5 Interesting Philosophy Books - Continental Edition

A book recommendation video based on 5 books that chart through the basics of modern philosophical development.

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[hiphopatitis]

1:20 - Lovers of Philosophy, Warren Ward
3:06 - Wittgenstein's Antiphilosophy, Alain Badiou
4:39 - At the Existentialist Cafe, Sarah Bakewell / Albert Camus and the Human Crisis, Robert Meagher
6:23 - An Event Perhaps, Peter Salmon
7:59 - What is Philosophy, Félix Guattari and Gilles Deleuze

[PoemsAreHistory]

PLATO is actually a great start. His ‘books’ are really just conversations between characters. So easy to get caught up into, and he lays out all the questions that philosophers, even up to today, grapple with.

Cheers :)

[rachelb]

I wasn’t really interested in philosophy at first. But after following you for quite a while, it made me want to start! Will definitely check this list out… Thanks Robin!

[DeidreaDeWitt]

As a philosophy major, I recommend:
1 - Philosophy 101 by Paul Klienman
2 - Philosophy of the Mind: A Beginner's Guide by Ian Ravenscroft
3 - First Meditations by Descartes
4 - Epistemology by Fumerton
5 - The Analects by Confucius

Online, use the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, and Crash Course Philosophy. Both are great for ultra beginners.

[sophiaisabelle]

We appreciate the consistency and dedication you’ve invested into all of your videos. May God bless you.

[folgee]

Republic and the last days of Socrates (both by Plato) is what got me into philosophy

[hawctalks]

recently read At the Existentialist Cafe for my philosophy degree and can attest to how great of a book it was. Definitley adding some of these to my 'to be read' list. Great content!

[BrandonsBookshelf]

Wonderful list! I love the recs, have read 3 of them and will check out the other two!

[JoeAdams]

History of Philosophy by Frederick Copleston is a fundamental read so that you know where philosophical thinking came from and how it changed over 1000's of years. - 11 volumes and very comprehensive that ends around the 1960's. You'll get all of the major thinkers.

[Bookademy]

Just came across your channel. Great job, Robin! Thank you

[merszy]

I'm a newbie in philosophy, but I decided to just pick whatever I find interesting and read it, while reading the historical background beforehand, great video :)

[joellak]

I read Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder (at like 17). It was a very gentle and engaging intro to philosophy for me. Now that I'm a bit 'older' I like reading the 'actual' philosophy books now, too. Thanks for the recs!

[cosmicdonkey]

I read At the Existentialist Cafe a few years ago, and it made me fall in love with existentialism and phenomonology!

[marianhreads]

This is helpful! I find these more recent philosophers intimidating to tackle... saving this video for future reference.

[tropamediocre]

For spanish speakers I recommend "Lecciones preliminares de filosofía" by Emanuel García Morente. That book does a good job tackling most modern philosophical currents. The only problem is that it was made in the late 1930s so it does not contain that much about existentialism and nothing about postmodernism. I still recommend it tho...

[motivemystic]

Wow, what a fantastic video! As someone who loves philosophy, I found your recommendations extremely helpful. I've actually read a few of these books myself, and they truly opened my mind to a whole new way of thinking. Thank you so much for sharing this insightful list with us! Can't wait to dive into the ones I haven't read yet, especially with a cup of coffee by my side!

[Sazad]

Recommended books;

1: Lovers of philosophy.
2: Anti-philosophy.
3: At the existentialist cafe +Albert Camus and human crisis.
4: An event perhaps.
5: what is philosophy?

[PedroKrick]

Thomas Aquinas commentaries on aristotle's Metaphysics is a great one too, it has basically the full original text of metaphysics and after each section there's like 3 times more text of Aquinas explaining the passages, it was a great book to help me understand the basics of ontology, and since the original Metaphysics wasn't meant to be "published" it isn't the most friendly book to read so all the commentaries are almost essential (at least read the 1st and 4th books, alpha and gamma)

[Laidback_]

Thanks for the list. Been listening to War and peace at work which is 60 hours 😐, when im done there I'll start with one of these or something from Plato. Watched a few vids about guys like Nietzsche and Baruch spinoza and i gotta admit those guys are hard to follow at times, but i enjoy being open minded when it comes to perspectives and learning stuff.

[shabalaogrreeetzel.]

If one is opposed to reading books, or if they don't have the time to read, try looking up video summaries on the history of Philosophy. Start off with how Philosophy came to be, what its problems are, how it evolved n' all that. It's a pretty great introductory to Philosophy and is how I got started on it myself. I don't really agree with the notion that Philosophy is hard to undertake or "get right." since it's a really mashed-up subject in general. Cuz the thing is, there isn't a way of getting Philosophy right, there are only ways you can get Philosophy wrong, which leaves room for different Philosophical interpretations. Hence, so long as one chooses a suitable material for themselves, Philosophy should be a nice undertaking.