Philosophy

[jejak]

Considering studying philosophy as one of my majors this year, although I know little about it (...:S.)

1) Could anyone recommend a good "intro text"? I'm looking for a broad survey of what kind of reading material I would be dealing with.

2) Could someone explain succinctly what the key differences are between analytic and continental philosophy? I've gleaned from Wiki that the analytic school tends to be clearer in style, and attributes more value to formal logic and empirical knowledge obtained from the physical sciences. Still not so clear yet.

[EvangelionZeta]

Can't answer 2 (continental philosophy?), but I'd recommend reading The Republic as an "intro text" as it's considered the greatest work of Plato.

[jejak]

Thanks for the recommendation, EvangelionZeta. Thankfully "The Republic" is available for free on Project Gutenberg, so I will give it a read. I guess it is one of those "canonical" texts that everyone's supposed to have read, anyway... so it was about time!

[Eriny]

1) I would like to recommend Hadot's 'philosophy as a way of life' just because it gives a nice overview of the ancient schools and tells you a bit more about where philosophy is today. I also think that Descartes' Meditations is well worth looking at. But really, any kind of general philosophy book you find at the Reader's Feast bookstore in the Melbourne CBD will give you a good overview of the basic problems in philosophy.

2) Analytic deals with things on a sort of logical level. Analytic philosophers seem to enjoy skepticism, common sense, utilitarianism as moral grounds for behaviour, etc. Continental is much more 'feely', in my experience it has more to do with discussing the relationships we have with other people, and having these relationships be a basis for our knowledge, our behaviour, etc. It links to anthropology quite considerably, but it's more theoretical than anthropology. For a good analytic text, I'd recommend anything by Bertrand Russel (he is a very readable philosopher). It's difficult to find a continental text that is easy to read, but some of Foucault's later works (The History of Sexuality volume 1 is available as a popular penguin) or even Judith Butler's Precarious Life: The Powers of Mourning and Violence (if you can deal with long sentences) would be good. I also find Sartre quite readable.

[jejak]

1) Thanks so much, Eriny. The Hadot recommendation is particularly appealing to me, as I have an interest in classics and intend to take "Traditional Grammar" (Latin/Ancient Greek) at ANU, so the fact that it gives some treatment to the "ancient schools" would be nice.

2) Your description of the analytic/continental differences don't seem to contradict anything I've read, thankfully; but the distinction is a bit clearer now. I have Russel's "The Problems of Philosophy" in a French/English bilingual ebook, so I'll give that a read. Frankly, Judith Butler gives me the shits, but I will try the Foucault.

Do you have a personal preference for continental over analytic, or vice versa? Or is the distinction less marked in your studies as a whole?

[dwaynebravo]

Just to add to Eriny's delineation between continental and analytical philosophy, it is necessary to understand the geographical and cultural nexus between these historical approaches to the faculty. Continental philosophy is historically identified with mainland Europe, and is typified by the condescending, metaphorical and aphoristic style of Friedrich Nietzsche. Analytical philosophy is prevalent in the US, Britain and Australia (I won't bore you with the history). Australia, in particular, is considered a leading country in the area of Philosophy of Mind; a faculty which demands rigorous analytical skills. My point being that as an Australian philosopher, you will be inculcated with the principles and edicts of analytical philosophy whether it is your preference or not. Nowadays however, continental philosophy is also considered and debated in most US, British and Australian Universities to a limtied extent. In many US and British universities continental philosophy was once banished. Moreover, it is often extremely popular with (new) students, moreso than the greatly espoused analytical school. I would recommend taking classes in continental philosophy where you can to broaden your understanding. (Eriny explained the intricacies of the actual schools perfectly).

[Eriny]

I think I prefer the ideas in continental philosophy, but I've only really done one unit devoted to it entirely. It's good to mix it up a bit.

[jejak]

Just to add to Eriny's delineation between continental and analytical philosophy, it is necessary to understand the geographical and cultural nexus between these historical approaches to the faculty.

Thanks for that information, dwaynebravo. I had assumed, given the name, that continental philosophy was the dominant style in Europe, but I wasn't aware that analytical philosophy was the accepted style in Australia, and that I would be therefore "inculcated with [it]."

Is there a reason why continental philosophy is more popular with new students? Perhaps because it places less emphasis upon formal rigour?