Philosophy books for beginners

Authors • Patrick Stokes Senior Lecturer in Philosophy, Deakin University • Duncan Ivison Professor of Political Philosophy, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research), University of Sydney • Laura D'Olimpio Senior Lecturer in Philosophy, University of Notre Dame Australia • Matthew Sharpe Associate Professor in Philosophy, Deakin University Disclosure statement Duncan Ivison receives funding from the Australian Research Council. He is also a member of the Editorial Board of The Conversation. Matthew Sharpe has taught and written on political philosophy at Deakin. He is part of an ARC grant on Religion and Political Thought and coauthor of The Times Will Suit Them: Postmodern Conservatism in Australia (with Geoffrey Boucher). Laura D'Olimpio and Patrick Stokes do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment. Partners However, the ancient Greeks would have been familiar with these phenomena for all kinds of reasons. They understood how anger, resentment and revenge shape politics. And they had some pretty interesting ways of dealing with outbreaks of populist rage and constitutional crises. Our language is still littered with them: think “ostracism”, “dictatorship” and “oligarchy” (let alone “democracy”). So, this year, amongst all the noise, I found myself driven back to the Greeks, and especially to some of the ideas that p...

Philosophy. It started out as the ancient’s first (and only) form of science. Everything we have today, biology, physics, economics, sociology, chemistry started out as philosophy. This is why Sir Isaac Newton called himself a “natural philosopher”, and titled the book that describes the basic fundamental forces of physics as “ Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy”. The first philosophers were a combination of religious thinkers, scientists, and logicians because knowledge had not branched out yet One by one, as each branch of branch of philosophy accumulated more and more knowledge, they separated and became their own science. This is why philosophy today seems empty and superseded in importance by science. However, this is only a false impression. Nowadays philosophy tries to answer what science cannot (yet). Who we are, why are we here, why do we know what we know, and how to live life well are still fundamental questions that are still yearning for an answer. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Introductory philosophy books for beginners A short overview of the biggest philosophical problems in history, written in concise and easy to understand language., Also talks how these philosophical problems impact your life, including: • How Do We Know Anything? • Other minds. • The Mind-Body Problem. • The Meaning of Words. • Free Will. • Right and Wrong. • Justice • Death • The Meaning of Life. An enjoyable introducto...

Having a rich mindset is essential for growth and reading philosophy books helps one discover tools to delve deep into their thoughts and beliefs. Asking questions forms a very vital part of our substructure and we tend to ask ourselves why we are here, why the world is the way it is, or what’s the purpose of our existence. We—basically—want to understand our lives and the existence of elements around us. While we may not be able to get all the answers to all the questions that we have, philosophy gives us a platform to discover a higher sense of self. As philosophy explores and tries to answer our questions, it helps us reimagine and, possibly, change our world views for the better. In a field with this much potential and as old as philosophy, knowing where to start is usually difficult… That’s where I come in! In this post, I have compiled lists of the best books philosophy has to offer. I covered the best philosophy books for beginners, best Chinese philosophy books, and outlined a guide on how to choose a good philosophy book. Let’s get started! 8) Final Thoughts How to Choose a Good Philosophy Book (Things to Consider) For beginners, finding the perfect philosophy book can be a bit challenging. So, I compiled a set of touchstones for finding the best philosophy books. Remember, with philosophy, there isn’t a “one shoe fits all” solution. Here are the considerations: Author’s Outlook and Cultural Context Philosophy books are different in such a way that the author’s ou...