CALLING ALL PHILOSOPHY PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!?

Question

I am 16 yrs. old and I am starting to be really intrigued in Phil.

Where do I start?!?

What class can I get closest to in High school to it?!?

Thanks.

=D

Answer 1

G Stay away from the old greek guys. They never get off their dichotomies. Get some works by Daisaku Ikeda. He practices what he teaches and is vastly successful.

Answer 2

There is a wonderful introduction to philosophy in the bargain bin at Barnes and Noble!  a series of lectures on CD entitled "Eternal Questions, Timeless Approaches". the professor is Colin McQuinn (fine accent and a good speaker).

(It never sold well so what was originally I think 60 bucks is now about 15).

good luck, we can use more open minds here!

Answer 3

Check out this online course at Yale. Its meant for college freshmen--but it will give you a good intro to philosophy. And the teacher of the course is a great lecturer.

Answer 4

In high school, I would take English classes that have philosophical texts. If you have World Literature or any AP English literature class, those would be good. Usually, when you discuss themes or meanings from literary texts, there are always philosophical underpinnings. Your teacher might not say outright that this is philosophical, but to be philosophical is quite simply to questions precepts, assumptions, and premises. Sometimes, like in my AP English class, we had a philosophy unit. Look under class descriptions--if there is anything about postmodernism--that is quite a philosophical topic. But really, you can find philosophical issues in any English class. I wouldn't recommend psychology because I consider psychology more of a science--you learn supposed definitions of truth, but you don't really have a chance to question them (at least, not in my high school psychology class). Outside of school, you might want to check out Sophie's World--it's a book about a girl who gets letters from a mysterious man who introduces her mostly all philosophical movements. Or find some general philosophy books at your local library.

Answer 5

There are a lot of books. Will Durant is an author to read. Actually, anything in your school library that looks interesting is a good place to start. Usually there are little books called "primers," that give just the basic background on philosophers or philosophies.

But the one I found most helpful separated the topics--by topic! Most books take each philosopher as a chapter, then boringly tell you about him, and by the time you are deep into the next philosopher you forgot what the first one said.

So the topics book is called the Syntopicon. It is Volumes II and III of a series called The Great Books of the Western World.

The nice thing about the Syntopicon is that you can choose a topic of your interest and see what everyone had to say about it, and they keep the chapters short.

Answer 6

The school that I went to had a class dedicated to speech and debate. I was called "forensics" (not CSI forensic science). See if that's available.

Take a look at that, or see if there is a debate club, specifically if they are doing "Lincoln / Douglas" Debating.