Question How can I achieve the level of philosophical know-how and thinking ability that the philosophers of this site and the famous philosophers throughout history have had? Must I simply read many works of philosophers of the past, does the philosophical mind come with becoming more educated, or is there something else - a thought process or state of mind I must develop? Or is it an innate quality that people get at birth? I am eager to know because I have been reading much philosophical work lately and I very strongly desire to be a philosopher. and I want to write a book. Thanks, Jake - 15 yr. old

Accepted:
February 17, 2008

Comments

Well, Jake, it is flattering that you put the philosophers on this site on the same level as the famous philosophers of the past! But I don't think we quite deserve that. And maybe, indeed, what separates us from those all-time greats is some quality of mind that we're never going to acquire, however hard we work -- something innate, if you like.

But let's not worry about trying to emulate the great: let's take your question to be one about how to get modestly competent at philosophy (like your average philosophy professor here). The short answer is: by reading, and thinking, and discussing. A lot. It is no good reading without thinking hard about what you are reading, trying your best to understand and critically evaluate the arguments as you go. It is no good just thinking without reading, or you will almost inevitably just re-invent various tempting views that are now well known to be horribly problematic: you need all the help you can get to avoid the pitfalls. And even if you read and think and read and think, it won't be much fun if you never get round to discussing the problems that bug you with others (either face-to-face or over the internet), and you'll learn a great deal that way too.

And what to read, to start you off? Well that depends what you are interested in. But my advice would be to steer very well away from the great philosophers of the past for a few years (most of whom are very difficult to get your head round, in part because the passage of time -- thousands of years in the case of the Greeks -- makes it very difficult to see "where they are coming from"). There are nowadays lots of wonderful introductory books which are accessible without distorting the subject -- for example, Simon Blackburn's Think. Start with books like that. Follow up their suggestions. Look around at university philosophy department websites too, which often have lists of other books suggested for beginners. See what excites you. Here's a list I put together a few years ago that needs updating but might still be useful.

Good luck!