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/lit/ - Literature

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13451158 No.13451158 [Reply] [Original]

>decide to start with the Greeks
>start reading pic related
>have no idea what's going on, can't keep focus, just have to force myself through it without retaining or learning anything
Am I retarded?

>> No.13451163
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13451163

Start with the Ayrans.
Greeks are a meme.

>> No.13451169

Yes. But starting with the greeks is dummy shit if you're brand new to literature.

>> No.13451174

>Am I retarded?
Yes. Symposium is easy as fuck to understand. Literally just some drunk guys sitting around talking about what they think love means

>> No.13451177

>>13451158
you just lack contextual knowledge
go to youtube, search "symposium" and pay attention to the first summary video you see. it won't be great, ut once you know who is who and what theyre syaing youll be able to at least process the book

>> No.13451178

>>13451158
The Symposium is pretty easy too. Don't know what to tell you. Most philosophy is going to be harder than the Symposium.

>> No.13451181

I feel like I never get anything whenever I try to read Plato. Like I can follow what the characters are saying, but I come out of it without having taken anything interesting away from it.

>> No.13451182

>>13451158
What translation are you reading?

>> No.13451192

>>13451182
Dunno
>>13451169
>>13451174
>>13451178
How do I understand it better? Doing what he says? >>13451177

>> No.13451239

THIS IS A LITURATURE FORUM NOT A PHILOSOPHY ONE. START WITH THE GREEKS MEANS HOMER HESIOD HERODOTUS THUCYDIDES XENOPHON AECHYLUS SOPHOCLES EURIPIDES ARISTOPHANES NOT JUST PLATO AMD ARISTOTLE

>> No.13451245

>>13451192
You may as well try to see if it works for you. But it's important for you to keep track of some of what's going on enough to be able to ask questions too. If I asked you right now, what things you don't understand, you best be ready to list particulars. Otherwise your issue may not be lacking understanding, but having a hard time paying attention. Some people have ADHD after all.

>> No.13451250

>>13451239
>all caps
>'forum'
>/lit/ is at least 50% if not more philosophy talk

>> No.13451299

>>13451245
Alright, I'll try:
Who are these people?
What are their relations to each other?
Why are they talking about love so much?
Why does the first guy put so much stock into love?
Why did he like love so much?
Why did the second guy disagree with him?

>> No.13451386

>>13451299
Basic start:
>Who are these people?
Socrates and some acquaintances.
>Why are they talking about love so much?
Think of it like toasting to some concept and then giving praise to it and trying to impress others. That's more or less what's going on, but the subject they pick is love. It's really a framing device by Plato to explore love and other interesting concepts.

>> No.13452571

>>13451250
>/lit/ is at least 50% if not more philosophy talk
That's the problem

>> No.13452601

>>13451158
>my brain is rotten
>try to start to unrotten it
>but why is it rotten though
keep going, go slower

>> No.13452607
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13452607

>>13451163
>Start with the Ayrans.

>> No.13452611

https://plato.stanford.edu/
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/plato-friendship/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symposium_(Plato)

>> No.13452618

>>13452611
Absolute state of "start with the greeks" meme

>> No.13452631

>>13452618
>don't read entry-level secondary literature, just literally make your own mind about every single work in existence
ask me how i know you are just a meme

>> No.13452637

>>13451169
/thread
read some easier shit, OP. Maybe Camuuuu's The Stranger or some 'entertaining' shit like that.

>>13451239
>philosophical discussion can go on either /lit/ or /his/, but those discussions of philosophy that take place on /lit/ should be based around specific philosophical works to which posters can refer.

>> No.13452912

>>13451158
Do you know what a symposium was? Then you would know that in order to understand the book you have to be inebriated. Talk about lacking common sense..

>> No.13452929

Watch gregory b Sandler's core concepts of philosophy on youtube

>> No.13453055

>>13452929
>1/550
fucking minotaur...

>> No.13453978

>>13451239
>HESIOD HERODOTUS THUCYDIDES XENOPHON
This is a literature board, not a history one. >>>/his/
See, two can play that game.

>> No.13454267

>>13452912
If you didn't know they decide not to drink during the symposium and only go shitfaced at the very end, no wonder that you only read the book drunk.

>> No.13454288

>>13453978
Based

>> No.13454306

>>13453978
Homer is history too

>> No.13454318

Start with other ones. I think the first dialogue I read was Meno. Crito and the Apology were the most fun, imo.

>> No.13454328

You have to google what a Symposium is and who the characters are.

>> No.13454342

>>13452631
>don't read entry-level secondary literature, just literally make your own mind about every single work in existence
You just described a patrician

>> No.13454991
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13454991

Was she really that bad?

>> No.13455084

>>13451239
this
incredibly based post

>> No.13455123

>>13451181
I've had this problem. I followed too closely onto the meaning of the words instead of trying to abstract the meaning from the text. You might also just be bad at comprehension

>> No.13455224

WHAT IS LOVE?
BABY DON'T HURT ME
DON'T HURT ME
NO MORE

>> No.13455811

For learning about greek mythology before starting with the greeks, Robert Graves' The Greek Myths or Edith Hamilton's Mythology?

The first one is easier for me to obtain physically

>> No.13457688

Just based Socrates my man outdrinking everyone and leaving for home when everyone is shitfaced drunk and he's still lucid enough to blueball Alcibiades.

>> No.13457706

>>13451158
Euthyphro
Apology
Crito
Phaedo

This is the holy tetralogy to begin Plato, to read in this order. Do it and everything else will make much more sense.

>> No.13459380

>>13453978
Anon said not just Plato and Aristotle. Good luck understanding their philosophy without an understanding of their history and culture.