adult lives worth of information in as short of a piece of communication they can so that you don't have a need to. When ass hairs like you challenge people who are true scholars and true researchers and true men in the trenches, the best you can come up with is a word that basically says "you know more than me...impossible".

[Anonymous No.1211631]

>>1211484

Wow, you are fucking retarded

Please just stop

[Anonymous No.1211657]

>>1211631
lol DeepandEdgy dropped his trip?
This post actually made a very important point. Those who criticize without evidence and in the typical /lit/ cannot get past the logical and solvable blockade of solipsism. I actually look at you wanna be philosophy students with shame because it is beyond yourselves to speak about math when the most compelling arguments any philosopher can produce are math related.

A simple point was presented in the schema of logic and math. At what point does something become unbelievable. In the very same post, anon pointed it out: when the respondent cannot comprehend it.

[Anonymous No.1211660]

>>1211657

no

you are embarrassing yourself

[Anonymous No.1211683]

I can forgive you for being lonely in your shitty dorm at some state sponsored school learning Philosophy of the Pre-Socratics and sitting there on a Saturday night debating the actual meaning of a word you never bothered to contemplate before. What I can't forgive you for is the fact that you cannot see past you nose without thinking that others know more than you and have a much more meaningful opinion in the overall scheme of the development of mankind. You simply do not know everything and this very fact leads you to call others "pretentious" while you sit there with A FUCKING TRIP and likewise claim authority at the age of 19.

I can tell you some specifics about myself. I am not afraid to put my credentials on the line when accusing another person of flaunting intelligence that I did not personally experience. I graduated high school in 1990. From 1990-92, I attended a community college. On the merits of four essays that I wrote on the Vienna Circle, I was invited to the Ludwig Wittgenstien Symposium the following summer. I completed a BA in Philosophy under Wallace Matson of UC Berkely in 1992 and a BS in Mathematics (Cryptography) the same year. I Attended both U Chicago and U Mich for the next 3 years and attained 2 degrees from UM--one in Game Theory and another in History. I have worked in 22 countries in fields as varied as structural engineering, archaeology, FORTRAN programming, International Banking, and Logistics.

[Anonymous No.1211689]

>>1211683
(cont.)
Never in my life have I called anyone "pretentious". I am not aware of their experiences and skills. I have, however, called someone a puffed-up preening faggot. And that was today. Now. You.

[Anonymous No.1211715]

Not saying you're wrong--that would be "pretentious" of me--but I am saying is DSeep&Edgy your alternate persona? Cause I fucked his mother and her cunt was both of those descriptors.

[Anonymous No.1211726]

>>1211715
Couldn't be. Deep&Edgy has never presented actual life experience or logical experience to any discusstion here other than the fact that he braids mail anus hairs into a suit upon which he wears in to the forests of the Pacific Northwest in the hopes of scaring loggers into cessation thinking they have seen bigfoot. The truth of it is, that Deep&Edgy is the /lit/ anti-hero of who he actually is--Shallow and Complacent.

[Anonymous No.1211727]

Deep and Edgy--named after his mother's vagina

[Anonymous No.1211731]

The only tripfag on /lit/ worth attention is Isabelle Huppert. Chedck that there's 2, but /jp/ is slowly fading into obscurity.

[Anonymous No.1211739]

Life Experiences of Deep&Edgy.

1. Birth
2. 20 years of support from his single-yet-milfy mother
3. Attended Santa Monica College
4. Failed out of an A.A.regimen because he could not sculpt a penis larger than 2 inches--it seemed mythical and disproportionate to his experiences
5. Moved back in with is mother, who is now fucking the guy that was hall monitor 3 years ago.
6. Jacking off to posts on lit so he can get his trip exposure every day every day every day every day every day every day every day every day every day every day every day every day every day every day every day every day every day every day every day every day every day every day every day every day every day every day every day every day every day every day every day every day every day every day every day every day every day every day every day every day every day every day every day every day every day every day every day every day every day every day every day every day every day every day

[Anonymous No.1211747]

>>1211739
I thought it was common knowledge that all /lit/ fags ignored tripfags.

[Anonymous No.1211749]

Man this thread is super pretentious

[Anonymous No.1211751]

>>1211747
Generally, it is, but I don't want to miss a Huppert philosophy illumination or a jp random I WILL BUY YOUR SHIT thread. Mostly, yes. Anyone who trips on /lit/ is out for recognition, comic points, or reposting one of their 100 Iron Giant screencaps. So it is better to suffer the shit with the corn if you know what I mean.

[Anonymous No.1211761]

gay ass lit

[Anonymous No.1211762]

Is it a suprise to any of you that the trip fags escaped wordlessly into the ether when that are called out? Trip fags are the very reason the word pretentious is thrown about so willy nilly. Trip fags, by nature, are pretentious. Definitively so

[Super Pretentious !!EUscYEhY3mg No.1211763]

>>1211762

brb becoming a tripfag

Bow down to me plebes

[Anonymous No.1211767]

Hello everyone. You know me as the tripfag Deep&Edgy. It's Saturday and I have nothing better to do than post post post to get my fucking name out there. I am a brand. When you see my name, you should think "Deep and Edgy". See me. Come look at me. Please Comment Comment Comment. Above everything. Please acknowledge that I am a slef designated authority on everything. When I call you pretentious, that means I have looked up the word and compared it to the valuse I ascribe to myself but declare it lacking and beneath me. When you are pretentious, you know slightly more than me and I am irked that I have nothing better to say than "beyond my understanding" than the simple word "pretentious"--which most of you consider to be equal to the word "precocoius". LOOK AT ME LOOK AT ME LOOK AT ME LOOK AT ME LOOK AT ME LOOK AT ME LOOK AT ME LOOK AT ME LOOK AT ME LOOK AT ME LOOK AT ME LOOK AT ME LOOK AT ME LOOK AT ME LOOK AT ME LOOK AT ME LOOK AT ME LOOK AT ME

[Anonymous No.1211769]

Drama, drama everywhere

[Anonymous No.1211780]

Faggots don't know about my secret identity. As said before, trips on lit only add to your dismissability.

The only two exceptions here are Isabelle Huppert and jp, who we also know to mainly non-trip

[Anonymous No.1211782]

Norman Melchert - The Great Conversation (entry level textbook, enjoyable read)
Jostein Gaarder - Sophie's World (history of philosophy condensed into a novel)

[Anonymous No.1211789]

Original Post: Please give me an intro to philosophy book that can cover the ideas of the major players of the field in an easy to read "common man" style.

Immediate responses: OMFG PLATO

[A few anons offer seminal intro to philosophy works]


HATED IT HATED IT HATED IT

Tripfags using the word pretentious is irony

But yea, read the Will Durant Book. It basically covers the main ideas of philosophy without bogging you down with sidenotes.

The only other thing you should take from this thread is the fact that trip fags are not only unreliable, but uneducated as well.

[Anonymous No.1211790]

>>1211780
>implying we particularlly care
Oh look, it's trying to establish an identity

[Anonymous No.1211802]

>>1210951
Of all of these "book" recommendations", the only one that can dip you slowly into the field will be this Durant book. I thought there was one called Classics of Western Philosophy that might be good as well but looking through it, you really need an understanding of terms before plowing through it. Thumbs up to the guy that mentioned Wally Matson. That man was a true instructor, and always with a knowing smirk on his face that let you feel like the very ground you stood on was sytrofoam on a sea. Whenever I made Wally frown, I knew I was headed for a long discussion.

[Anonymous No.1211809]

>>1211790
I care about my secret identity. I often tell people in my shitty community college that I am well known in philosophy circles as a tripfag on lit. It strengthens my arguments. This identity I must keep secret. I often find myself smiling in remembrance about a post I made which was of the highest quality of excellence that I fear I might swerve into another Mercedes Benz--that is what I drive--I am a very famout /lit/ trip fag. I have a Benz and more theories than Dionne Warwick has Psychic Friends.

[Anonymous No.1211818]

>>1211809
Cool story, bro.

[Anonymous No.1211821]

AND NOW, OUR KEYNOTE SPEAKER ON ATOMISM ...LET US ALL WELCOME EIGHT TIME PUBLISHED AUTHOR AND PROPONENT OF THE LOOK AT ME I AM IMPORTANT ON LIT SCHOOL OF THOUGHT, STATE COLLEGE STUDENT DEEP&EDGY WHO WILL EXPLAIN WHY ANYTHING HE CANNOT READILY COMPREHEND IS BOTH MYSTICISM AND BEYOND THE REALM OF HUMAN KNOWLEDGE!

[Anonymous No.1211824]

pragmatic empiricism, the only philosophy that matters.

[Anonymous No.1211835]

>>1211824
You forgot the Analytics. I want a raise. Why? I have benefited the company. That was your fucking job. What else did you do?

[Tripfag !3I4SJbCh8M No.1211840]

I I am a trip fag

I have nothing of value to offer this conversation, but I wish that you will all know my name. This will give me authority

[Anonymous No.1211890]

If anything, this thread has maintained what 1 fucking million threads have done in the past: trip fags are ephemeral glory pigs. It isn't surprising that they label others with a word that means "glory pig".

[Anonymous No.1211947]

Perhaps you didn't hear the general concesnsus stated a hundred times: Trip fags are attention whores. They deserve nothing but scorn and abject violence when you are able to pry their dox. Case in point" Stagolee. I doubt he will be Stago or Lee'ing in the next few months

[Anonymous No.1211960]

Sure is samefaggotry in here. What's with all the dissing of trip-fags? Waste of time. Philosophy, people!

[Deep&Edgy !pSkjEcB9sQ No.1213330]

>mfw when I come back to this thread the next day

>>1211628
>Again, it illustrates the subjectivity of the word pretentious. The word itself is a measure of self to another and not a measure of speaker to credibility.
That has nothing to do with what I said, which was that saying that something is someone's opinion is different from say that they appear to be more than what they are. This doesn't require a deep understanding of leibnitz's law to appreciate the differences.

[Truman Capote !kwxizAOFlk No.1213335]

>>1213330

[Deep&Edgy !pSkjEcB9sQ No.1213352]

>The word itself is a measure of self to another

As is the word 'retarded', 'wrong', 'right', 'awesome', 'cool', 'nigger', 'spic', 'tripfag', 'poor', 'lying', and a voluminous amount of other words in any language. These words by their very nature imply a relational aspect between subject and predicate. Their use in language is not limited to highlighting a relation, a measurement, however.

[Deep&Edgy !pSkjEcB9sQ No.1213356]

>>1213335
Dude I wasn't here for any of the stuff in this thread last night, shit's hilarious lol

[Deep&Edgy !pSkjEcB9sQ No.1213407]

>>1211427
>"Says you"

>>1211455
>that's equivalent to saying "well that's your opinion", which is an entirely different claim to saying someone is pretentious

>>1211484
>In fact, it is the exact same claim.

>>1211506
>No it's not, saying that something is someone's opinion is a different claim to saying that they are appearing to be more than they are.

>>1211628
>Again, it illustrates the subjectivity of the word pretentious.

Completely ignoring what I've said in order to go off on his own tangent. It doesn't illustrate anything, it's a straight-forward proposition that one claim "that is your opinion" is not logically equivalent to "you are appearing to be something more" (more here being of higher projected value than what is the supposed projected value, here is where subjectivity is important). You're so hung up on thinking about one use of the word 'pretentious' (often used as a 'fuck you') that you completely ignore the sometimes legitimate use of saying of a person that they are 'pretentious' in order to call into question their authority or establish truths about their identity.

[Anonymous No.1213433]

OP here,

What the fuck is wrong with you guys?

Saying 'entry level' got my point accross. Arguing about little things like this is dumb. Grow the fuck up.

[onionring !Rrxa7zePwI No.1213516]

food fight?

[Anonymous No.1213525]

>>1213516
more like trip fight. Sage this shit

[onionring !Rrxa7zePwI No.1213543]

>>1213525
deep and edgy is always entertaining. but okay!

[Anonymous No.1214907]

>>1213433
that's what i said.