How to think about the great ideas

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1. wirthjasonFeb 2022
   It depends what you are reading and why. Check out “How to Read A Book” by Mortimer Adler. The book is quite old but still extremely relevant. (He’s one of the best philosophers/thinkers I’ve ever read BTW. I suggest “How To Think About The Great Ideas”, but that’s for another topic.)

   On the subject of note taking a professor once told me “don’t take notes, make notes”. Note taking is basically writing down what the author (lecturer) says. In college so many people would just blindly copy what the professor wrote on the board. That is note “taking”. Note “making” is adding you’re thoughts: what is the author saying (in my words) and do I agree with the ideas? What would other authors think, are there counter points, supporting examples, etc. Is this point elaborated elsewhere in the book? What terms, words, or concepts need more explanation?

   I found this blog (https://fs.blog/how-to-read-a-book/) it has a good summary of Adler’s ideas. For example, on using the margins in a book:

       When you buy a book, you establish a property right in it, just as you do in clothes or furniture when you buy and pay for them. But the act of purchase is actually only the prelude to possession in the case of a book. Full ownership of a book only comes when you have made it a part of yourself, and the best way to make yourself a part of it— which comes to the same thing— is by writing in it.
   
       Why is marking a book indispensable to reading it? First, it keeps you awake— not merely conscious, but wide awake. Second, reading, if it is active, is thinking, and thinking tends to express itself in words, spoken or written. The person who says he knows what he thinks but cannot express it usually does not know what he thinks. Third, writing your reactions down helps you to remember the thoughts of the author.
   
       Reading a book should be a conversation between you and the author. Presumably, he knows more about the subject than you do; if not, you probably should not be bothering with his book. But understanding is a two-way operation; the learner has to question himself and question the teacher. He even has to be willing to argue with the teacher, once he understands what the teacher is saying. Marking a book is literally an expression of your differences or your agreements with the author. It is the highest respect you can pay him.

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2. wirthjasonDec 2020
   The best book for this is “How To Think About The Great Ideas” by Mortimer Adler. I studied philosophy undergrad and ran the philosophy club. We used a lot of material from this book to structure our meetings.

   Many people have mentioned taking a class (I agree too) where you can engage in a conversation. This book’s content is transcribed from a series of TV shows with Adler, the host having a back and forth dialog with questions coming from audience. Adler speaks in a way that makes complicated ideas in a way a child could grasp. This book accomplishments the classroom setting.

   The second reason is that the content is structured about ideas. Chapters are broken down into “How to think about law”, “How to think about freedom”, “How to think about love”, “How to think about philosophy”, etc. I find survey books with this organization much better say diving into a book by a major philosopher. This way you can jump around and read the chapters that interest you first, coming back to the others later.

   I’ll close with two quotes from my favorite philosophy professor.

   “I know how much you know not by the answers you give but by the questions you ask.”

   “Philosophy is the subject that when ALL thinking is done, there’s still more thinking.”

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3. jason_wirthDec 2017
   Mortimer Adler's "How To Think About The Great Ideas"

   I got a degree in philosophy and its the single best general book I've ever read.

   The book is actually a transcription of a TV show he did and its in dialogue form.

   The structure is broken up into a bunch of mini chapters that are "how to think about _______". Like how to think about love, how to think about government, etc.

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4. steven5122Sep 2011
   Mortimer Adler has written some philosophy books that are accessible, like How to Think About the Great Ideas: From the Great Books of Western Civilization.

   http://www.amazon.com/How-Think-About-Great-Ideas/dp/0812694...

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