Tag: introduction to philosophy

Can you suggest some basic, intro-to-philosophy type books for people who are interested after reading your fics? Thanks!

I honestly don’t know much about what intro texts are out there. I read What Does It All Mean? by Thomas Nagel in an intro class; it’s very short and to the point. Various people on the internet also recommend Think: A Compelling Introduction to Philosophy by Simon Blackburn.

For information on specific topics, I find the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (plato.stanford.edu) very helpful. Sometimes it can get pretty technical, though; the articles seem to be geared toward students who already have some background in philosophy and are exploring a new subfield.

Do you have recommendations of books to someone who knows nothing of philosophy and would like to learn about it? Until I read your post about Ultron and Thanos I have never heard of some terms (like consequentialism) and I would love to learn more.

My standard recommendation for introductory reading about philosophical concepts and thinkers is the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (plato.stanford.edu; it’s a memorable URL). It has helpful, accessible explanations, links to related topics, and recommendations for further reading – and it’s free! So, for example, there are articles on Consequentialism and Deontological Ethics; they give a basic summary of the concepts at the beginning, then go into more technical specifics for students and scholars.