Suggestions: Wanted

[Anvil]

As of late I've been very into Friedrich Nietzsche's work, and I was hoping that maybe a few of you (Derek, speed, infoterror, etc.) would be able to suggest a few other writers I may want to check out. I'm in search of just general philosophical writings. If you could possibly tell me the writer, and then a general synopsis on him; maybe a suggestion towards a single book, or maybe a few, I'd be much obliged.

 

[Norsemaiden]

No other philosopher can beat Nietzsche, but there's a site where you could quickly research 188 philosophers (which I should do myself ASAP to get a wider knowledge). The link won't work but it is top of the list if you google: philosophers.

 

[derek]

David Hume is my personal favourite.

A (rather fat) man who published some of the greatest philosophical works I can imagine. His work covered a large spectrum of ideas and I consider him required reading for anyone interested in philosophy. His work, while eloquent, can be hard going for us modern users of English. I'd recommend the pillars that are "enquiries concerning human understanding" "and a treatise of human nature"

This link should help explore the man a tad more: Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: David Hume

If it is the style of Nietzche you appreciate then I recommend the works of Plato, as interesting in a literary sense as well as philosophical. My favourites remain: The Republic, Defence of Socrates and the Gorgias.

My philosophical knowledge with respect to good reading is somewhat limited. Speed, Infoterror, Cythraul and ARC_150 should be able to help alot more

 

[speed]

If you liked Nietzsche, the obvious next reading for you should be Schopenhauer's The World as Will and Idea.

 

[derek]

If you liked Nietzsche, the obvious next reading for you should be Schopenhauer's The World as Will and Idea.

*Smacks self for not thinking of that...*

 

[speed]

As of late I've been very into Friedrich Nietzsche's work, and I was hoping that maybe a few of you (Derek, speed, infoterror, etc.) would be able to suggest a few other writers I may want to check out. I'm in search of just general philosophical writings. If you could possibly tell me the writer, and then a general synopsis on him; maybe a suggestion towards a single book, or maybe a few, I'd be much obliged.

Now if you are a real big fan of Nietzsche, and a lover of the heights of humanity, then you should read Nietzsche's favorite book Conversations with Goethe by J Eckermann: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0306808811/sr=8-1/qid=1142812563/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-9770761-7963148?%5Fencoding=UTF8

A delightful and inspiring book, one of the true greats Ive ever come across. Nietszche uses this book as sort of a spring board for the Zarathustra character. Goethe is in many ways, the man he was thinking of, and throughout the book, he urges his young star struck disciple to be himself.

Also, Nietzsche's philosophy that is not derived from Schopenhauer, is drawn from the 19th century Swiss writer and historian Jacob Burckhardt. Burckhardt wrote The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy, in which he essentially coined the term Renaissance and much of what we still perceive it to be today. He also conceived of this idea of the humanistic uber man that he discovered amongst the Renaissance thinkers. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/014044534X/qid=1142812658/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/104-9770761-7963148?s=books&v=glance&n=283155

A true classic, and a reminder of how history used to be written: honeyed ryhtmic passages of creative historical and philosophical insight. His Age of Constantine the Great is a classic as well.

 

[En Vind Av Sorg]

Julius Evola is another I would recommend to fans of Nietzsche's work. Im sure most around here are familiar with his work, "Revolt Against the Modern World" is considered his best publication by many.

 

[derek]

I have a canadian friend who recorded him self reciting the entire works of Evola.

I laugh when he says "epoch".

 

[Anvil]

Is anyone Familiar with anything from Aristotle, Socrates, or Sigmund Freud? Would it be worth the trouble to seek out works from these people?

Examples would be as such;

Civilization and its Discontents - Sigmund Freud
The Nicomachean Ethics - Aristotle
The Last Days of Socrates - Plato

 

[speed]

Is anyone Familiar with anything from Aristotle, Socrates, or Sigmund Freud? Would it be worth the trouble to seek out works from these people?

Examples would be as such;

Civilization and its Discontents - Sigmund Freud
The Nicomachean Ethics - Aristotle
The Last Days of Socrates - Plato

Those are all good. Socrates of course, never wrote anything, and Plato put his words in his mouth. so you'd be getting a Platonic version of him. I like a book by Luis Navia on Socrates. There was a thread I discussed all of this in the past.

 

[derek]

I tend to prefer the political side of Aristotle a great deal more. His theory of historical and constitutional change within his Politics is the kind of big picture sort of thinking I tend to enjoy. Meta-Narratives are my thing

 

[Cythraul]

I tend to feel a bit indifferent towards Nietzsche and his philosophy these days. I should go back and read all his books. After all, they're just sitting there on my bookshelf collecting dust, waiting to be reread.

Anyway, being the good, rigour-obsessed student of analytic philosophy that I am (google "analytic philosophy") I'll just recommend the later works of Wittgenstein and maybe Hilary Putnam. I don't know, I think some of their later ideas take some influence from Nietzsche. Keep in mind that not many philosophers (actually, none that I know of) have any truck with, or at least don't discuss that concept of "slave morality" that Nietzsche put so much stock in.

I would really like to convert you to analytic philosophy, but I don't feel like wasting my time explaining the virtues of said tradition. Anyway, Nietzsche does touch on some perennial questions and he does have some valuable insights here and there, but from what I remember he just takes a lot of really controversial positions for granted, without any real argument.

Oh and maybe you should read some Foucault. From what I've read Foucault took Nietzsche's historicist approach pretty seriously.

 

[Cythraul]

David Hume is my personal favourite.

A (rather fat) man who published some of the greatest philosophical works I can imagine. His work covered a large spectrum of ideas and I consider him required reading for anyone interested in philosophy. His work, while eloquent, can be hard going for us modern users of English. I'd recommend the pillars that are "enquiries concerning human understanding" "and a treatise of human nature"

Right on. I second this recommendation. I had the fortune to take a class this semester from a noted Hume scholar which completely focused on the philosophy of John Locke and David Hume. Hume is great, but he's quite a bit easier to read than John Locke. But yeah, Hume has been a HUGE influence on philosophy in the english-speaking world. *high five*

 

[Consuming Impulse]

I know a good philosopher here is some of his greatest quotes:
"Pretty women make us BUY beer. Ugly women make us DRINK beer."
"A man's home is his coffin. "
"The opera isn't over until the last heterosexual falls asleep."
"People who work putting shoes on fat women who wear dresses should not have 20/20 vision. "
"Women. Can't live with 'em - The End."
"A man is a man all of his life. And a women's only sexy 'til she becomes your wife."
"It's only cheating if you get caught"

His name is Al Bundy.

 

[Anvil]

I know a good philosopher here is some of his greatest quotes:
"Pretty women make us BUY beer. Ugly women make us DRINK beer."
"A man's home is his coffin. "
"The opera isn't over until the last heterosexual falls asleep."
"People who work putting shoes on fat women who wear dresses should not have 20/20 vision. "
"Women. Can't live with 'em - The End."
"A man is a man all of his life. And a women's only sexy 'til she becomes your wife."
"It's only cheating if you get caught"

His name is Al Bundy.

*slaps you.*

 

[Consuming Impulse]

*slaps you.*

*nearly kills you*

 

[ARC150]

David Hume is my personal favourite.

Dig.
Hume tempers thought with perspective.

You mentioned Freud's Civilization and its Discontents - this is the one to read.

Also (and my pardon if it was already listed), Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit (aka Phenomenology of Mind) - in particular, the Master/Slave Dialectic.

That said, Nietzche is often type-cast (if such a term is applicable)...what about his writings would you like to explore further?

 

[speed]

Dig.
Hume tempers thought with perspective.

You mentioned Freud's Civilization and its Discontents - this is the one to read.

Also (and my pardon if it was already listed), Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit (aka Phenomenology of Mind) - in particular, the Master/Slave Dialectic.

That said, Nietzche is often type-cast (if such a term is applicable)...what about his writings would you like to explore further?

I totally agree with you on Nietszche. Most seem to be focused on the Antichrist or parts of Zarathustra, but are totally oblivious to the rest of his works. Personally, I'd start with his Philosophy in the Tragic Age of the Greekshttp://www.geocities.com/thenietzschechannel/ptra.htm One would be surprised how much--if not all--of his philosophy is derived from his classical pre-socratic studies as discussed in this book.

Its funny he died pretty much a failure; but now, he's the poster child for disaffected youth's with short attention spans and shallow rebellious minds everywhere.

 

[speed]

I tend to feel a bit indifferent towards Nietzsche and his philosophy these days. I should go back and read all his books. After all, they're just sitting there on my bookshelf collecting dust, waiting to be reread.

Anyway, being the good, rigour-obsessed student of analytic philosophy that I am (google "analytic philosophy") I'll just recommend the later works of Wittgenstein and maybe Hilary Putnam. I don't know, I think some of their later ideas take some influence from Nietzsche. Keep in mind that not many philosophers (actually, none that I know of) have any truck with, or at least don't discuss that concept of "slave morality" that Nietzsche put so much stock in.

I would really like to convert you to analytic philosophy, but I don't feel like wasting my time explaining the virtues of said tradition. Anyway, Nietzsche does touch on some perennial questions and he does have some valuable insights here and there, but from what I remember he just takes a lot of really controversial positions for granted, without any real argument.

Oh and maybe you should read some Foucault. From what I've read Foucault took Nietzsche's historicist approach pretty seriously.

I second the Wittgenstein recommendation, and would like to add Henri Bergson to the list as well. Also--from a non-analytical perspective--Camus' The Rebel is a brilliant anaylsis of politics, contemporary humanism, society, religion etc. I actually find it much more applicable to contemporary life than any analytical philosophy. I should really re-read it, because Camus understood the Muslim way of thinking, and the nihilstic fanatic terrorist way of thinking, better than any philosopher I've come across. I think because of his ALgerian upbringing, and the fact he was a fiction writer and dramatist, he understood people better than most any philosopher Ive read.

 

[ARC150]

Its funny he died pretty much a failure; but now, he's the poster child for disaffected youth's with short attention spans and shallow rebellious minds everywhere.

Ha!
Absolutely.