Welcome!! Let your curiosity guide you. Don't be afraid of approaching any thinker that interests you. You don't have to be super systematic and start at the very beginning.

Just finished "The Big Sleep" by Raymond Chandler and now starting his "Farewell, My Lovely."

In what sense do you mean improve and to what ends? Does this bourgeois ideal mean improvement in a general sense? As in, if one reads philosophy or good literature one will become a better person or better regarded? Thanks for your message!

Thanks for your message. When you read a particular text, what is it that you want to get out of it? You say that a part of philosophy is to change oneself. Change oneself in the sense of changing our knowledge of certain topics or maybe giving us a new perspective? I'm interested in what your personal relationship is to the philosophy you read. Also, why do you advise against reading summaries?

Thanks, I'm enjoying it a lot.



What do you understand under the term Transcendentalist "genius?"

What in particular do you find unassailable in introspection? In what ways do you think introspection fails when an individual attempts it?

You chose a great quote. Emerson is fantastic. At least to me, I think he signifies the importance of one's own authenticity in thinking and at least for me this is a huge part of why I enjoy philosophy and like learning about it. Because of this I really want to take responsibility for my own thinking and be more comfortable with sharing what I think. Thanks you!

That's a good question, thanks. I feel like it's the former; I think it has a lot to do with lack of confidence in philosophy and because of it that I feel that I "put off" and discussion. When talking about a specific text, I just naturally assume my interpretation is missing something and I adopt the interpretation of other people instead. I think it coincides with feeling like I don't have a "philosophical voice."

You're right. We do agree!

I'm curious about the introspection part. How do you critically evaluate your own thoughts? (This goes to everyone on the thread) It seems like a rather abstract thing to describe since everyone will favor different approaches, but I'm very interested in how other people ask "good" questions.

Thanks for your post. My aim is to learn from a discussion. I would like to be able to walk away with a slightly better understanding of the subject we discussed. S1,S2, and S3 are great. I'll keep them in mind. You make a great point about talking with strangers. I forgot that not everyone wants to talk about philosophy all the time. makes a similar point. In the sense, that it's important to actively choose the right people to talk to, to get the most out of a discussion.

Good thing I stay away from social media hahaha

I realize now that I can also reply to many people in a single comment. Sorry for the spam.


It's a good idea. I guess I'm still looking for something to say in that regard. I mostly read philosophy but I haven't made too much of an effort when it comes to DOING it, I guess? I do want to make a post at some point. Just as a challenge for myself.


What do you think is a good question? I really liked what you said. When you're reading or engaging with someone else, what do you find to be a good question?


I do agree to an extent because I value introspection a lot. In my case, I think it's also important to be able to formulate an idea and also be challenged on it. I really value philosophy as a means of introspection and a way to practice it, but I also get the impression that there is a lot to learn from others through discussion.

Again, thank you all for your posts. Very, very insightful.

I'm surprised you recognized me haha! Thanks for the encouragement. Stay away from politics threads. Noted. I appreciate that others take the time for the curious.

Great idea! I'll be honest, even though it's online, the discussions here do intimidate me sometimes. Hahahah. But I'll try and get into the habit of asking questions. Thanks!

I'm mostly discussing with other students in a university but I'm also including informal discussion with strangers.

Thank you for your reply and the helpful advice. What you said about being transparent in your post really resonated with me! Thanks!

I agree with you on the fact that death can be harmful to us without our direct experience of it. Something can still be harmful to us despite our lack of knowledge of it, like a cancer that hasn't been spotted yet. This also opens up the possibility of us being harmed after our death. The various projects we have in our lives can be transcendental. If the well-being of my son is something that's important to me, wouldn't any harm coming to him be harmful to me in a way? Death would also get in the way of us completing our projects, which is why a life cut short is seen as bad.

Thank you :), Javi!

Die Welt als Wille und Vorstellung, by Arthur Schopenhauer, and the Critique of Pure Reason, by Immanuel Kant. At the moment, I'm trying to get an overview of Kant to better understand Schopenhauer. His 200 page critique of Kantian philosophy I find pretty heavy man. (Also, how do I enter italics on the mobile version of the forum?)