You can just dive right into Plato. Start with *The Republic* or the Socratic dialogues. That’s probably the best place to start with western philosophy, and he’s more approachable than Aristotle (I think).
If you want a hard-core reading list, look up the curriculum of a “Great Books” university program.
Unlikeadragon on
There are a lot of short and approachable works that provide a good introduction to philosophy. The first real work of philosophy that I read was Plato’s Apology (the trial of Socrates), which was an ideal starting point. The following would are all short and easy to get into, though very profound:
* Plato: Apology, Symposium
* Aristotle: Poetics
* St. Augustine: The Confessions
* Machiavelli: The Prince
* Rene Descartes: The Meditations
* Karl Marx: The Communist Manifesto
* Hannah Arendt: Eichmann at Jerusalem
I’d also recommend checking out the following novels that have a lot of philosophy in them:
* Voltiare: Candide
* Mary Shelley: Frankenstein
* Fyodor Dostoevsky: Notes from the Underground
* George Orwell: Animal Farm (best read after The Communist Manifesto)
* Albert Camus: The Stranger (also translated as The Outsider)
AyPepee on
At your age, I would start with Sophie’s World by Jostein Gaarder.
It’s like entering to an ice cream shop and taking the samples of every flavor. Then you can go deeper in whatever current you like the most
3 Comments
You can just dive right into Plato. Start with *The Republic* or the Socratic dialogues. That’s probably the best place to start with western philosophy, and he’s more approachable than Aristotle (I think).
If you want a hard-core reading list, look up the curriculum of a “Great Books” university program.
There are a lot of short and approachable works that provide a good introduction to philosophy. The first real work of philosophy that I read was Plato’s Apology (the trial of Socrates), which was an ideal starting point. The following would are all short and easy to get into, though very profound:
* Plato: Apology, Symposium
* Aristotle: Poetics
* St. Augustine: The Confessions
* Machiavelli: The Prince
* Rene Descartes: The Meditations
* Karl Marx: The Communist Manifesto
* Hannah Arendt: Eichmann at Jerusalem
I’d also recommend checking out the following novels that have a lot of philosophy in them:
* Voltiare: Candide
* Mary Shelley: Frankenstein
* Fyodor Dostoevsky: Notes from the Underground
* George Orwell: Animal Farm (best read after The Communist Manifesto)
* Albert Camus: The Stranger (also translated as The Outsider)
At your age, I would start with Sophie’s World by Jostein Gaarder.
It’s like entering to an ice cream shop and taking the samples of every flavor. Then you can go deeper in whatever current you like the most