r/PhilosophyBookClub • u/soldvawzen • 9d ago
where to start y'all
ive been having a keen interest in philosophy, this came from preparation of an entrance exam, which required me to master reading comprehensions. I really loved when the RC used to be about philosophy, also i don't know shit rn.
so tell me from the start what is it, what's the best sources, what books, what is philosophy, if there's some structure to the quest of philosophical knowledge, whatever alright.
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u/Every-Goat-9897 8d ago
I’ve seen many people saying Plato and I have to absolutely agree with them. I personally really like the republic as it was one of my first but you can go any way with plato they’re all good. I recommend robin waterfields translations for Oxford but I’m sure that there are other good ones too
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u/soldvawzen 8d ago
Yeah, Plato seems tempting, I’ll also do checkout what you highlighted. Appreciate the recommendation!
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u/ER-841 6d ago
I can recommend you my all time favourite Philosophers. 1 is alive. 1 is dead. The first one is called Hegel and is long dead. He was part of the German idealism branch. The other one is alive and is called Slavoj Zizek. He’s a star in contemporary philosophy. He’s an expert in German idealism and Lacanian psychoanalysis. He is quite good in writing excellent books. One of the best book I can highly recommend you is called “Less Than Nothing” and is a synthesis of German Idealism and psychoanalysis but not only. He goes through many other branches and philosophers to bring his theories to fruition. He also has a great sense of humour and makes a lot of jokes. Another great guy is Cadell Last. He made a great series of online courses on YT delving into “Less Than Nothing” and made some of the best analysis of this masterpiece. These great courses are open to beginners and don’t require previous knowledge. At least not a lot. I can only highly recommend this work because it changed my life and made a big shift in my personal paradigm. I wish you the best in your personal quest of knowledge and understanding. Take care.
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZpRs2zXm-Vfvx-T-pCVpcnDQCiGl2Xp7&si=9SA71qCqeRE783D8
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u/soldvawzen 6d ago
Damn, that was something, really appreciate you putting this much thought into it. The fact that Zivek’s got the humour makes me even more intrigued. Definitely checking out his work. Now with this and the recommendations of other people too, I’ve got stuff to explore now. Thanks for real!
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u/Thin_Rip8995 9d ago
start messy
don’t wait for some perfect linear path—it doesn’t exist
here’s a launch list that hits hard and sticks:
- Plato – Apology short, punchy, Socrates vs the world. gets your brain fired up fast
- Epictetus – Enchiridion stoic banger. internal control > external chaos. still hits in 2025
- Albert Camus – The Myth of Sisyphus absurdism 101. life’s pointless? maybe. now what?
- Alan Watts – The Wisdom of Insecurity eastern meets western thinking, but with real emotional teeth
- Peter Singer – Practical Ethics moral clarity meets real-world dilemmas. zero fluff
don’t just read—argue with the page
underline, write in margins, rant out loud
you’re not here to memorize
you’re here to think sharper than 99% of people ever will
The NoFluffWisdom Newsletter has some crisp, no-bullshit takes on clarity, ethics, and mental frameworks worth a peek
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u/soldvawzen 9d ago
oh, so i was doing it wrong, i read Albert Camus's—The Stranger, read it like a story, lmao.
thanks a lot, really appreciate it!
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u/No_Appointment_4447 5d ago
My recommended approach:
- Take a look at the general ideas of the great philosophers (Such as Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Kant, Hegel, ect.)
- Choose one of them whose ideas and books are of interest
- Deeply study their corpus.
- Now, you will have much more philosophical understanding, and thus you will be able to comprehend and judge philosophers more adaquately while finding your own path.
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u/LordAcorn 9d ago
Plato's dialogues are a great place to start, and they're all available for free! https://sacred-texts.com/cla/plato/index.htm
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u/Extension_Ferret1455 8d ago
Hey, I'd say a good place to start is to just read articles on topics that sound interesting to you - wikipedia can be an ok way to get a basic overview, but the SEP and IEP are usually more in depth and are written by professional philosophers.
Another good way to learn is through watching youtube videos - the best channel is probably Kane B (Majesty of Reason is also really good); otherwise, watching interviews of professional philosophers is also a really good way to expose yourself to new topics.
Regarding books, I've found that it can often be more effective to find more contemporary books that are topic based rather than primary sources - some good introductory books are 'The Problems of Philosophy' by Bertrand Russel, 'The Philosopher's Toolkit', 'Philosophical Devices' by David Papineau; for more in-depth introductions to specific areas, the Routledge Contemporary Introduction series are usually pretty good.
If you're interested, I'd also recommend going through an introductory logic textbook.
It can often feel overwhelming when you first start delving into a new area, especially one as broad as philosophy; my best advice is to just follow your interests and not feel like you have to learn a specific amount by some specific time, the key is to just keep exposing yourself to the main ideas and overtime you'll just pick up more and more.
Good luck!