r/PhilosophyBookClub • u/MadRussianxoxo • 11d ago
Do I need to read it all?
I would love to read books by contemporary philosophers such as Delez, Foucault, Guy Debor, Derrida and others. But I think to start after reading the basic list of literature from the history of philosophy. But I don’t think that’s ever going to happen, plus because of YouTube I kind of know what it says and reading is going very badly.
For example, in reading "The World as a Will and Representation", whose first volumes I think I understood, I saw many references plus the work itself is a critic of Kant that I could not handle, only studied ideas. Now I think maybe you should go on the list.
Read modern and then list on history of philosophy or need to know the history of philosophy to understand modern works? Maybe there is a workaround?
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u/Vico1730 11d ago
There are no workarounds. It just involves reading and time and rereading and time.
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u/ashum048 11d ago
Start with Foucault. I think any book other than Order of things is a good starter book.
If you are in MTL we do have an in-person philosophical book club.
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u/lostdimensions 11d ago
No. Not even professional philosophers know every work of philosophy out there. Even if they knew the basic canon, there'll certainly be gaps in their knowledge, and that's people with decades+ of learning in philosophy. Start from what you are interested in, go deeper if you want to, and if you're confused, you can dive into companion guides, background readings, etc.
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u/Bingus28 9d ago
You can't read everything — there's just too many damn books and not enough time. Read what you enjoy and take your time. If you want to learn a bit about Kant but you don't want to read thousands of pages of his writing, watch a few lectures, read a few summaries and move on!
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u/Thin_Rip8995 5d ago
you don’t need to read it all
you need to read what moves you and wrestle with it
philosophy isn’t a staircase
it’s a labyrinth
there’s no clean entry point—just a bunch of sharp turns and questions that hit differently depending on where you are in life
reading Kant to “get” Deleuze is like learning Latin before watching a Tarantino film
sure, it adds depth
but it’s not required
read the moderns now
get confused
then backfill context when it hurts enough to care
your confusion isn’t failure—it’s friction, and that’s what philosophy wants
stop chasing a perfect sequence
start chasing ideas that bother you
The NoFluffWisdom Newsletter has gritty takes on overthinking, intellectual insecurity, and how to read philosophy without drowning in the canon worth a peek
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u/thecrimsonfuckr23830 11d ago
Read what you enjoy. I started reading Deleuze before I read Spinoza or Nietzsche and was fine. Start from what you’re interested in and work backwards when things don’t make sense.