Outlines of Philosophy by Will Durant

Outlines of Philosophy by Will Durant — Monitor

Is The Story of Philosophy the same book?

Will Durant is 50 - 75 years out.

I'm not sure why you're reading - for what purpose. Random philosophers can get you some pretty incomprehensible and obscure stuff. Better to start with cheap intros. Pretty quickly you'll start to recognize some of the references. You may even think you understand some of them.... I am unaware of any brief histories of philosophy. Any kind of very broad history might be nice to look at.

Then switch over and read the two prefaces to Kant's Critique of Pure Reason. If that makes sense (after at least three readings), then to Heidegger's preface to Being and Time, preferably Stambaugh's translation. (No law against getting into the texts themselves, if you want to.)

Mortimer Adler provides a couple of books on Aristotle. Your interests should take on some direction - they and it can always evolve, change. Probably good to try to find good secondary materials to read alongside originals. Keep in mind that a lot of secondary materials have their own problems, including in some cases being just plain wrong(!). But the point is that they can serve as navigation aids. Or different metaphors, show the original under different lights, or at different angles, as it were.

Don't expect too much too soon. Just beware of books you cannot (yet) read. If a book is obscure, it's usually for good reason. And use the library whenever you can. It will save you money, maybe a lot of it. A philosophy dictionary might save a lot of trouble; again, try the library and try one on.

My favorite is An Essay on Metaphysics, R.G. Collingwood. I won't spoil it, but you will never regret reading it.

Of the best introductions:

Short: Will Durant.
Middle length: Anthony Kenny.
Long: F.C. Copleston.

I've seen some bad textbooks. As others have mentioned, Durant's book is good. From Socrates to Sartre is also good.

Firstly read 'Empty Ideas' by Peter Unger. If you still want to do a philosophy course, then I suggest Bertrand Russell 'A History of Western Philosophy'. Post 1945 you'll struggle to find a good introduction, but I suggest using the Internet rather than choosing one book. If you have a bit of common sense that can help you sift out the crap, you'll find an awful lot of good summaries like the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy which had some excellent articles and many linked references you can follow.

Also, what are you reading now as far as Philosophy is concerned? And where is a good place to start reading random philosophers? — MountainDwarf

My approach is to inquire into questions and not philosophers. This type of inquiry creates a very zig-zag path through many diverse aspects of life, such as physics, arts, history, psychology, less known philosophers as well as often neglected Eastern philosophies etc. but at the end, you will have walked the walk and know from experience.

7 months later...

Thank you. Random was not the word I should have chosen there. I have actually read a very simple introduction to Philosophy book by Sharon Kaye. Ever heard of her?
Makes sense. I just hate having to reinvent the wheel.
I've got Stanford on my favorites list. Don't use them as nearly enough as I should.
Cool. Thanks.
Alright. Thanks.