Originally conceptualised as a curriculum of an intense 3 year long program of "classical" education (whatever that means), now I feel this is a lifelong enterprise. Discuss. What did I miss?
Lifelong Reading Plan
Originally conceptualised as a curriculum of an intense 3 year long program of "classical" education (whatever that means), now I feel this is a lifelong enterprise. Discuss. What did I miss?
>I'm ploooooooooooning
have a nice day moron
i can't read sideways
If you don't give enough of a shit to take the time to type this up in a document that is convenient to read, I'm certainly not going to give any shits to make all but the most basic observation after getting tired of tilting my head sideways, you lazy, arrogant frick.
The fact that an entire two centuries of science/whateverthefricksocialstudiesisdefiniedasnow is--during what is arguably their most explosive point of developments--three popculture figures is offensive to me, and I'd say you are a clinically uneducated moron if not for the fact that you are asking what you missed, in what I'm just going to assume is in good faith.
Briefly, I don't see:
>Jung
>Hemingway
>Hayek
>Bronte (3x)
>Hume
You'd be foolish not to be familiar with them. That's all I'm going to invest in this low-effort garbage thread. Come back when you're not going to insult fellow anons here.
It automatically got rotated 🙁
Haha. I can't seem to do anything right!
It was never meant to be western Canon.
I know this is almost spamming, but I will learn and be better next time. It was meant to be a broad level reading list and not necessarily a western canon. Of course it will be refined further as I learn more about the world. Anyway, thank you for the suggestions.
I rescind my previous harsh words. Thank you for posting
and
.
I see that much of this list is non-fiction analysis and research books. I am unfamiliar with almost all of them. The reason for this is that I much prefer to read primary sources, looking to outside works (usually history texts) for context if it is necessary. I am happy that scholars write texts about history from years and years of painstaking research--and that historical writers are held to certain standards in that community. Once you step outside of that, though, it gets messy and manipulative immediately--and that is not to say that history texts are not, but dissent against them is usually immediate and easier for a reader to perhaps sort out themselves or investigate further. So I am less concerned with what some scholar has to say about Machiavelli and how to interpret his writing, instead preferring to deeply concern myself with reading what Machiavelli actually wrote and thinking about it for myself. Conversely, there are texts that absolutely demand historical and cultural references in parallel before you can even hope to think you understand, the most obvious within my own realm of experience being The Bible, as all of the cultural context of everything in that text is gone--all of those cultures are long dead. Something like The Book of Job requires that you know things about how the Hebrews conceived of "Satan" at the time, and even still, is as bizarre and insane as it is fascinating. Jesus's instruction to "turn the other cheek, etc." becomes something radically different when contextualized with contemporary israeli and Roman law. And, though I hope you will not take offense at this notion, I have read the Quran both in its original format and a secular one that arranged the surahs in the best known chronological order, while also discussing the history of the text while Muhammad was alive and shortly after his death, and have found both useful, in different ways.
I write all of this because this endeavor of yours will most certainly fill your head with the ideas of others--that's the point. However, I would be remiss if not to take caution and be aware of the difference between filling your mind with an influential thinker's ideas, filling your mind with other people's ideas about those influential thinker's ideas, filling your mind with other people's ideas about other people's ideas about those influential thinker's ideas. To be fair, yes, that's all anyone is doing, and all of these influential thinkers are people who have simply offered ideas about other ideas--the distinction being, can you say that you read and grappled with Nietzsche's ideas if you actually read his books, or if you read a book about his books? And so on.
Also, I don't see Nietzsche.
Lastly, A Brief History of Time by Hawking is worth reading unless you have studied that field to a significant degree academically, or do so independently. It's also really good to know undergraduate mathematics and the basics of how to write a programming script. Not necessarily for the specific reasons
this ill, intellectually-neutered baiter suggests, but in part--the only real way to become an educated, enlightened man is to know much about a few things, and the rudiments of a component of everything else.
Also, this is not a project for six years. This is a project for life. Best wishes.
I’m a serial re-reader, on my 16th lap of reading the full works of H.P Lovecraft.
Have you ever considered the idea of tuning down the autism for a while and enjoy what you're reading?
It's Eliade not Elaide fricking idiot
You seem autistic enough, so I'll recommend to you: learn French, Spanish, German, Latin, Greek, Italian and Russian; then read the Western Canon in the original languages.
1) you should be able to finish in less than six years with the amount you are reading (it isn't very much)
2) start with the Gilgameshes—don't read stephen mitchell; the guy they have on the new penguin translation is good, scholarly at least
3) why are you doing this? it won't be fun for very long (source: i am doing the same thing)
3a) i am also reading Copleston and unless you're a Catholic from 70 years ago he sucks
4) the presocratics are (curiously) missing from your list
Thank you Anon. Really appreciate your advice. 🙂
1. With full time work, I may take a bit more - but if it's doable in a decade, that is an achievement I feel
2. Cool, will read Gilgamesh - know the basic story and it's influence but will read it formally
3. I honestly don't know why I am doing it. I feel I want to read atleast the 'bare basics' before forming my own idea about the world. I am an Indian Muslim and would like to know where I belong in this world. Want to know what it is to be an Indian - what is the heritage and the baggage I carry from my ancestors. I am a Muslim - want to understand what it takes to be one - also want to understand what bias I carry with me when I look at the world through this lens. Also, just want to dip into the ideas and thoughts of men far greater than I am. Like I said, I don't know.
3a. Copleston is a bit heavy (read bits of the medieval philosophy volume) - I plan mostly to just read Antony Kenny and supplement it with Copleston for interesting themes
4. I want to reserve the Pre Socrates for a later stage in my life where I would want to also read the Vedas and Upanishads along with them. From what I know till now, they are a bit more obscure.
>What did I miss?
Seems good if your goal is to be a mindless spouter of references. You should treat reading as a means not a goal though. And no you won't became wiser from reading philosophy
IMO you people are mentally ill. I don't think I've ever read a book I actually planned to read. Even if I sit down to read planned reading, I will just read something else instead that I actually feel like reading.
>being disciplined is now mentally ill
I don't know what else to call a "lifelong reading plan" except mental illness.
describe something that is not mentally ill to you
Just read something you find interesting.
so did you just assoome that OP won't find the books he's reading to be interesting
I can say that I'm interested in kafka after reading something from him, so I decide to make a plan to finish his works in a finite course of time.
OPs plan is exactly similar to the above condition with only difference being the magnitude
also, are you a NEET ?
If you find a book interesting you'd just read it, anon, not put it on a list.
And yes, I am currently a NEET for technical reasons. NEETdom ends this autumn.
Read these instead
Principles of C++ by Bjarne Stroustrup
Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs
Art of Computer Programming
Any book on Calculus, Probability Theory, Statistics and Linear Algebra (maybe complex analysis)
Now you can contribute to AI. Participate in the grandest human endeavour now, instead of wasting yourself and wallowing in old b.s.
You're welcome
0/10 bait, bug
>Participate in the grandest human endeavour now
Human beings building AI reminds me of that Dadaist machine built last century whose sole mechanical function was to unplug itself.
>AI programming
>No python
My favorite philosophy author "Roman". Add Herodotus. Also ignore Indian shit until you know Western lit well. It would be better to focus on learning Greek or Latin.
Oh I just read that you're a Pajeet nevermind.
This is some heavy-duty autism. If you'll do it, that'll be impressive. However, most likely, you won't.