<p>Can anyone recommend a book to read as a sort of Introduction to Philosophy?</p>
<p>Sophie’s World by Jostein Gaarder. It’s part novel, part history of philosophy, and a great introduction to philosophical ideas.</p>
<p>Aristotle for Everybody by Mortimer Adler.</p>
<p>History of Western Philosophy by Bertram Russell.</p>
<p>Our hs teaches out of “Looking at Philosophy” by Donald Palmer. From Amazon:
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<p>FWIW, DS loved the book, loved the class, loved the teacher, will probably major in philosophy in college.</p>
<p>Oh and I can’t believe we haven’t recommended<br>
Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar . . . Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes
by Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein</p>
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<p>I second this recommendation - long, and dry at times, but a good read nonetheless</p>
<p>Mathmom . . . that book was hilarious, but pretty unphilosophical.</p>
<p>Quasiprofound–what type of philosophy are you looking into? Sophie’s World is a good overview, but it’s a novel. If you’re looking for collections of essays or such, I might be able to recommend some. But what do you want to look at? Ethics? Semantics? Aesthetics? Cognition? If you narrow it down to philosophy of language or mind or religion or something, it would be easier.</p>
<p>If you really want a more general overview, the Plato/Aristotle debate is a good place to start. I prefer original source material, especially in Plato’s case–read The Death of Socrates (that’s actually a collection of three Plato dialogues), The Republic, and Plato’s Argument of Forms. Aristotle is a bit drier, but it’s worth reading Nichomachean Ethics. If you can’t pull through that, Aristotle for Everybody (as tk21769 recommended) is a good condensed version of Aristotle’s arguments.</p>
<p>sishu7, I really don’t know anything about Philosophy, so I’m looking for something to start with - a kind of Philosophy for Dummies, basically! 
Whatever would be taught in an introductory high school or college class. I’d like an overview of Western philosophy (I know a little bit about Eastern) from the beginning to modern times, as well as various philosophers’ contribution to it. Sophie’s World has been highly recommended to me by many, so I’m definitely going to borrow it this week. </p>
<p>Thank you, everyone, you have all been very helpful.</p>
<p>I taught college philosophy for 10 years. By far, the two best books I know of for what you’re looking for would be “Introduction to Philosophy” by William James Earle, and “From Socrates to Sartre” by T.Z. Levine.</p>
<p>Thanks Schmaltz, that sounds perfect.</p>
<p>^^ The Earle book is a fine general introduction. A step up from there, if you find you have a taste for the stuff, is John Perry et al., “Introduction to Philosophy: Classical and Contemporary Readings,” an excellent anthology of writings from leading historical and contemporary philosophers.</p>
<p>a bottle of hard alcohol will be a sufficient introduction</p>
<p>Philosophy Made Simple did wonders for me when I had to take Philosophy senior year of high school. They really do make it easy.</p>
<p>Socrates Cafe is a good one. Had to read it this past semester for my philosophy class, and it reads like a novel. Not specifically philosophical, but gets you thinking.</p>
<p>When you’re just starting out, beware of reading anthologies, as SOME philosophers’ writings are nearly impossible to decipher (Kant and Hegel come to mind). If you try to read one of those guys’ works when you’re just starting out, you’ll quickly switch to another subject. Three philosophers who write really well are Plato, Pascal, and Schopenhauer. Check out Plato’s “Apology” and “Crito,” Pascal’s “Pensees,” and Schopenhauer’s “Essays and Aphorisms.” All of these provide bite-sized chunks of very interesting ideas that are written so just about anybody could understand them.</p>
<p>^ And beware of reading warmed-over and dumbed-down rehashes. It’s not the real stuff. But I agree on Kant and Hegel—I wouldn’t recommend launching in on those guys first thing. Also avoid Wittgenstein until you’ve got a lot of philosophy under your belt. </p>
<p>Bertrand Russell is a major 20th century philosopher who wrote clearly and elegantly, though some of his published work is clearly aimed at a popular audience and is a little too glib, IMO. Nonetheless, worth reading and a good introduction to some important parts of the field. His little book “The Problems of Philosophy” is pitched at the newcomer to the field. It’s highly engaging and will get you quickly to grapple with some big and central philosophical issues—though Russell will of course lead you to his own answers to those questions, which you should (as with any philosopher) take with a big grain of salt, and approach with a relentlessly critical mind. You can pick it up cheap at many used bookstores, on amazon.com, or even read for free online if you like, as it appears it’s now public domain material.</p>
<p>One man’s warmed-over and dumbed-down rehashes is another man’s starting points. The biggest hurdle when starting out in philosophy is getting used to just how different it is from other subjects. You’ll have to read the same passage perhaps a dozen times to get an understanding of it. You’ll also often have to start out at a very simpified version of an idea and then work your way closer tot the “primary” text. Those who scoff simplified and dumb-downed versions are trying to show off. I studied under some of the biggest names in the field, and was never too proud to regroup at the most basic and simplified levels.</p>