How To Read, Understand And Evaluate Philosophical Books
Reading philosophical books is a challenging task, as you need to constantly question the content critically. Philosophical books help train your critical and logical thinking skills, while also opening new perspectives, ideas, and insights on various topics. Moreover, philosophical books can assist you in choosing your values, principles, and behaviors.
Reflecting on Philosophical Books
While reading, reflect on the theories and arguments presented in the book. Strive to understand them thoroughly and view them from different perspectives. Then, try to explain these concepts to yourself in your own words. After that, seek out further arguments, examples, or evidence that support the theory. At the same time, you should look for counterexamples and contradictions and, if possible, work to refute them. It’s also helpful to take notes on your reflections. This process allows you to determine if the presented theories and arguments are, in your view, correct and meaningful.
Organizing Philosophical Thoughts
Once you have understood and reflected on the philosophical ideas from a book, you can search for alternative opinions, perspectives, and viewpoints. You might develop your own ideas or draw connections to other philosophers. Therefore, it is extremely useful to read several philosophical books by different authors on the same topic. This type of reading is known as syntopical reading, where you read multiple books on a particular subject simultaneously. By doing so, you gain access to various theories on a topic or question, which you can then compare. You should contrast the arguments for or against each theory and define which theory makes the most sense to you. For example, you might ask yourself what would happen if every person behaved according to a particular theory. You may also find multiple authors who support the same theory. In this case, the various descriptions and arguments supporting the theory can aid in a deeper understanding of the concept.
Summarizing Philosophical Books
After reading philosophical books, summarize the presented theories and arguments in writing. You can use the Feynman technique for this, aiming to describe the concept as simply and clearly as possible. You can also incorporate your own ideas and thoughts on the concept and refer to other philosophers.
Another way to explain and evaluate theories is by writing an essay. This essay should be structured with an introduction, a main body, and a conclusion. In the introduction, you present the respective theory. In the main body, describe the primary argument supporting the theory, the strongest counterargument to it, and a response that seeks to refute the counterargument. In the conclusion, draw a final inference, which particularly depends on whether you succeeded in refuting the counterargument.
Applying Philosophical Concepts
If you find a philosophical idea meaningful, you should adapt your behavior accordingly. Define the concept as precisely as possible and formulate rules to adhere to it. You can then apply these philosophical concepts using Franklin’s virtue plan and develop them as habits. Aim to follow the concept without exception for at least one week. If you do happen to break the new habit, mark a point in your virtue plan and attempt it again the following week.
