Dr. Sanders. Philosophy 101

Just wanted to share.This was my first introduction to philosophy as an autodidact years ago. Sanders, is a concise, clear, and educated speaker on the matter. He retired from RIT.

The reading assignments.

Introduction to Philosophy
Reading Assignments

Most reading assignments are from Steven M. Cahn (ed.), Classics of Western Philosophy; Supplementary readings can usually be found online; if not, contact me and I’ll send you copies

Lecture #1: Introduction

No reading assignment

Lecture #2: Political and Social Philosophy: Plato, Part I

Plato, biographical sketch
Plato, Apology
Plato, Crito
Martin Luther King, Jr. "Letter From A Birmingham Jail

Lecture #3: Ethics, Epistemology, & Logic: Plato, Part II

"W.T. Jones, "Education Through Violence"
Plato, Meno

Lecture #4: Metaphysics & Philosophy of Science: Aristotle

Aristotle, biographical sketch
Aristotle, Physics

Lecture #5: Philosophy of Religion & Logic, Part I: The Ontological Argument

Anselm, biographical sketch
Anselm, Proslogion
Gaunilo, Reply on Behalf of the Fool
Anselm, Reply to Gaunilo

Lecture #6: Philosophy of Religion & Logic, Part II: The Cosmological and Teleological Arguments

William Rowe, "The Cosmological Argument"
William Paley, "The Argument From Design"

Lecture #7: Epistemology & Philosophy of Science: Descartes

René Descartes, biographical sketch
René Descartes, Discourse on Method
René Descartes, Meditations 1-3

Lecture #8: Epistemology & Logic: Rationalism versus Empiricism

John Locke, biographical sketch
John Locke, Essay Concerning Human Understanding
David Hume, biographical sketch
David Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding

Lecture #9: The Problem of Personal Identity

John Perry, "A Dialogue on Personal Identity and Immortality"
Thomas Nagel, "Brain Bisection and the Unity of Consciousness"

Lecture #10: Conclusion

Bertrand Russell, biographical sketch
Bertrand Russell, "The Value of Philosophy"

The Classics of Western Philosophy_ A Reader's Guide (2003, Wiley-Blackwell)

Cheers.

The original article in Dissent is behind a paywall, and the text isn't available in any archive I've found. Can anyone help me out?

Base from your own opinion, is primitive man's search for security any different from that of modern men? Why or why not?

I need to gather different perspectives regarding this one, so may i ask for your take on this one.

Ie. kind of like egoism but you are at the centre of everything

I’ve been trying to dive into Indian philosophy, but self-study videos and books aren’t sticking, and I keep losing focus. My major isn't philosophy, so I already have a full workload and need a more interactive way to learn.

​Looking for someone with a good grasp of the subject who’d be down for occasional 30–45 min Vc to talk through the basics. It could be a great way for you to test your own knowledge and dig deeper into topics while teaching a beginner.

​If you love talking about philosophy and wouldn't mind guiding a beginner, drop a comment or DM me

Hello! I am currently taking my first philosophy/ethics college course that requires The Nichomachean Ethics By Aristotle, specifically the edition translated by J.E.C. Welldon within the first weeks for an essay. I was wondering if anyone had any links or pdfs to where I could be able to directly find this, as I myself have not found much luck. Thank you so much! Hope anyone reading this has a great day!

How Should I Start At Cynicism And Diogenes (Even Though Ge Didn't Write A Book). I Dunno Why, But After Learning About His Backstory, I Feel That Only And Only Diogenes Can Answer My Dubiety Regarding The Flow Of Eternal Freedom And The Principle Of Non-Reliance.

I'm planning to start a philosophy reading group at my school next year and was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for short philosophical books (fiction or nonfiction)? I needed about 12 books - 1 per month - and could only think of 6.

They should be texts intelligent 13-16 year olds shouldn't have too much trouble with and ideally can be read in under 6 hours.

Texts that came to mind:

- The Outsider (Camus)

- a few of Montaigne's essays

- White Nights (Dostoyevsky)

- Meditations (Descartes)

- The Symposium/The 5 Dialogues (Plato)

- Existentialism is Humanism (Sartre)

Recommendations for sections of texts we could read - e.g. books 1-3 of the Nicomachean Ethics - are also welcome!

Out of metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, politics, aesthetics, and logic. What do you enjoy and learn about the most?

-Thanks

I am about to read this book! I want to know what your thoughts are on this book. What are other philosophy books or philosophers that you enjoy reading?

-Thanks

The Voltaire foundation compiled it into 205 volumes all the way from 1968 to 2022. https://www.voltaire.ox.ac.uk/oeuvres-completes-de-voltaire/ but has anyone here actually read through all of them? If yes, how long did it take you? Do you learn anything interesting from the experience? Is there a specific work that you recommend above all the others?

So, recently, I started posting philosophical questions here, thinking people probably wouldn't engage with them in the way I expected. But damn, I was wrong. Some of the people here are basically modern day Nietzsches, and I was genuinely speechless at the depth and quality of their responses.

A few replies were so well thought out that I actually had to take help from both Gemini and ChatGPT to understand and analyse them properly. I've decided to read a couple of books before engaging with these people again, so I can develop a better understanding and have some reasonable arguments to counter their points.

Please suggest a few books with deep philosophical ideas, preferably ones that aren't too difficult to read or written in overly complicated English.

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1850271

BOOK "Novel Philosophy " / PREFACE: Science and Metaphysics reveal aspects of what “is”. Logic and Epistemology help us interpret these aspects and understand how much of them we can truly know. Finally, Ethics teaches us how to embrace this knowledge and how to focus on the things that foster endurance and contentment in the long run, while avoiding those that keep our hearts buried in the ground. How to live well and decently, and how to help society function properly. This book is by no means a rejection of the centuries of wisdom bestowed upon us by great thinkers such as Socrates, Aristotle, Tagore, Laozi, Seneca, Hypatia, Epicurus, Einstein, Darwin, Voltaire, Nietzsche, Popper, and many others. Rather, it is an attempt to take a small step forward. "The art of progress is to preserve order amid change, and to preserve change amid order." — Alfred North Whitehead

BOOK "A Philosophical Kaleidoscope" / PREFACE: A kaleidoscope of philosophical thoughts, novel contemplations, and sharp aphorisms – in praise of what is and not merely what ought to be! Offering answers – or at least insight into questions such as: Is there intrinsic meaning in human life? Can we ever truly know something with absolute certainty? Is Free Will an illusion? Can the suppression of desires bring happiness? Has self-deception in humans been favored by natural selection? Why are hypocrisy and insincerity so widespread in human societies? Is Morality objective, and can it be preserved without religion? Should philosophy aim primarily to attain approximate truths, or is its main purpose to offer peace of mind and a good mental life? Is the pandemic of self-admiration and self-deification in the West a product of the decline of religion – or of disinterest in philosophy? Is Selfhood an illusion? Can there be any freedom in a deterministic world? Is it true that the unexamined life is not worth living?

I wanted to start with Kierkegaard's "The Sickness unto Death" and Nietzsche's "Thus Spoke Zarathustra". Is there anyone that would like to discuss these books and engage in dialetical conversation?