@Fernando phil,
Fernando;95092 wrote:Just started to hear about philosophy and wanted to get some books that aren't to harsh but that would get me an idea in what im getting into thanks a lot
One of the best introductory books I have come across when I was an undergraduate was
Twenty Questions: An introduction to Philosophy by Bowie, Michaels, and Solomon. I have the 6th edition, and I also got the instructors edition, which has additional reference information. Essentially,
Twenty Questions gives you prevalent philosophical issues, like "does religion give my life meaning" or "what does science tell me about the world." From within the context of that question, the authors produce four page essays for each topic citing about a dozen primary articles. So if you wanted to read up on the question "What is the meaning of death," you could read the essay (which are very well written and extremely cogent for beginners), and then read the supplementary material they used to prove their points. So within the previous question, you could read Plato's
The Death of Socrates, Chuang-Tzu's
A Taoist on Death, etc. etc. etc. The list goes on in that particular question, ranging from classical works to bio-ethical questions raised only in the last few years. But go look at the table of contents on amazon.com, an impressive list of primary questions.
For people with a slightly more familiar sense of basic questions in philosophy, pick up any companion series. I am very fond of Blackwell companions. I collected about half of the series, and I have never been unsatisfied with anything any of the contributors have had to say. Take for example one of my favorite Blackwell books,
A Companion To Ancient Philosophy by Gill and Pellegrin. What's wonderful about it is that the authors introduce key concepts and very in depth explanations while also linking the intellectual history of, say, cosmogony to the philosophical implications of metaphysics in a historical context. I'll say that again? they manage to provide substantial analysis for many different types of concepts as well as putting it all successfully into a historical context. I have not read many books that managed to pull this off as well as Blackwell books have, so I highly recommend it. Oxford companions are also very good, although you do not get the same type of presentation you get with Blackwell... its more for quick reference.
Honestly, I find it amusing how some on this thread are suggesting some complicated books as good introductory texts. I actually think it is counterproductive to the development of a philosophy student to read something complex without knowing anything base. It's like reading Aristotle's Metaphysics without reading Plato or Categories. Sure you can read it through and maybe repeat a few lines, but you don't understand anything substantial in the process. Learn something simple before something more complex. You end up learning more as a result. What is also a shame is that many introductory books sometimes assume that you already are familiar with the information to begin with, so the presentation is very familiar and bad for the beginner, who has not yet had the chance to become acquainted yet.
