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Where to start - Philosophy education

I am almost completely illiterate on the topic of philosophy and philosophers and I would like to change that. I of recognize the names but don't know a thing about most of them. I was perusing the 50% off bin at Barnes and Noble yesterday, found some books by authors I recognized but in the end didn't buy them because I assumed that if they are in the bargain bin there's a good chance they aren't the best works to start with.

Can anyone here help me out. I would like a good overview/history of philosophy book. Something that the average person can read and understand. There wasn't much in the store for overviews. I did see Stephen Law's Philosophy: History, Ideas... which caught my eye because I've read some of his blog. But I didn't want to take a chance on it. I guess I'm looking mainly for Western philosophy for now.

The irony of my asking this question is that my husband has a BA in Philosophy and yet doesn't have any suggestions for me.

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Permalink Reply by D'Holbach on August 25, 2009 at 8:41pm

That's terrific! I wish that we could get organized enough to start such a movement here in the States; unfortunately, we can't even get organized enough to improve our health care system.

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Permalink Reply by Dawn K on August 25, 2009 at 6:45pm

I found this site for Teaching children philosophy a short time ago. I really like how it gives ideas for using children's books to help kids think critically.

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Permalink Reply by Sarah Robot on August 27, 2009 at 3:03am

Russell's History of Western Philosophy and Garder's Sophie's World were my starting points as well, but if you're interested in Ethics I'd suggest checking out Simon Wiesenthal's The Sunflower: On the Ethics of Forgiveness (as well as his various novels) and Lawrence Hinman's Ethics: A Pluralistic Approach as a starting point. Hinman in particular gives a pretty good grounding in the various ethical theories, if I recall correctly, and he's pretty accessible as well. You could also check out the Standford Online Encyclopedia of Philosophy, though they have a tendency to use highly technical terms in some areas. Hope that helps!

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Permalink Reply by Ronin on September 13, 2009 at 11:02pm

Dawn, I don't know if you are interested in audio books but I recently downloaded a series by Paul Strathern . They are a collection of a 90 minute treatments of a variety of philosophers. Kant, Aristotle, Spinoza and many more. There is also a series by an outfit called The Teaching Company. I got these through BitComet torrents using Pirate Bay. You can also download a number of e-books in text and PDF format. I rather enjoy listening to the audio when I'm traveling or when going to bed. The e-books are also good because if you have vision problems (I have some impairment due to medication) you can increase the size of the print. I agree with the assessment of Bertrand Russell as a good place to start.
Have fun with an exciting pursuit!

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Permalink Reply by Ralph Dumain on September 14, 2009 at 7:24am

Reading Ayn Rand's garbage is the worst place to start reading philosophy. In any case, it's not an introduction to the subject matter. Someone else brought up this topic on this site; I don't recall where offhand.

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Permalink Reply by Secular Forces 2013 on September 18, 2009 at 9:31am

What's the enthusiasm and addiction people have in regards to going back, back, and further back over and over again (aside from making a buck) to old fiction-based, supposed value-based mind-control teachings?

A man/woman wrote the stuff. People past-present and future use it as a value based mechanism (in reality only society makes values) ... Instead of making green-energy networks folks are debating feelings...

and on and on
not sure where the muse of it all is going
guess I'm jaded from childhood turn-off's

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Permalink Reply by Nate on September 18, 2009 at 12:04pm

A man/woman wrote the stuff.

No one has stated otherwise.

I don't think anyone here worships their favorite philosopher. In many cases, study of philosophy isn't about finding answers to questions as much as it is finding a worldview that is consistent with one's own experiences and observations on life.

It's healthy to seek to examine life in a way that is consistent with reality. Delving into philosophy can reveal to the student where inconsistency exists in his/her own worldview, the reasons for it can be considered and it can then be properly extracted, allowing for greater clarity of vison. For the individual that desires to live as free from illusion as possible, it's a neverending exercise.

...old fiction-based, supposed value-based mind-control teachings...

(in reality only society makes values)...

As I undertand it, philosophy provides a useful mechanism for challenging "old fiction-based, supposed value-based mind-control teachings" and the values embraced by a given society.

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Permalink Reply by Sam Prescott on November 4, 2009 at 5:39am

Try Stephen Fry's "The Philosophy Gym".

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Permalink Reply by William on November 9, 2009 at 4:12pm

Start with buying a philosophy dictionary. Then work from plato forward. So Much of anything that came after the geeks presupposes that you read it. EX. In order to get anything out of sarte, i suggest reading Aristotle, then Descartes, then Kierkegaard, then Hegel, then Heidegger, then Sartre. Check the date of what every you want to read, understand the topics discussed in the book, then go through the time line of authors start at the beginning and work forward.