You mean the Fragments that remain of that? — Agustino
Why did you pick it? — Agustino
It's surprising that you picked this one. Why so? — Agustino
True enough but it was kind of silly at least to me. Meursault always seemed to me to be unable for some strange reason to feel compassion (for example for his dying mother) or empathy towards any of the others. Not only this, but he either did not understand the social games people were playing, or if he did, then he did not use them at all to save his own skin (I've never been quite able to decide between the two). Although he did have some "ability", the ability he had was simple passivity and going with the flow of whatever happened. Which did work in some cases - with Marie, with his friends including Raymond, etc.It thoroughly absorbed my attention the first time I read it, and I found the main character's exasperated protestations and observations conducive to my mood and aligning well with my general outlook on the world. — Thorongil
:-}I've never read the Bible either, yet funnily enough I know quite a bit about it. — Sapientia
Well yes, maybe I was too harsh above, excuse me. The last sentence was meant to be a joke, but it didn't come out like that, came more like I was trying to make fun of you unfortunately. What I meant is that you shouldn't consider a work to be significant until you've actually read at least a majority of it. Reading about a work, instead of actually the work, can give you a false idea of what it is. And I really mean a false idea. Like I can't believe the stupid stuff I find about, say, even Schopenhauer's World as Will and Representation. If I open up Wikipedia, or even the Stanford page, it's full of stuff I wouldn't consider very accurate.Your opinion isn't worth that much to me. It's not a competition, and I don't need to prove myself to you or to anyone. Think what you want. I know what I know. — Sapientia
I follow. It's not about whether I'm more of an expert than that guy, this goes deeper. I don't trust experts, most of the experts I've met are wrong very often. I have a deep distrust of experts, even of doctors for example. The other issue I've noticed is that with philosophy sometimes when I read a secondary text by a so-called expert after reading the original, sometimes I feel it has absolutely nothing to do with what I've originally read :sI disagree with that part about having to read a majority of a work before considering it significant. What do you think my motive is for continuing to read about Marx and Marxism? Obviously the significance of what I've read has struck me. Really, you'd have to be more of an authority on Marx than the author of the book I referred to in order make that kind of judgement about what I've been reading, and I don't think that you are. The book seeks to elucidate what was written, and quotes it frequently. I'm confident that it has already improved my understanding, and that continued reading will give me the understanding that I seek. Then I could move on to the next stage, and perhaps ultimately read the book itself. — Sapientia
1. The Sickness Unto Death--Soren Kierkegaard
2. Writing and Difference--Jacques Derrida
3. The Postmodern Condition--Jean-Francois Lyotard
4. I and Thou--Martin Buber
5. Anti-Oedipus--Deleuze & Guattari
6. The Birth of Tragedy--Friedrich Nietszche
7. Phenomenology of Perception--Maurice Merlau-Ponty
8. Observations on the Feeling of the Beautiful and Sublime--Immanuel Kant
9. Capital--Karl Marx
10. An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding--David Hume — Thanatos Sand
It greatly describes the Postmodern sensibility of avoiding meta-narratives, such as Marxism, Christian eschatology, linear Freudianism, or the Enlightenment...of explaining the understanding of how one must occupy these, but does not need to grant them sovereignty or even substantial legitimacy. — Thanatos Sand
Surprised you've listed this over Saving the Appearances. Admittedly, I haven't read it, but some of the reviews that I read of it certainly didn't inspire me to think it superior to Saving (or worth reading for that matter :P ).Owen Barfield - Poetic Diction — Noble Dust
Hegel - Philosophy of Right
Nietzsche - Twilight of the Idols — Erik
This post got me pretty curious. Why Twilight of the Idols over other works from that period? I'd love to hear the rationale, because I think it tends to get interpreted unfairly as a 'minor' work. — Ilyosha
Also interested in the rationale for Philosophy of Right since all the Hegel people seem to obsess over the Phenomenology and Logic. — It's cool
I think there's some sentimental attachment as this was the first work of Nietzsche's that I read, and it's the one I return to most. Beyond that superficial reason... — Erik
I think it presents a nice broad overview of the major themes of his philosophy. It also contains a few of my favorite aphorisms (e.g. #1 in 'Reason' in Philosophy, #8 in The Four Great Errors and #5 in What the Germans Lack). So yeah, I know it's not typically interpreted by the experts as being one of his better or more important works, but it's the one that's stuck with me most. — Erik
Well, I can't comment on Hegel's Logic because I haven't read it, and large parts of the Phenomenology remain incomprehensible to me. But just when I was about to give up on him, I heard someone mention Philosophy of Right as being surprisingly accessible and full of valuable insights. Have you read it? If so, what's your take? There are some parts where I was a bit surprised by how traditionally conservative Hegel comes across as, but there are also areas where's he's pretty radical in outlook. — Erik
I remember reading somewhere that they were Kauffman's recommended places to start with Nietzsche as well, though I can't for the life of me remember where. — StreetlightX
What is the crisis of philosophy in his view? — Ron Cram
I understood that it was the question of how to embrace atheism while avoiding nihilism. I haven't done any reading in this area, but I was told that the history of philosophy since Nietzsche has been a search for a way to reject God while avoiding nihilism. — Ron Cram
I have been told that no philosopher has yet been successful in this search. — Ron Cram
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