created by TychoCelchuuu on 08/05/2016 at 18:38 UTC*
1958 upvotes, 23 top-level comments (showing 23)
As pointed out elsewhere in this FAQ, philosophy is a very large field[1]. You could spend your entire life studying political philosophy and never touch metaphysics, or vice versa. This makes it difficult to recommend good places to start for people who know nothing about philosophy: it's a bit like recommending a food to someone who has never eaten anything. Do you recommend a peanut butter and jelly sandwich? A South Indian dal? Roasted Brussels sprouts? Tacos?
This FAQ answer, therefore, will focus on two main things. First, it will list some general overviews that will help you get familiar with various parts of philosophy and help you figure out where your interests lie, if they do in fact lie anywhere in philosophy. Second, it will list some good starting points for various topics that newcomers are commonly interested in.
This section divides into two: short, broad overviews, and more extensive histories.
Two good places to start are Simon Blackburn's book *Think* [2] and Julian Baggini's *The Pig That Wants to be Eaten*[3]. The Blackburn book clearly and concisely goes through most of the large areas of philosophy and talks about how various philosophers have thought about them. The Baggini book presents interesting little thought experiments and puzzles that can help acquaint you with some of the interesting and odd topics that philosophers have addressed. Both books provide enough citations for you to start digging on your own once you've identified things you find interesting.
2: http://smile.amazon.com/Think-A-Compelling-Introduction-Philosophy/dp/0192854259
3: http://smile.amazon.com/Pig-That-Wants-Eaten-Experiments/dp/0452287448
Four other broad starting points are Kwame Anthony Appiah's *Thinking It Through*[4], Thomas Nagel's book *What Does It All Mean?*[5], Bertrand Russell's book *The Problems of Philosophy*[6], and this collection of five dialogues written by Plato[7] (Plato's dialogues can also be found free online, although the translations are not always great). The Appiah, Nagel, and Russell books cover fewer topics - basically, they hit some things that Appiah, Nagel, and Russell find interesting - and Plato can be tough to read on your own, which is why these are not my top recommendations, but they can serve as good introductions to the field of philosophy if you're starting from zero. The Appiah book is the most comprehensive of the three.
4: https://smile.amazon.com/Thinking-Through-Introduction-Contemporary-Philosophy/dp/0195134583
5: http://smile.amazon.com/What-Does-All-Mean-Introduction/dp/0195052161/
6: http://smile.amazon.com/Problems-Philosophy-Bertrand-Russell/dp/1604595132
7: http://smile.amazon.com/Plato-Dialogues-Euthyphro-Apology-Classics/dp/0872206335/
Next, a book that is often recommended to newcomers is Jostein Gaarder's book *Sophie's World*[8]. It's a novel that also tries to introduce people to the various ideas of philosophy. I'm not the biggest fan of the book - its method of teaching philosophy sometimes reduces to "the main character receives a letter that contains a lesson on philosophy," which I find clunky - but many people enjoy it, so I would say it comes highly recommended except from me.
8: http://smile.amazon.com/Sophies-World-History-Philosophy-Classics/dp/0374530718/
Finally, there's Andrew Bailey's *First Philosophy* series which sounds good but I've never read it.
If you're particularly industrious, or if you want to focus on non-Western philosophy, you could read more extensive books that are proper introductions to the history of philosophy. Will Durant's *The Story of Philosophy*[9] and Anthony Kenny's *A New History of Western Philosophy*[10] are good choices for Western philosophy, and Joel Kupperman's *Classic Asian Philosophy*[11] and Brian Van Norden's *Introduction to Classic Chinese Philosophy*[12] are good for Chinese and Asian philosophy. Victoria Harrison's *Eastern Philosophy: The Basics*[13] covers India and China, and it's particularly short compared to the others - it sits somewhere between a proper history and the more summary-focused works noted above. Frederick Copleston has a ten volume *History of Philosophy* that is also good, although it's slightly hard to get ahold of these days.
9: http://smile.amazon.com/Story-Philosophy-Opinions-Greatest-Philosophers/dp/0671739166
10: http://smile.amazon.com/New-History-Western-Philosophy/dp/0199656495/
11: http://smile.amazon.com/Classic-Asian-Philosophy-Guide-Essential/dp/0195189817/
12: http://smile.amazon.com/Introduction-Classical-Chinese-Philosophy-Norden/dp/1603844686/
13: http://smile.amazon.com/Eastern-Philosophy-Victoria-S-Harrison/dp/0415587336
With all of these histories of philosophy, there are three things to keep in mind. First, they are partial, both in the narrow sense (not even Copleston hits every important Western philosopher) and in the broad sense (philosophy from outside the West exists in all sorts of forms that don't show up in these books) so, if you'd like, you may want to start your investigation in an entirely different area. Second, philosophers disagree with each other over what philosophers in the past were saying, and although these histories are generally good about pointing this out, you should never take everything you read as the gospel truth. Third, lots of people find diving into a big long history (the Kenny book is 1000 pages!) to be pretty dry and boring. So, unless you're the sort of person who likes to read a lot of stuff, a history tome might not be a good place to start.
We'll subdivide this into two sections. First, there are some good places to start for philosophy generally, if you're the sort of person who says "it's all interesting - I don't want to specialize!" Second, there are good places to start for various topics.
As mentioned above, **Plato** is a good place to dive in. He sits near the beginning of the Western philosophical tradition, his writing is often engaging, he covers practically every topic, and he was massively influential. In addition to this collection of five dialogues[14], Plato's *Republic* is a masterpiece that touches on many areas of philosophy and which has often served as the first introduction students get to the field.
14: http://smile.amazon.com/Plato-Dialogues-Euthyphro-Apology-Classics/dp/0872206335/
15: http://www.earlymoderntexts.com/authors/descartes
We're subdividing again! One option is to go for primary sources - classic works in philosophy on these topics. Another option is to go for introductory textbooks or compilations of works.
Everyone has a favorite philosopher for any given topic, but it's always a different philosopher depending on who you ask. So, this section could balloon almost infinitely. But it won't. So, keep in mind that for every philosopher that's listed here, there are three others that someone might say "no, read THIS PERSON first!" That's life.
Moreover, philosophy is a super broad field. We cannot here cover every topic. That's also life.
This list skews slightly early in history, because it is generally better to start closer to the beginning. Sometimes people find it more exciting to jump in closer to the modern age. If that's the case, I recommend introductory textbooks listed below.
Finally, I am not super familiar with non-Western Philosophy. Unless someone with more knowledge comes along and offers some suggestions (thus allowing me to remove this disclaimer) the list below is *very* parochial. (Also, I've left off all of medieval philosophy since I think it's often boring for newcomers. Sorry. If you have some exciting medievals to suggest, I can add them to the list.)
For **epistemology**, which is the study of knowledge and how we come to have it, Plato's *Theaetetus*, Descartes's *Discourse on the Method* and *Meditations on First Philosophy*[16], Locke's *Essay Concerning Human Understanding*[17], Leibniz's *New Essays on Human Understanding*[18] (read that right after Locke), Berkeley's *The Principles of Human Knowledge*[19], and Hume's *An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding*[20].
16: http://www.earlymoderntexts.com/authors/descartes
17: http://www.earlymoderntexts.com/authors/locke
18: http://www.earlymoderntexts.com/authors/leibniz
19: http://www.earlymoderntexts.com/authors/berkeley
20: http://www.earlymoderntexts.com/authors/hume
For **metaphysics**, which is the study of what exists, what existence is, and why things do or don't exist, all that stuff up there in the epistemology section, minus Locke, Leibniz, and Hume, and plus Plato's *Phaedo*, maybe Aristotle's *Metaphysics* (it's tough), Leibniz's *Discourse on Metaphysics* and *Monadology*[21] and Kant's *Prolegomena to any Future Metaphysics*[22].
21: http://www.earlymoderntexts.com/authors/leibniz
22: http://www.earlymoderntexts.com/authors/kant
For **aesthetics**, which is the study of beauty and art, Plato's *Hippias Major*, Aristotle's *Poetics*, Hume's *The Standard of Taste*[23], and if you're up for it, Kant's *Critique of Judgment*.
23: http://www.earlymoderntexts.com/authors/hume
For **ethics**, Plato's *Republic*, Mozi's *Mozi*, Aristotle's *Nicomachean Ethics*, Hume's *An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals*[24], and Kant's *Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals*[25].
24: http://www.earlymoderntexts.com/authors/hume
25: http://www.earlymoderntexts.com/authors/kant
For **political philosophy**, Plato's *Republic* and *Crito*, Aristotle's *Politics*, Cicero's *On the Commonwealth* and *On the Laws*, Machiavelli's *The Prince*[26], Hobbes's *Leviathan*[27], and Locke's *Second Treatise of Government*[28].
26: http://www.earlymoderntexts.com/authors/machiavelli
27: http://www.earlymoderntexts.com/authors/hobbes
28: http://www.earlymoderntexts.com/authors/locke
For **existentialism and absurdism**, Sartre's *Existentialism is a Humanism*[29] and Camus's *The Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays*[30].
29: http://smile.amazon.com/Existentialism-Humanism-Jean-Paul-Sartre/dp/0300115466/
30: http://smile.amazon.com/Myth-Sisyphus-Other-Essays/dp/0679733736/
For **philosophy of science**, which is the study of what science is and how science comes to know things, Mill's *A System of Logic* book III[31], Popper's *Conjectures and Refutations*, Kuhn's *The Structure of Scientific Revolutions*[32], and *For and Against Method* edited by Motterlini. Lots of people find Mill boring, though, and philosophy of science is rather new, so you might be better served by the textbooks or compilations listed below.
31: http://www.earlymoderntexts.com/authors/mill
32: http://smile.amazon.com/Structure-Scientific-Revolutions-50th-Anniversary/dp/0226458121/
For **feminism**, Wollstonecraft's *A Vindication of the Rights of Women*[33], Mill's (or Mill and Taylor Mill's) *The Subjection of Women*[34], and de Beauvoir's *The Second Sex*[35].
33: http://www.earlymoderntexts.com/authors/wollstonecraft
34: http://www.earlymoderntexts.com/authors/mill
35: https://smile.amazon.com/Second-Sex-Simone-Beauvoir/dp/030727778X/
For **philosophy of religion**, Plato's *Euthyphro*, Leibniz's *Making the Case for God*[36], Hume's *Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion* and *The Immortality of the Soul*[37], and Kant's *Religion Within the Boundaries of Bare Reason*[38].
36: http://www.earlymoderntexts.com/authors/leibniz
37: http://www.earlymoderntexts.com/authors/hume
38: http://www.earlymoderntexts.com/authors/kant
Maybe you want something that covers more ground faster, or that's pitched towards the modern reader, or which doesn't assume any prior knowledge. In that case, textbooks are good.
For **epistemology**, Robert Audi's *Epistemology: A Contemporary Introduction to the Theory of Knowledge*[39].
39: http://smile.amazon.com/Epistemology-Contemporary-Introduction-Theory-Knowledge/dp/041587923X/
For **metaphysics**, Loux's *Metaphysics: A Contemporary Introduction*[40], Mumford's *Metaphysics: A Very Short Introduction*[41], Ney's *Metaphysics: An Introduction*[42], Carroll's *An Introduction to Metaphysics*[43], or Lowe's *A Survey of Metaphysics*[44]. I know that's a lot of books - sorry. People have recommended one or the other at various times and I've read none of 'em. They all seem good though. Also Ortega y Gasset's *Some Lessons in Metaphysics*[45].
41: http://smile.amazon.com/Metaphysics-Very-Short-Introduction-Introductions/dp/0199657122/
42: http://smile.amazon.com/Metaphysics-Introduction-Alyssa-Ney/dp/041564075X/
44: http://smile.amazon.com/Survey-Metaphysics-E-J-Lowe/dp/0198752539
45: http://books.wwnorton.com/books/Some-Lessons-in-Metaphysics/
For **existentialism**, Bakewell's *At the Existentialist Cafe*[46].
46: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00Z3E2KEC
For **aesthetics**, I don't really know, but these three seem good: Sheppard[47], Graham[48], and Stecker[49].
47: http://smile.amazon.com/Aesthetics-Introduction-Philosophy-Oxford-Paperbacks/dp/0192891642/
48: http://smile.amazon.com/Philosophy-Arts-Introduction-Gordon-Graham/dp/0415349796/
49: http://smile.amazon.com/Aesthetics-Philosophy-Art-Introduction-Elements/dp/0742564118/
For **ethics**, Rachels' *The Elements of Moral Philosophy*[50], Sandel's *Justice: What's The Right Thing to Do?*[51], and Williams's *Morality: An Introduction to Ethics*[52].
50: http://smile.amazon.com/Elements-Moral-Philosophy-James-Rachels/dp/0078119065/
51: http://smile.amazon.com/Justice-Whats-Right-Thing-Do/dp/0374532508
52: http://smile.amazon.com/Morality-Introduction-Ethics-Canto-Classics/dp/1107604761/
For **metaethics**, which is basically philosophy about ethics that doesn't count as ethics, Chrisman's *What is this Thing Called Metaethics?*[53].
53: https://smile.amazon.com/What-this-thing-called-Metaethics/dp/1138827622
For **political philosophy**, Kymlicka's *Contemporary Political Philosophy: An Introduction*[54]. Another option is Hampton's *Poltiical Philosophy*[55]. See also Shapiro's *The Moral Foundations of Politics*[56] and the Open Yale Course accompanying it[57].
54: http://smile.amazon.com/Contemporary-Political-Philosophy-Will-Kymlicka/dp/0198782748/
55: http://smile.amazon.com/Political-Philosophy-Dimensions-Jean-Hampton/dp/0813308585/
56: https://www.amazon.com/Moral-Foundations-Politics-Open-Courses/dp/0300185456
57: http://oyc.yale.edu/political-science/plsc-118
For **philosophy of science**, Godfrey-Smith's *Theory and Reality*[58], Chalmers's *What is This Thing Called Science?*[59], and Barker and Kitcher's *Philosophy of Science: A New Introduction*[60]. Lots of people also like Rosenberg's *Philosophy of Science: A Contemporary Introduction*[61] but I don't.
58: http://smile.amazon.com/Theory-Reality-Introduction-Philosophy-Foundations/dp/0226300633/
59: https://smile.amazon.com/What-This-Thing-Called-Science/dp/0872204529
60: https://smile.amazon.com/Philosophy-Science-New-Introduction-Fundamentals/dp/0195366190/
For **feminism**, hooks's *Feminism is for Everybody*[62] and Johnson's *The Gender Knot*[63].
62: http://smile.amazon.com/Feminism-Everybody-Passionate-bell-hooks/dp/1138821624/
63: http://smile.amazon.com/Gender-Knot-Unraveling-Patriarchal-Legacy/dp/1439911843/
For **Buddhism**, Gowans's *Philosophy of the Buddha: An Introduction*[64].
64: https://www.amazon.com/Philosophy-Buddha-Introduction-Christopher-Gowans-ebook/dp/B000OI15VQ
For **philosophy of mind**, Searle's *Mind: A Brief Introduction*[65].
65: https://www.amazon.com/Mind-Brief-Introduction-Fundamentals-Philosophy/dp/0195157346
For **philosophy of religion**, Davies's *An Introduction to the Philosophy of Religion*[66] and Yandell's *Philosophy of Religion: A Contemporary Introduction*[67].
66: https://smile.amazon.com/Introduction-Philosophy-Religion-Brian-Davies/dp/0199263477
One way to make quick buck is to grab a bunch of important stuff and stick it in a book, then sell it to people. Thankfully when philosophers do this, it makes it easy to get into a topic.
68: http://smile.amazon.com/Epistemology-Contemporary-Readings-Routledge-Philosophy/dp/0415259215/
69: http://smile.amazon.com/Metaphysics-Contemporary-Readings-Routledge-Philosophy/dp/0415962382/
70: http://smile.amazon.com/Philosophies-Art-Beauty-Aesthetics-Heidegger/dp/0226348121/
71: http://smile.amazon.com/Art-Its-Significance-Anthology-Aesthetic/dp/0791418529/
72: http://smile.amazon.com/Ethics-Contemporary-Readings-Routledge-Philosophy/dp/041525681X/
73: https://www.amazon.com/Ethical-Theory-Anthology-Russ-Shafer-Landau/dp/0470671602
74: https://www.amazon.com/Moral-Discourse-Practice-Philosophical-Approaches/dp/019509669
75: https://www.amazon.com/Whats-Wrong-Applied-Ethicists-Critics/dp/0195337808
76: http://smile.amazon.com/Political-Philosophy-Essential-Steven-Cahn/dp/0195396618
77: http://smile.amazon.com/Philosophy-Science-Contemporary-Readings-Routledge/dp/0415257824/
78: http://smile.amazon.com/Readings-Classical-Chinese-Philosophy-Ivanhoe/dp/0872207803
79: https://www.amazon.com/Philosophy-Mind-Classical-Contemporary-Readings/dp/019514581X
80: https://www.amazon.com/Readings-Philosophy-Technology-David-Kaplan/dp/0742564010
81: https://www.amazon.com/Philosophy-Technology-Technological-Condition-Anthology/dp/111854725X/
Rather than reading a book, you might want to start by watching some YouTube videos[82], listening to some podcasts[83], browsing around a philosophical encyclopedia[84], or, best of all, taking a philosophy course, either while you're in university or via something like a local community college or an online course (Shelly Kagan's course on death is very popular[85]). These are great ways to get more acquainted with philosophy.
84: http://plato.stanford.edu/
85: http://oyc.yale.edu/philosophy/phil-176
https://www.reddit.com/r/askphilosophy/comments/2jjqwn/looking_for_a_good_book_that_is_similar_to/
Comment by willbell at 08/05/2016 at 19:09 UTC*
20 upvotes, 1 direct replies
For primary sources on moral philosophy, Mill's *Utilitarianism*, and although I haven't got specific experience with it, McIntyre's *After Virtue* is relevant and fairly straightforward I understand.
For primary sources on philosophy of science, Popper's *Conjectures and Refutations*, and *For and Against Method* edited by Motterlini from the correspondences of Feyerabend and Lakatos. Maybe a paper or two by recenter figures such as Laudan and Hacking who aren't hard to understand.
For secondary sources on philosophy of science, *What is this thing called science?* (4th ed) by Alan Chalmers (minus the chapters where he's advancing a thesis on atomism at the end) or *Philosophy of Science: A New Introduction* by Barker and Kitcher.
Possibly Kierkegaard's *Fear and Trembling* or *Either/Or* for philosophy of religion, something by Plantinga?
For feminist philosophy, Beauvoir's *The Second Sex*.
Also, I'm hesitant to recommend Aristotle's *Metaphysics* to a beginner.
Your area of expertise is political philosophy, so I'm curious for your justification for including Cicero over something like Mill's *On Liberty* or anything Marxist/Anarchist/of the last century?
For readers on philosophy in general, Andrew Bailey's *First Philosophy*.
Comment by irontide at 08/05/2016 at 22:48 UTC
19 upvotes, 0 direct replies
You may want to link the /r/philosophy reading list[1], which covers much of the ground you're covering here.
1: https://www.reddit.com/r/philosophy/wiki/readinglist
Comment by TychoCelchuuu at 08/05/2016 at 18:50 UTC
5 upvotes, 0 direct replies
This is a work in progress right now, because I don't have an encyclopedic knowledge of everything (or anything, really). Feel free to suggests things for existing topics or to suggest missing topics.
Comment by untitledthegreat at 31/05/2016 at 18:49 UTC
3 upvotes, 1 direct replies
For metaethics, Andrew Fisher[1] has what I've heard is a good introduction, and Alexander Miller[2] has a more advanced introduction that I like.
1: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1844652580
2: http://www.amazon.com/dp/074564659X
For political philosophy, Ian Shapiro's The Moral Foundations of Politics[3] is a great introductory lecture series, and he has an introductory textbook[4] based on the lecture series.
3: http://oyc.yale.edu/political-science/plsc-118
4: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0300185456/
For anthologies, I'd recommend Ethical Theory[5] for normative ethics, Moral Discourse and Practice[6] for metaethics, and What's Wrong?[7] for applied ethics.
5: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0470671602
6: http://www.amazon.com/dp/019509669X
7: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0195337808
Comment by arimill at 30/06/2016 at 15:08 UTC
4 upvotes, 1 direct replies
I'm going to second Utilitarianism. As one of the competing theories it seems off that it's been left out.
Comment by Lanvc at 15/06/2016 at 23:42 UTC
3 upvotes, 1 direct replies
Gowans' *Philosophy of the Buddha* is a terrific introduction to Buddhist philosophy.
Comment by Sich_befinden at 22/07/2016 at 06:37 UTC*
3 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Late to the party, two notes:
In Textbooks > Metaethics you have a formatting error with Miller's book.
Second, Mill published his *Utilitarianism* in the mid 19th century. Aside from Benthem, it seems like a decent place to begin with primary sources. And it seems more relevant in modern literature than Mozi. At the very least, it would be on my list of 'easy to read and primary source intros to ethical philosophy'. So not historically great, but far better for getting into a major framework. If Sartre's *Existentialism is a Humanism* counts, it should as well.
Comment by RealityApologist at 24/06/2016 at 00:04 UTC
2 upvotes, 1 direct replies
A few suggested additions:
Comment by vivisoul18 at 23/08/2023 at 04:36 UTC
2 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Good recommendations :)
Comment by [deleted] at 21/07/2016 at 01:21 UTC*
1 upvotes, 1 direct replies
[deleted]
Comment by Asai_Keiicchi at 05/05/2022 at 11:48 UTC
0 upvotes, 0 direct replies
I'm also new, but Plato: Five Dialogues by Plato is a good book
Comment by [deleted] at 06/01/2022 at 08:27 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
[deleted]
Comment by LordFrieza101 at 16/01/2022 at 19:04 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Thank you for the list! Very detailed and promising!
Comment by hahafanta4life at 21/01/2022 at 01:04 UTC
1 upvotes, 2 direct replies
Does anyone have any insights on Oxford's *Very Short Introductions*? Would they be well-suited for a newcomer?
Comment by Positive-attitude00 at 14/06/2022 at 15:49 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Thank you!
Comment by digger_404 at 07/08/2022 at 13:20 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Thank you. I have started with Descartes because of this post, and it really broadened my view and helped me understand better some books of Jung. I'm guessing metaphysics is what really grabs my curiosity.
Comment by nafraf at 23/08/2022 at 16:55 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Very helpful, thanks.
Comment by 010611 at 01/09/2022 at 09:45 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Thank you very much!!!
Comment by [deleted] at 11/11/2022 at 10:53 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Thank you!
Comment by TheReydrx at 06/01/2023 at 14:14 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
I love the extended histories. I think it is important to understand where our quest for Knowledge accelerated. I am just delighted none of those folks are here to see what we have become after centuries of diluting the topics.
Comment by Eldaiza1 at 20/06/2023 at 10:46 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
thank you for this list, you are a real one.
Comment by GMTimepieces at 11/08/2023 at 09:04 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Thank you for this very comprehensive induction
Comment by Catmomma78 at 16/08/2023 at 19:50 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
I’m completely new to philosophy and this really helps. Thank you for sharing!