From: amnell@klaava.Helsinki.FI (Marko Amnell)
Newsgroups: sci.philosophy.meta
Subject: Re: Request for intro's to philosophy
Date: 14 Sep 92 20:43:06 GMT
Organization: University of Helsinki

More recommendations for introductory reading in philosophy, at random
and in no particular order:

Hilary Putnam's essays, eg. his latest collection, _Realism with a Human
Face_ or his _Philosophical Papers_ in three volumes.  Putnam's work
can be technical but _Realism_ is on ethics, and general philosophy.
I don't agree with many of his views, but Putnam always expresses
himself clearly.  Several non-philosopher friends of mine liked his
new book.

For a 'grand synthesis' in the Analytical tradition of Russell and Quine,
try John Post's _The Faces of Existence_.  Post comes pretty close to
matching my own views on many points.  Some parts of his book are
technical, but Randall has already suggested Russell and Whitehead!
Putnam's own synthesis is called _Reason, Truth and History_.  Another
Harvard Professor also has a synthesis out:  Robert Nozick's
_Philosophical Explanations_.

In the philosophy of science, don't miss Kuhn's _The Structure of
Scientific Revolutions_.  Kuhn is confused and misleading but this is
a classic.  In this group, I would add technical works by Van Fraassen,
(The Scientific Image, Laws and Symmetry, Quantum Mechanics) 
who is an anti-realist but all the better to read for a realist.
Philosophy is about learning how to refute the enemy!

In the philosophy of language, if this interests you, read Kripke's 
_Naming and Necessity_.  This is a classic in the same way as Kuhn,
and has stood the test of time (20 years) quite well.  There is a
huge literature in this field, but Kripke's lectures are not too
hard for a beginner to understand.

If you are interested in logic, the best history is Kneale and Kneale's
_The Development of Logic_.  In philosophy of logic a good intro is
Susan Haack's _Philosophy of Logics_.  In phil of math, the standard
essay collection is edited by Hilary Putnam and Paul Benacearraf.  In
logic itself a good (technical) textbook is Bell&Machover's _A Course
in Mathematical Logic_.  Original papers in 20th century logic are
collected in a standard sourcebook edited by Van Heijenoort, _From
Frege to Goedel_.

I also recommend the Penguin Classics.  A book I recently plugged in another
newsgroup is a collection of fragments _Early Greek Philosophy_ ed.
Jonathan Barnes.  These are the earliest writings in Western Philosophy.
Absolutely fascinating.  One place to start to understand them is
Heidegger's essays, many translated into English.  These essays on
Greek thought are not as 'scary' as _Being and Time_.  Another German
magnum opus you might look at is Gadamer's _Truth and Method_ the
grand-daddy of the modern hermeneutical movement.

Stay clear of the new French philosophers like Derrida or Foucault,
unless you read them in French.  Philosophy for the French is 90% style
and rhetoric -- even the best translations are a silly attempt to
distill non-existent ideas from their prose.  There are Analytical
philosophers in France, like Pascal Engel, but they are not well
known outside France.

And actually, if you really like reading French writers, read Sartre's
novels (not _Being and Nothingness_ the most boring drivel ever
written).  My favourite French writer is Boris Vian, a wonderfully
Surrealistic genius; he also established the first Jazz Club in Paris and
wrote lovely songs that are still popular today.  But Vian was my
spitting image, so I've always been prejudiced to like his work. :-)


-- 
Marko Amnell
amnell@klaava.helsinki.fi
Graduate Student in Philosophy
Newsgroups: sci.philosophy.meta