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/lit/ - Literature

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2638063 No.2638063[DELETED]  [Reply] [Original]

Hey /lit/, I've been on a thoughtful kick lately. I'm looking for some good philosophical books to read. Currently about to jump into Candide by Voltaire, any other tips?

>> No.2638071

>>2638063
Infinite Jest

>> No.2638075

wittgenstein
dogen

>> No.2638092

Candide is really good. Are you looking for heavier or lighter reading?

>> No.2638103

>>2638092
Doesn't really matter to me. I can deal with either. Just looking for some interesting, thought provoking literature.

>> No.2638107

why do you read this crap? Its written by dead people. What can they know about life?

>> No.2638116

>>2638107
And the typewriter was designed by a dead man, yet you still use a keyboard.

>> No.2638119

Leopardi's Operette morali. Goes well with Candide.

>> No.2638120

Check out "Meditations" by Marcus Aurelius. He was one of the great Roman emperors. Basically the book is just a list of ideas filled with wisdom about how to be the best man possible.

>> No.2638125

>>2638103
Candide isn't thought provoking, not even a little bit. It was written to make fun of Leibnitz' contention that we live in the best possible world. The result is a heavy-handed piece of mockery that winds on far longer than necessary. The point could easily have been made in a page or two. I don't even see why Voltaire goes on and on with it, it seems quite anal.

>> No.2638133

>>2638125
I know what it's about, but I find satire in itself to be thought provoking. And the added humor doesn't hurt. Just something I've been wanting to read for awhile.

>> No.2638140

>>2638125

I dropped the book after the first couple of pages made it abundantly clear that Voltaire either completely misread Leibnitz or held a strong personal grudge against the man.
Faggot ass Voltaire was probably jelly of Leibnitz being a genius in maths and philosophy as well as rocking a gorgeous wig.

>> No.2638159

>>2638140
While I won't deny that Leibnitz sports a glorious wig, it's not Voltaire's fault that his theories make no sense.

>> No.2638174

Candide is good if you like satire & humor. I found it to be a nice look at how to live life, too.

>> No.2638188

>>2638174
Along these same lines of how to live life is The Prince by Machiavelli and The Courtier by Castiglione.

>> No.2638193

>>2638188

The Prince is pretty cool. Should only take you an hour or so at the most to read.

I suggest Marx's manifesto and The Last Days Of Socrates.

>> No.2638220

Candide ain't philosophy, it's a pamphlet

Try real philosophy: De Vita Beata & De Brevitate Vitae, seneca the younger

>> No.2638226

You can read Candide in about two hours. You could just read a summary and find out what it's about if you don't wanna waste those two hours. The book is written in the most basic English I've ever seen, it's like a kids' story, and the story itself isn't all that great. I don't know why this book is so famous.

>> No.2638231

>>2638063
>Currently about to jump into Candide by Voltaire
You think Candide is philosophy? It's two parts shitty adventure, one part porn and one part whiny satire that borders on lolitrollu.

>> No.2638315

Kierkegaard's Present Age is incredibly insightful. Written 150 years ago, it still reads like it was written for modern society.