a question I get asked all the time by
people that are interested in philosophy
is where do I start and I was actually
online last night chatting to this
really sweet Italian girl and she was
asking me for a reading list and you
know where should she start looking so
Amelia and anybody else who might be
interested I have put together some
suggestions for you but before I do go
into that I just wanted to say one thing
that I really think you need when you’re
starting out in philosophy and that is
just to lose the fear I think that
philosophy is surrounded by this really
unhelpful mystique and respect and for
me I just think try and ditch all that
and relax some things I always tell
myself things like it’s okay to find the
subject boring and even silly in parts
and it’s alright not to understand
everything because philosophers don’t
know at all and your grandma’s probably
as wise as a philosopher in many ways so
to get going on the subject I’ve
recommended for books and for me these
just really opened my mind
the first one is called to the conquest
of happiness by this guy called Bertrand
Russell and it’s a really lovely book
that shows us how thinking can help you
deal with things in life that you can’t
control
it actually says that a lot of our
unhappiness comes from the way that we
approach things so for example if you go
into a relationship thinking this
person’s going to understand everything
I do and I’m going to be permanently
satisfied then you’re probably going to
have more trouble than somebody who just
accepts that being a bit unhappy at
times is all part of life
the book is full of really wise advice
from this philosopher who lived to a
ripe old age and used his experience to
try and save us some time another great
book is the consolations of philosophy
by Alain de Botton now this book takes
you through the life and work of six
great philosophers it’s got chapters on
Socrates Epicurus Seneca contain
Schopenhauer and Nietzsche in each case
de Botton asks how can these
philosophers help us with our lives
today so job and how is says some really
fascinating things about our love lives
or Seneca is the guy you turn to and
you’re feeling angry and so on the book
is just really well-written is funny and
wise and it’s actually got some great
pictures in it as well I think when you
finish it you’ll have a real basic
understanding of the history of
philosophy a third title that I really
really adore is by Erich Fromm and it’s
called the art of loving this is the one
that will really get you philosophizing
about relationships I read it when I was
17 and it definitely changed the way
that I look at relationships basically
from says that love isn’t the thing that
movies and songs tell us it is it’s an
effort to understand another human being
to sympathize and forgive them being in
love for from primarily means putting
your own needs aside to enter the life
of somebody else’s so if somebody does
giving you from one an early date it’s a
very good sign indeed the last book I
recommend is 5 million
and it’s called The Unbearable Lightness
of being now this one is actually a
novel but it’s profoundly philosophical
one and it looks ideas from Nietzsche
about fate destiny and responsibility
the great thing about this book is that
it’s really gripping and you’ll want to
know what happened to the characters and
really care about them but it’s also
quite thought-provoking and stimulating
you’ll probably finish it in tears I
mean I can speak to anyone for days when
I finished it it just left me so blown
away and really melancholy and
thoughtful so those are my four
recommendations for anyone starting out
the conquest of happiness the
consolations of philosophy the arts of
loving and The Unbearable Lightness of
being but one thing I don’t want people
to forget is that more than any book
philosophy is about an attitude it’s
about not wanting to accept things the
way they are it’s about questioning
everything asking why our relationships
the way they are how can we make
politics better why is it that we look
at money the way that we do and what is
the meaningful job for me a philosopher
ultimately isn’t just somebody who’s
read a lot of books or has a degree from
an impressive sounding university it’s
anyone with an open curious and restless
mind and quite frankly those are the
people I love more than anything and
they are the true everyday philosophers
I think we need a lot more of them a
fascinating and deeply unmodern idea
what’s even more interesting is how the
ideas changed throughout history after
it was trying to sort of explain some of
the concepts I came across on my journey as a philosophy student and maybe
people that are interested in philosophy
is where do I start and I was actually
online last night chatting to this
really sweet Italian girl and she was
asking me for a reading list and you
know where should she start looking so
Amelia and anybody else who might be
interested I have put together some
suggestions for you but before I do go
into that I just wanted to say one thing
that I really think you need when you’re
starting out in philosophy and that is
just to lose the fear I think that
philosophy is surrounded by this really
unhelpful mystique and respect and for
me I just think try and ditch all that
and relax some things I always tell
myself things like it’s okay to find the
subject boring and even silly in parts
and it’s alright not to understand
everything because philosophers don’t
know at all and your grandma’s probably
as wise as a philosopher in many ways so
to get going on the subject I’ve
recommended for books and for me these
just really opened my mind
the first one is called to the conquest
of happiness by this guy called Bertrand
Russell and it’s a really lovely book
that shows us how thinking can help you
deal with things in life that you can’t
control
it actually says that a lot of our
unhappiness comes from the way that we
approach things so for example if you go
into a relationship thinking this
person’s going to understand everything
I do and I’m going to be permanently
satisfied then you’re probably going to
have more trouble than somebody who just
accepts that being a bit unhappy at
times is all part of life
the book is full of really wise advice
from this philosopher who lived to a
ripe old age and used his experience to
try and save us some time another great
book is the consolations of philosophy
by Alain de Botton now this book takes
you through the life and work of six
great philosophers it’s got chapters on
Socrates Epicurus Seneca contain
Schopenhauer and Nietzsche in each case
de Botton asks how can these
philosophers help us with our lives
today so job and how is says some really
fascinating things about our love lives
or Seneca is the guy you turn to and
you’re feeling angry and so on the book
is just really well-written is funny and
wise and it’s actually got some great
pictures in it as well I think when you
finish it you’ll have a real basic
understanding of the history of
philosophy a third title that I really
really adore is by Erich Fromm and it’s
called the art of loving this is the one
that will really get you philosophizing
about relationships I read it when I was
17 and it definitely changed the way
that I look at relationships basically
from says that love isn’t the thing that
movies and songs tell us it is it’s an
effort to understand another human being
to sympathize and forgive them being in
love for from primarily means putting
your own needs aside to enter the life
of somebody else’s so if somebody does
giving you from one an early date it’s a
very good sign indeed the last book I
recommend is 5 million
and it’s called The Unbearable Lightness
of being now this one is actually a
novel but it’s profoundly philosophical
one and it looks ideas from Nietzsche
about fate destiny and responsibility
the great thing about this book is that
it’s really gripping and you’ll want to
know what happened to the characters and
really care about them but it’s also
quite thought-provoking and stimulating
you’ll probably finish it in tears I
mean I can speak to anyone for days when
I finished it it just left me so blown
away and really melancholy and
thoughtful so those are my four
recommendations for anyone starting out
the conquest of happiness the
consolations of philosophy the arts of
loving and The Unbearable Lightness of
being but one thing I don’t want people
to forget is that more than any book
philosophy is about an attitude it’s
about not wanting to accept things the
way they are it’s about questioning
everything asking why our relationships
the way they are how can we make
politics better why is it that we look
at money the way that we do and what is
the meaningful job for me a philosopher
ultimately isn’t just somebody who’s
read a lot of books or has a degree from
an impressive sounding university it’s
anyone with an open curious and restless
mind and quite frankly those are the
people I love more than anything and
they are the true everyday philosophers
I think we need a lot more of them a
fascinating and deeply unmodern idea
what’s even more interesting is how the
ideas changed throughout history after
it was trying to sort of explain some of
the concepts I came across on my journey as a philosophy student and maybe
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