3 ms·

* For an (opinionated) overview of philosophy up until the first part of the 20th century you can try Russell's History of Western Philosophy [1]. * A very det

* For an (opinionated) overview of philosophy up until the first part of the 20th century you can try Russell's History of Western Philosophy [1]. * A very detailed and useful resource for a lot of topics is also the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy [2]. * You can also try the Oxford University Press Very Short Introduction series [3]. These cover a broad range of topics, not just philosophy; plus, you can approach each topic separately, without having to go through things that might not interest you. Of course, these recommendations completely ignore non-western philosophical traditions. Hindu and Buddhist traditions might also be interesting to explore. Personally I have approached philosophy strictly as an autodidact, hence quite haphazardly. After having explored a bunch of topics I however find most use and interest in those more modern and analytical parts of philosophy that touch on science, mathematics, cognitive science, logic. Political and moral philosophy are also quite important because they allow you to get a grasp of the intellectual framework modern institutions are built on. A lot of the things that we take for granted (e.g. representative democracy, the ubiquity of nation-states, the central role of economic institutions in society) are actually not at all dictated by nature, but more by cultural norms and various philosophical ideas and systems. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_History_of_Western_Philosophy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_History_of_Western_Philosoph... [2] https://plato.stanford.edu/ https://plato.stanford.edu/ [3] https://global.oup.com/academic/content/series/v/very-short-introductions-vsi/?cc=nl&lang=en& https://global.oup.com/academic/content/series/v/very-short-...

pmoriarty 6y ago
"For an (opinionated) overview of philosophy up until the first part of the 20th century you can try Russell's History of Western Philosophy" Opinionated is one way of describing it. Myopic, ill-informed, and narrow-minded on subjects that Russell wasn't an expert on is another way to put it. As someone who used to be a huge fan of Russell when I was young, I'd say a beginner would do themselves a huge disservice by letting their views of philosophy be colored by Russell's bias and mischaracterization of philosophers he doesn't appreciate or understand.
- leto_ii 6y ago
  Thinking about it now, I'm not even sure you can have such a thing as an 'objective' overview of philosophy. Clearly nobody will be equally knowledgeable about let's say, the pre-socratics, the Cambridge Platonists and contemporary moral philosophers. On top of that, everybody has their own opinions, their likes and dislikes. With this in mind, it's probably good to treat anything you read as something that has to be filtered through your own mind; always questioned and re-questioned, compared with the original sources and with competing interpretations and views. At the end of the day we have to make our own mind, nothing should be taken as holy writ. This is the case for people with some philosophical experience, as well as for beginners.
Veen 6y ago
In 2020, I think A.C. Grayling's The History of Philosophy is a better bet if you're looking for a single-volume introduction to Western Philosophy. Although, as with Russell, you have to take Grayling with a pinch of salt when he writes about philosophers outside of the analytic tradition.

pmoriarty 6y ago

"For an (opinionated) overview of philosophy up until the first part of the 20th century you can try Russell's History of Western Philosophy" Opinionated is one way of describing it. Myopic, ill-informed, and narrow-minded on subjects that Russell wasn't an expert on is another way to put it. As someone who used to be a huge fan of Russell when I was young, I'd say a beginner would do themselves a huge disservice by letting their views of philosophy be colored by Russell's bias and mischaracterization of philosophers he doesn't appreciate or understand.

leto_ii 6y ago
Thinking about it now, I'm not even sure you can have such a thing as an 'objective' overview of philosophy. Clearly nobody will be equally knowledgeable about let's say, the pre-socratics, the Cambridge Platonists and contemporary moral philosophers. On top of that, everybody has their own opinions, their likes and dislikes. With this in mind, it's probably good to treat anything you read as something that has to be filtered through your own mind; always questioned and re-questioned, compared with the original sources and with competing interpretations and views. At the end of the day we have to make our own mind, nothing should be taken as holy writ. This is the case for people with some philosophical experience, as well as for beginners.

Veen 6y ago

In 2020, I think A.C. Grayling's The History of Philosophy is a better bet if you're looking for a single-volume introduction to Western Philosophy. Although, as with Russell, you have to take Grayling with a pinch of salt when he writes about philosophers outside of the analytic tradition.