Recommendations for a 1st Year Undergraduate

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TJPressland
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Recommendations for a 1st Year Undergraduate

Post by TJPressland »

Hello,

I was fortunate enough to win a prize at my school for achievement in the academic year that has just passed. The award is a book voucher for a book of our own choosing which is presented to students at the annual presentation evening. Last year I also won an award and I chose Bertrand Russell's A History of Western Philosophy. However, for some reason I'm finding it harder to choose a book this time around. I'd like it to be a philosophical text again, since that's 'my thing', and I should be starting a philosophy degree in October. I noticed one or two books in Waterstones earlier today, but it's not the best place for browsing academic titles, and there are no suitable libraries near me. So I decided I should ask actual philosophers on the internet if they had any recommendations.

I know it's a broad question phrased like that, so I'll narrow it down a little. Although I'll be starting a degree soon, I'd like to avoid a 'General Introduction to Philosophy' sort of book, since I feel I've been introduced well enough by now after a two year A-level course. Currently, my main interests are in epistemology, logic and philosophy of language. Also (less importantly and for purely sentimental reasons), since it's going to have a nice certificate stuck inside the front cover and will be something I'd keep safe forever, I thought it might be nicer if it's a more well-known, 'landmark' text; one that everybody knows, like the Tractatus, or Language, Truth and Logic, for example. But this is less important, since I don't doubt that there are texts very recently published that might prove themselves to be just as interesting and influential.

So if anybody has any ideas, I'd love to hear them. I'll run some Google searches to find out more about any suggestions, but personal opinions would be welcome too.

Thank you for reading,
Thomas.
ala1993
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Re: Recommendations for a 1st Year Undergraduate

Post by ala1993 »

Hi TJ - given that you're mainly into Epistemology, Logic and Language, here's a little list of some books that might interest you (and there's not much point giving a talk about something that you don't find interesting, right?). You might already be aware of some of them but I'll add them all the same:

Kant - 'Critique of Pure Reason' or 'Prologomena to Any Future Metaphysics' - these are both foundational texts in the Continental tradition regarding epistemology. The former is more thorough but the latter is somewhat 'easier' so you might enjoy that one (though if you're feeling brave, give the CPR a go).
Ayer - Language, Truth and Logic (you mentioned it already, I think, but it's a good choice if you're into that sort of thing; I read it once and found it to be too 'logical' and simplistic, but then I've always had a problem with analytic thought).
Wittgenstein - Philosophical Investigations - It's a chunk of a text but it's wonderfully written and is a really interesting critique of language.

As for logic itself, there's nothing I can recommend that someone else couldn't better, so I'll leave that one to whoever posts next.

May I make one more general recommendation: that you read European thought alongside the Anglo-American tradition. You might end up preferring one to the other (as I did) but at least you'll get to understand the vast ways in which questions of knowledge, ethics, aesthetics, science and culture have been posed and addressed.

Best of luck!
Impenitent
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Re: Recommendations for a 1st Year Undergraduate

Post by Impenitent »

An Enquiry concerning Human Understanding by David Hume

the bit on miracles is particularly interesting...

-Imp
TJPressland
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Re: Recommendations for a 1st Year Undergraduate

Post by TJPressland »

Thanks very much for those suggestions. I've borrowed both Language Truth and Logic and Critique of Pure Reason from a teacher, so I'll be reading those in the next few weeks (or at least, trying to read, in the case of the latter). I happen to have a copy of An Enquiry on Human Understanding on my desk at the moment: that's for when I finish my current book. Looking forward to it all the more now. But I am pretty interested in Wittgenstein, and I feel I might have read too much abouthim and not enough byhim, so I think the Philosophical Investigations is a good idea. There's a hardback edition on Amazon, so I think I'll go for that one unless I see anything else in the London bookshops soon.

Thanks very much for the help. If anyone has any other suggestions they'd like to throw in, please do.
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Arising_uk
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Re: Recommendations for a 1st Year Undergraduate

Post by Arising_uk »

Anything by B.Russell(apart from the principia, at least not yet :) ), and if you're reading Language Truth and Logic then you should read The Problem of Knowledge after, as he qualifies LT&L in this work.
p.s.
Descartes: Discourse on Method and the Meditations is also a must for any budding philosopher as it pretty much set the tone of philosophy for centuries.
ala1993
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Re: Recommendations for a 1st Year Undergraduate

Post by ala1993 »

Don't be concerned if, when you're coming to a text or thinker for the first time, you mainly want to read about them (rather than read the primary texts). It's a great way to approach a subject and there'll usually be suggested reading at the end which is crucial for a wider understanding.
TJPressland
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Re: Recommendations for a 1st Year Undergraduate

Post by TJPressland »

Thanks for the further suggestions. I was reading Ray Monk's biography of Wittgenstein the other day, and in it he writes that the Philosophical Investigations isn't quite like other texts, in that it isn't so much a case of Wittgenstein talking to the reader, but one of the reader being guided while needing to think in the same way as Wittgenstein, or something like that. So having thought about it a little more, I might wait until I can look at a copy in a university library next year. If I make it to my first choice university, I may be able to take a module called 'Wittgenstein' in my second or third year too. I'm just thinking that a better idea of Wittgenstein's new method of philosophy might be needed before I try and tackle this one.

When I was in Waterstone's a couple of weeks ago they had many, many texts by Russell. I did enjoy The Problems of Philosophy when I read that a few months ago, so I might be looking in that direction now. We'll see how I get on with Ayer, then The Problem of Knowledge might be the way to go.

Thanks very much for the advice, and apologies for my delayed replies.
Tom.
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Arising_uk
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Re: Recommendations for a 1st Year Undergraduate

Post by Arising_uk »

ala1993 wrote:Don't be concerned if, when you're coming to a text or thinker for the first time, you mainly want to read about them (rather than read the primary texts). It's a great way to approach a subject and there'll usually be suggested reading at the end which is crucial for a wider understanding.
I disagree, always read the primary texts first, whether they make sense or not, just make it to the end, especially with the continentals as they write such that they build the argument up to its conclusion, not state their conclusion and then justify it. My advice with some of the continentals is to read from back to front quickly to get the gist, if you're English that is. After you've read the original then you can read the stuff around and about the texts for clarification or not. Otherwise you'll come to the text with others ideas. Its worth reading the translators notes tho', if it is a translation that is.
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Rortabend
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Re: Recommendations for a 1st Year Undergraduate

Post by Rortabend »

I disagree, always read the primary texts first, whether they make sense or not, just make it to the end, especially with the continentals as they write such that they build the argument up to its conclusion, not state their conclusion and then justify it. My advice with some of the continentals is to read from back to front quickly to get the gist, if you're English that is. After you've read the original then you can read the stuff around and about the texts for clarification or not. Otherwise you'll come to the text with others ideas. Its worth reading the translators notes tho', if it is a translation that is.
Philosophical Investigations is totally impenetrable without proper tuition, context and secondary texts so I don't think this is very good advice.
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Arising_uk
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Re: Recommendations for a 1st Year Undergraduate

Post by Arising_uk »

Rortabend wrote:Philosophical Investigations is totally impenetrable without proper tuition, context and secondary texts so I don't think this is very good advice.
Makes a bit of a mockery about his subject matter then don't you think?

My take is that if you are studying philosophy you'd have worked-up to such texts in the first place?
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Rortabend
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Re: Recommendations for a 1st Year Undergraduate

Post by Rortabend »

Makes a bit of a mockery about his subject matter then don't you think?
Sorry Arising. Don't understand what you mean by this. Can you explain?
Impenitent
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Re: Recommendations for a 1st Year Undergraduate

Post by Impenitent »

Early Ludwig: The world is made up of facts, not things...

Late Ludwig: The world is made up of things...

he discovered nursery rhymes late...

sticks and stones

-Imp
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Arising_uk
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Re: Recommendations for a 1st Year Undergraduate

Post by Arising_uk »

Rortabend wrote:Sorry Arising. Don't understand what you mean by this. Can you explain?
I'll try.

Its taken quite a while for me to make a meaning of the Tractatus that I'm content with and it involved learning learning some formal logics, not because I wanted to grasp the TLP it was a side-effect of some studying I did. I'm currently chugging through the Brown and Blue books and they appear to be about language and meaning and whilst not having a clear narrative arc, as they appear to be a collection of lecture notes, they appear fairly readable, so my understanding is that the PI will be an extension of these. So I find it fairly ironic that you say that a book about language and meaning is not understandable unless one reads what others have said about it? Althoug I tend to doubt this as Wittgenstein writes in English very well so I'll have to wait and see.

My take is that if one is interested in philosophy for the sake of understanding for oneself then its always better to read the original first, and the translators notes if there are any, even if it makes not much sense, otherwise you'll come to the book with others preconceptions. Although I do understand that if the aim is to pass academic exams, you don't care much about this subject and there are time constraints then this might be the way to do it, but for myself I cared not about the marks and just the subject, and luckily it panned out to a reasonable result. Not that I don't think one should then read around to try and help clarify the parts one did not understand and that this process is an integral part of academic philosophy and learning.

Make sense?
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