" Of course, while the rising rates of professed secularity in the Arab-Muslim world are new, the roots of such secularism run deep. Very deep. Many centuries deep. Despite the fact that many people erroneously associate Islam with nothing but religious fundamentalism, the historical fact is that skepticism, rationalism, and humanism have been long-entrenched within Arabic-Muslim history. "
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If there was no punishment for apostasy, secularism would have taken over the Arab world by now.
4 and 16 sound like pretty sceptical authors, which might come as a surprise to those who don't know that the Arab world has (had?) a sceptical/freethinking tradition. I read about it in the fine book Doubt by Jennifer Michael Hecht.
Maybe sometime around his book release?
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There's a great series of books called The Big Book of [subject matter]. The one on Philosophy is a great place to learn about the evolution of thinking about thinking.
Also, writing out your understanding of your knowledge in your own words, is great thing to do. It is widely understood that "writing is thinking" and "if you can't explain it, you don't understand it enough" ... you're doing the right things. You just need to keep on doing it.
So I’m sliding through the sub and I hit this!!! Made my day! I’m not much for edibles as I find the liver processing to change the experience too much for my liking. But I just love the way experience changed your perspective. Oh, and I was one who recognized the the versatility of the plant in my 20s, used consistently but sporadically because of prohibition and had a successful career. I was lucky to meet a super successful “pothead” adult in college that showed me how to respect the plant and do all things in moderation.
BTW, I resemble the semi retired lawyer who can’t stop jamming crap in my head! If you haven’t, go eat one of your gummies and read a book called Sophie’s World https://www.amazon.com/Sophies-World-History-Philosophy-Classics/dp/0374530718/ref=asc_df_0374530718_nodl/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312128284741&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=9608153334188324361&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hv.... One of the most enjoyable ways to plow through the history of philosophy. Cheers!
Best I can personally recommend is Doubt: A History by Jennifer Hecht, which chronicles the history of atheism and skepticism up to the publication of the book.
There's that series that's just called <em>The Philosophy Book</em> that's a pretty good primer for beginners who want to expose themselves to a bunch of different surface level ideas. It's probably the most accessible format for folks who aren't sure what interests them yet.
Read Sophie's World if you are interested in a casual introduction to Western philosophy. It's a great read and easy to understand.
Don't start off with primary sources imo. Much of the word choice and syntax can be annoying to read, especially with m a lot of the "essential" philosophers like Plato. I've been reading philosophy for a while and even now I sometimes have trouble with certain passages.
My advice, start with secondary sources on the philosopher before you read their work. Encyclopedia's are a great tool for this. Once you've read a summary of the book, or the philosopher themselves, you can start to read the primary source. By then, you'll have a basic understanding of what the author is trying to say, making it easier to absorb the knowledge.
This book is a great way to start establishing a basic foundation of knowledge:
As for philosophers themselves, I think Plato and Socrates are a good place to start, considering that much of later philosophy stems from their works. However, I also think philosophies like Stoicism and Epicureanism are relatively easy to understand for beginners.
Philosophy is definitely tough to get into, but don't get discouraged. If you push through, it can introduce you to so many different ideas and perspectives that will enrich your life. Good luck!
Honestly, if you don’t have a specific topic you’re interested in and are a beginner I would recommend an entry-level overview, where a broad field of theories and philosophers are presented in an easy language. I have attached a book which is a good entry level option. I think this is also helpful as it gives you a point of reference to get a quick overview on a certain subject. https://www.amazon.de/Philosophy-Book-Ideas-Simply-Explained/dp/0756668611/ref=nodl_?dplnkId=1ef967b2-96f7-4e2e-b532-6489df12f352
You should get into some history mate it'll sort things out..I recommend Dan Carlins podcast hardcore history.
Also he wrote a book the end is always near..which I think answers your question..
https://www.amazon.com/End-Always-Near-Apocalyptic-Collapse/dp/0062868047
Sophie's World - Jostein Gaarder and The Outsider - Albert Camus
Both really changed my perspective on the world, and the first one got me to study philosophy.
I'd recommend starting with an overview. Jumping straight into a philosopher when you don't know much about them, their writing style, or how they fit into the bigger picture can be daunting.
I would start with Sophie's World. It's a novelization of the history of western philosophy. It's a very engaging story and you'll come away with a solid overview of history's greatest minds. Every modern philosopher builds on the giants that came before them and this will help you understand any philosopher you choose to study next. The audiobook is excellent too.
Sophie's World is basically an intro to philosophy book merged with a novel. I think it's aimed at a YA audience but if you're looking for a "greatest hits" version of the more notable philosophers then it's pretty good.
> In this model, the only thing that can create strong people is suffering.
What model? I read this article four times, I don't see any "model" being offered, just a bunch of one dude's opinion. Which is fine but...meh, dude (not you OP, the author).
Somewhat relatedly:
I just finished a book about this from one of my favorite podcasters, Dan Carlin: The End Is Always Near: Apocalyptic Moments, from the Bronze Age Collapse to Nuclear Near Misses
The entire premise of the book hinges around a topic that comes up in the very first chapter "Do tough times make tough people".
My takeaway was that Dan's answer to this is "not really, tough times just breed a different kind of people in relation to different (assumed to be later) times".
Good book. Worth reading if you're into that kinda discussion analyzed through the lens of examined history.
Book recommendation:Sophie's World
That's ... That's all I'm going to say, lol
The Philosophy Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained, published by DK. This book is a good surface-level overview of the history, important figures, and major topics/ideas of (mainly Western) philosophy. The graphical design is really pleasant, with lots of little flowcharts and tables and such that help break down main concepts, and its coverage spans from antiquity to the present day.
What Does It All Mean?: A Very Short Introduction to Philosophy, by Thomas Nagel. This is a good short introduction to some of philosophy's most foundational and enduring questions. It's written assuming you have absolutely no background in philosophy, and while short, I found it to be very engaging and thought-provoking. Its price on Amazon is absolutely outrageous given how slim it is though.
There are many ways and places to start learning about philosophy, but I imagine these two would be helpful for someone wanting to dip their toes into this fascinating but complex world.
There’s a really great book you should read called Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea by Charles Siefe, that goes into the concept of Zero and the profound effects it has had on history and modern technology. Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea by Charles Seife
The way I started was buying this really accessible book called The Philosophy Book by publisher DK. Some people hate these kinds of books that attempt to cover an entire field by giving each philosopher and direction in philosophy a page or two cause they are bound to only scratch the surface, but to me it was the perfect gateway to figuring out what philosophies I found interesting. There are a lot of pedagogical illustrations, so even though the book might seem a bit thick it only really takes a day to finish.
A quick YouTube search on these philosophers lead me to the channel The School of Life, which has a just as accessible video series dedicated to philosophy that's only slightly more in-depth than the book I mentioned. Personally I find these sources a great tool for figuring out what books to invest in. Reading the original material of some philosophers can be quite dense, so it's nice to know what you're getting yourself into.
Late to the party, but for anyone looking to learn more, I would recommend Dan Carlin's The End is Always Near. A fantastic book written and read by a fantastic orator, journalist, researcher, and (not) historian.
I completely understand your desire to become Christian. I wish I could be a theist, but unfortunately I can't.
You seem focused on Catholicism. I suppose you grew up near other Catholics, and that's why Catholicism attracts you. I grew up in Orthodox circles, so I feel more comfortable among Orthodox people. You seem eager to search and learn, so I would strongly recommend reading books on philosophy. There are some interesting arguments for God, although I'm personally not convinced by any of them. Even so, you might be inspired by them and ultimately live a good life as a Christian. You might want to start off by reading The Philosophy Book, by Will Buckingham et.al. It's a great introductory book and an overview of all major philosophical ideas that shaped the world. After reading that book, you can dive into specific philosophical works.
Good luck.
There is in fact an excellent book like that: The Philosophy Book. Also, you could look up the introduction paragraph in the articles of the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
I liked David Benatar's The Second Sexism: Discrimination Against Men and Boys. Benatar is a philosopher from the University of Cape Town and the book is published by an academic press (Wiley-Blackwell as I recall).
In the words of Sam O'Nella: Past was a different country. Today it might seem an obvious idea but actually during those days people couldn't grapple zero and his twin brother infinity for mathematical purposes because they are very abstract concepts. Yes, the absence of something and usage as a placeholder was somewhat clear in the above civilizations but first attempts to use zero in mathematical operations what somewhat tried out in India but they couldn't divide by zero. That was one of the reasons why the idea was forbidden in the West. There's a nice book about this.
There's a great series from DK books that covers different subjects. I'm reading the philosophy book at the moment, because I'd like to know the ideas but don't really want to spend a few years reading all the books - https://smile.amazon.com/Philosophy-Book-Ideas-Simply-Explained/dp/1465458557. There are books on a number of subjects.
The cartoon introduction to philosophy maybe.
Or maybe this.
I plan on majoring in Bioethics as well. PHL101/PHL100 is not a prerequisite for any philosophy class. The bioethics program is an open enrolment program if you completed 4.0 FCE. Is PHL100/101 'essential preparation'? I would say yes and no.
Program wise not at all.
Before I say if you can get away with not having to take PHL101/PHL100, I would highly recommend you take 1 of them, just like the department recommends.
I don't want to discourage you in anyway but let's just look at this rationally. If you have zero experience in philosophy it's going to be a little rough at first. Imagine teaching someone who has little to no knowledge in law, it will most likely take them a bit longer to grasp a few concepts. You would expect the same with philosophy. If you are a complete beginner take a look at this. if you'd ask me, reading a couple of books over the next month and next summer is worth its weight in gold. Blackburns book is a great starting point. I think reading some introductory books and reading some entry level text is enough for me to say you should be fine. If you plan on going in blindly, expect some difficulty but it is certainly doable.
If you got some basics down already, I'd still read some books and entry level texts.
Best of luck
The book “Sophie’s World” is a highly recommended survey of philosophy. I don’t think that it includes Eastern (Buddhist, Taoist) thought however, but it may.). Sophie's World: A Novel About the History of Philosophy (FSG Classics) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0374530718/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_7ZpbEbB79KRJ2