Hi yall, bare with me if I sound like a total amateur. I've never been too big of a reader in general, only to realize that I just don't enjoy story-like fiction. However (i'm in the arts and architecture field) I started to read a lot of theoretical works and art/architecture critique which I enjoyed as they were thought provoking ( like Delirious New York by Rem Koolhas which tackles how urban environments, capital, and the collective subconscious shape human behavior and the life of a city+I enjoyed the writing style), and ended up reading The Production of Space by Henri Lefebvre which I really enjoyed, I really enjoyed the writing style as well. Also main reason I got in my field in the first place is being interested in how humans are affected by arts and architecture and how they affect it in response, this whole chicken or the egg relationship. And now, after The Production of Space, I wanna give philosophy a chance as I realized that I really like introspective and thought provoking reads, maybe analytical as well? I feel like it might be a genre I would enjoy. However I feel completely lost on where and what to start with so if anyone would be kind enough to give suggestions:). I would be of course super interested if there are any reads that tackle the architecture subject, yet I'm deeply curious and wanna get into works about human nature emotions themselves, maybe it's because I have a lower state mentally and feel like getting into philosphy and reading about this stuff would be interesting. *however due to my current state and vibes I don't know if it's good to start with something extremely dark and nihilistic but would be interested in exploring that in the future! Thank you if anyone answers!:)

Hey, guys! I really enjoyed An Intimate History of Humanity by Theodore Zeldin. Can anyone recommend similar books? Preferably books that focus on love, whether it’s self-love, romantic love, love for humanity, or any other kind of love. 😊

I read an article for my philosophy 101 class about the unreality of time. It was by J Ellis Mctaggart, and it makes the case time cannot exist due to a series of conditions on every moment. This linear view of time is labeled the A Series, and it says because every moment in time will be at some point the past, the present, and the future, time cannot exist because each moment having all three conditions (of past, present, and future) is a contradiction. My thinking is that if you look at time from a personal perspective, why could each moment not gain and and lose each condition? Mctaggart's argument is every moment is all three because they were/ all will be all three at one point, but to me that's like saying when I have a piece of bread and intent to toast it, the un-toasted slice is unbaked (being past) baked (present) and toasted (future). How does everyone else interperet this argument?

I’m working on an English presentation, and I’d like to hear different perspectives on digital freedom.

I’m interested in how people feel about expressing themselves online, privacy, and the fear of being watched. I’m not looking for one particular answer; I’m genuinely curious about your experiences and opinions.

1. Do you feel free to express your opinions online? Why or why not?

2. Have you ever stayed silent, deleted a post, or changed what you wanted to say because you feared someone’s reaction or thought you might be monitored?

3. What does digital freedom mean to you? Is it freedom of expression, privacy, control over your personal data, or something else?

Book titles and why perhaps?

I’ve just finished my Philosophy degree, and I now have a somewhat superficial understanding of pretty much every area of philosophy lol.
So, I’ve come up with a reading plan, and I’d love to hear your thoughts, suggestions, criticisms, etc.
The idea is to work my way through the history of philosophy, starting with Plato’s Republic, moving on to Aristotle, then medieval philosophy, modern philosophy, and so on, all the way to contemporary thinkers like Judith Butler.
Basically, I want to read the major works of the most important philosophers in roughly chronological order, gradually working my way towards contemporary philosophy.
Here’s a rough outline of what I have in mind:

Plato — The Republic
Aristotle — Nicomachean Ethics
Augustine — Confessions
Thomas Aquinas — Summa Theologica
Machiavelli — The Prince
Descartes — Meditations on First Philosophy
Spinoza — Ethics
Locke — An Essay Concerning Human Understanding
Hume — An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding
Rousseau — The Social Contract
Kant — Critique of Pure Reason
Hegel — Phenomenology of Spirit
Schopenhauer — The World as Will and Representation
Kierkegaard — Fear and Trembling
Marx — Capital
John Stuart Mill — On Liberty
Nietzsche — Beyond Good and Evil
Husserl — Ideas Pertaining to a Pure Phenomenology
Heidegger — Being and Time
Wittgenstein — Philosophical Investigations
Sartre — Being and Nothingness
Simone de Beauvoir — The Second Sex
Hannah Arendt — The Human Condition
Foucault — Discipline and Punish
Derrida — Of Grammatology
Deleuze — Difference and Repetition
Judith Butler — Gender Trouble

Obviously, this list is far from exhaustive, and there are entire traditions and areas of philosophy missing.

My main question is whether you think this is a good approach at all.
Would you add or remove any books? Are there any authors you think are absolutely essential? Is there anything here that you would replace with a more accessible or representative work?
Or would you actually recommend NOT doing this? Maybe I should just read whatever interests me at any given moment instead of following a chronological plan. For example, right now I feel like reading Sartre, and I could just start with him.
The reason I’m leaning towards a structured reading plan is that I don’t want to read someone like Heidegger, for example, and constantly come across references to Aristotle, Kant, or Hegel without really understanding the background.
I’d really appreciate any advice,
Thank you in advance.

What is your opinion of the works and thought of the Austrian philosopher, literary critic, journalist, university professor, and political scientist Erik Maria Ritter von Kuehnelt-Leddihn (Tobelbad, 31 July 1909 – Lans, 26 May 1999)?

Have any of you ever read one or more of his major works? If so, what did you think of them?

I am referring in particular to the following works:

- The Menace of the Herd, Milwaukee: The Bruce Publishing Co., 1943.

- Liberty or Equality, Front Royal, Virginia: Christendom Press, 1952.

- The Timeless Christian, Chicago: Franciscan Herald Press, 1969.

- Leftism: From de Sade and Marx to Hitler and Marcuse, New Rochelle, New York: Arlington House Publishers, 1974.

- The Intelligent American's Guide to Europe, New Rochelle, New York: Arlington House Publishers, 1979.

- Leftism Revisited: From de Sade and Marx to Hitler and Pol Pot, Washington, D.C.: Regnery Gateway, 1990.

I am looking for valuable names in any subject
It'd be great if these people have SM or publicity

One of the things that always frustrated me about reading philosophy was finishing a section, knowing I had technically read every word, and still not being completely sure I understood what the philosopher was actually arguing.

That’s a big part of why I’ve been expanding The Agora: Learn Philosophy beyond just discussions and debates.

I want the reading itself to become more interactive. You can read philosophical works inside the app, highlight passages, save notes and annotations, and then use what you’re reading as the starting point for deeper questions and discussions.

My ideal experience is something like this:

You’re reading a passage from Plato, Nietzsche, Aristotle, Dostoevsky, etc. Something doesn’t quite make sense, or maybe you strongly disagree with it. Instead of highlighting it and forgetting about it, you can stop, think through it, write down what you believe, and actually engage with the idea.

The goal isn’t to simplify philosophy until there’s nothing left to wrestle with. I want to make the wrestling with it easier to actually do.

I’m curious how people here who regularly read philosophy feel about that approach. What tools would actually help you understand a difficult philosophical book without getting in the way of the reading itself?

If anyone wants to see what I’m building:

The Agora: Learn Philosophy

iOS:
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/the-agora-learn-philosophy/id6762416967

Android:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bhernaurd.theagoraWould

Hi everyone, I want to start my journey in philosophy but I'm a complete beginner.

I don't have any academic background in it. I'm mainly interested in \[ Stoicism / meaning of life / how to deal with anxiety / Islamic + Western philosophy \].

I prefer books that are easy to understand and not too academic at first, something that can build my interest and take me to an advanced level later.

My reading level is beginner to intermediate.

Could you please suggest a reading order? Where should I actually start?

Thanks!

I enjoy philosophy and would like to learn more about it. I have learned from philosophers through philosophy adjacent books. Books like When Nietzsche Wept and 40 Rules of Love.

Anyways, I figured I start reading about philosophers directly from their books. I tried Thus Spoke Zarathustra but every line is a quote. Now I’m reading Sickness Unto Death and I find the number of times Kierkegaard will take a word and repeat it over and over again like “despair” in every line, literally hurts my brain.

Am I supposed to work my way up to reading philosophy like this? How do you do it?

Something bothers me about the trolley problem. It's not that it is not a challenging or interesting moral question. Alternatively, it is not that it is too easy, although I am sure to many the question feels easy. It is something about the method. First, it presupposes that philosophy is about answering questions of a pragmatic nature, rather than say, elaborating a thesis about art, or describing existence. Secondly, it feels like it could conceal some kind of eugenic subtext. As if one would end up in a situation where one would have to choose between groups of people leading to the death of some and preserving the life of others. Not that this is a phenomenon that does not or could not happen, but it is not something that happens everyday in our immediate lifeworld.

What i do any suggestions

Hey I am a middle aged man looking to get back into reading theory after decades - I am trying to put together a reading list but would love if anybody has specific books or women and non-white non-western authors that go with this list. Thanks and sorry if I am in the wrong place

Spinoza (Ethics)

Eliot (Middlemarch)

Nietzsche (the gay science)

Freud (Civilzation and its Discontents)

Bataille (the Accursed Share Vol 1)

Dubois (Souls of Black Folks)

Fanon (Black skin White Masks)