Philosophy – advice and reading
When studying philosophy, you get to indulge your imagination and your wildest thoughts about the world, yet simultaneously you have to rely on logic and rational arguments to prove the validity (or otherwise) or your wildest dreams. This is one of the (many!) reasons why philosophy is a unique subject to learn. You can think about and argue for ideas which on an every-day basis people don’t even bother to question, like whether we really exist, if we are always dreaming, if you are the same person as when you were born, whether we have free will to choose what actions we do – and the only rules of the game are that you need to think and argue clearly or logically.
But none of this means that philosophy is a purely abstract exercise, unrelated to our regular lives. In fact, nothing could be farther from the truth. Our philosophical beliefs, whether we are always aware of them or not, are present in our everyday lives and underpin a lot of what we believe and the way that we act and adopting different philosophical approaches to issues can have a dramatic effect on the way we choose to live our lives.
So not only is philosophy stimulating and fun, it’s something a bit different – which will probably turn out to have effects more useful and wide-ranging than you might first have thought.
Recommended Reading
Think by Simon Blackburn
An excellent, accessible introduction to some of the major issues which have perplexed philosophers for centuries – and continue to do so. Think is helpful for budding philosophers because not only does it discuss how to think about these philosophical problems, it also gives you an introduction to what major thinkers such as Kant, Wittgenstein, Hume and Descartes have said on various topics ranging from ethics to the existence of God to scepticism to the mind/body dualism.
What Does It All Mean? By Thomas Nagel
Thomas Nagel writes with his usual clarity and precision to introduce reader to the basics of philosophy and demonstrating the value of its study to our lives. In this book, Nagel leads the reader through nine of the central questions which philosophy attempts to provide answers to, for example ‘Is Death the End of Everything?’, ‘Can we Know Anything?’ and ‘Does Life Have Any Meaning?’. He demonstrates both why these questions have confused millions for centuries and why their continued study is so crucial to our lives.
Useful Links
Bob Hargrave’s website (Oxford lecturer and Debate Chamber tutor)