[robo donkey]

It's a general area I've always had an interest in and I have a couple of weeks locked in a lab soon as part of a clinical trial so I figure I might as well read up on something new to me really, so what works/books/people would you recommend to check out?

Thanks if you can help

[TurboCretin]

(Original post by robo donkey)
It's a general area I've always had an interest in and I have a couple of weeks locked in a lab soon as part of a clinical trial so I figure I might as well read up on something new to me really, so what works/books/people would you recommend to check out?

Thanks if you can help

Is there any particular area you're interested in? Moral or political philosophy might be a good inroad, for which you might like to read Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, Mill's On Liberty or Plato's The Republic.

[StefanieLouise]

Recommend books, you say? Sure can!

This one is especially brilliant. I don't know why it's £13 now, it was about £6 when I bought it. Perhaps get a used version or look elsewhere? It's definitely worth it and a great introduction. It features summaries and analysis of a range of, well, the classic philosophical texts, as well as highlighting links between works and the limitations of said works. It's also incredibly easy to read and understand without feeling like it's been 'dumbed down'.

This is also quite an interesting read and will get you thinking about philosophy as more than just 'lol plato and aristotle and stuff'. That might be putting it a bit simply but you probably know what I mean.

And finally this is quite a good broad introduction to various areas of philosophy. Nigel Warburton is quite good for introduction to philosophy type books, The Classics really is just brilliant. I love it and it's got me interested in a range of other philosophers and their works.

After having a read through these, you'll find you have a pretty good idea of the kind of areas you want to read more into.

[robo donkey]

Is there any particular area you're interested in?

I'm not actually certain, if you can help me with that too it'll be a great, I guess I'm interested in the Socrates sort of 'why are we here?' type stuff that people always imagine they talked about, even if I'm way off, I'll do my best to check out all your recommendations though and see which parts interest me the most. Thanks to both of you

[TurboCretin]

(Original post by robo donkey)
Is there any particular area you're interested in?

I'm not actually certain, if you can help me with that too it'll be a great, I guess I'm interested in the Socrates sort of 'why are we here?' type stuff that people always imagine they talked about, even if I'm way off, I'll do my best to check out all your recommendations though and see which parts interest me the most. Thanks to both of you

May I recommend Philosophy Bro: http://www.philosophybro.com/

Also, the Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy is a good place to start looking up areas of philosophy to get an idea of what's what. You might want to look into:

Metaphysics - what is there?
Epistemology - how do we know stuff, and what is knowledge anyway?
Moral and political philosophy - how should we live as individuals, and how should we construct our society?
Aesthetics - what is the nature of beauty?

There are other more specific and/or technical areas, but I think these are the main four.

[robo donkey]

Brilliant, thanks again man

[Belowski]

Recently I've been getting into philosophical fiction, particularly existentialism. I'd recommend Jean-Paul Sartre's La Nausee and Albert Camus' L'Étranger.

[KetchupSandwich]

I'd really recommend Mark Rowlands' 'The Philosopher at the end of the Universe'. It's a good introduction to different aspects of philosophy and it's all linked to films- so he uses the Lord of the Rings trilogy as a way into Moral Relativism and Total Recall (terrible film but interesting from a philosophical perspective) to talk about Personal Identity. It can help you find out what you're interested in and it' very accessibly written and enjoyable

[Bimbleby]

Bertrand Russell: The Problems of Philosophy. Brilliant, succinct, broad, clear. Excellent if you want an introduction to the kind of bizarre things that modern analytic philosophy is about.

To the poster above who recommended PhilosophyBro... you, sir, are epic, and I wholeheartedly agree.

[Bimbleby]

(Original post by TurboCretin)
There are other more specific and/or technical areas, but I think these are the main four.

May I add to your list? Logic is one of the main areas of modern stuff, at least. We have to take it in first and second year along with metaphysics, so I've always thought of those two as the bigguns.

[internetguru]

The philosophy of time travel by Roberta Sparrow.

[Violet_apple]

If you like podcasts 'Philosophy Bites' is excellent. They bring in an expert and talk for 15 minutes. Good introductions so you can find out what you find interesting.

[TurboCretin]

(Original post by Bimbleby)
May I add to your list? Logic is one of the main areas of modern stuff, at least. We have to take it in first and second year along with metaphysics, so I've always thought of those two as the bigguns.

Logic is a significant area, and one which personally I love. My reasoning for omitting it was that it can get somewhat technical and may do more to put OP off than to get him interested. Logic is one of the areas which I would put in the 'technical' category I referred to in my previous post. Essential if you're starting a degree in philosophy, but probably more than the casual beginner enthusiast need concern himself with.

[C_G]

A Very Short Introduction to Philosophy

[somethingbeautiful]

Descartes' Meditations. Perfect for being locked in a room by yourself.