Philosophy discussion
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Adding to the Bookshelf
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A good idea but I haven' figured out how divide my own books according to topic.
After reading Thomas Flynn's "Existentialism, A Very Short Introduction" I sort of lost interest in Sartre as he seemed to have doubts about his own writing. However I did pick up " The Second Sex" by Simone DeBeauvoir. She seemed to be into sexuality and socialization. Being French I will probably find it confusing.
After reading Thomas Flynn's "Existentialism, A Very Short Introduction" I sort of lost interest in Sartre as he seemed to have doubts about his own writing. However I did pick up " The Second Sex" by Simone DeBeauvoir. She seemed to be into sexuality and socialization. Being French I will probably find it confusing.
Books can be added without designating any category. However, if you want to do that, then after you click "add to group" and the shaded screen appears, click on "choose shelves" and the category choices will appear there.++++
Sartre tried to reconcile the radical individualism of existentialism with Marxist ideology. I haven't yet read how he went about this, but the general idea of the fit between the individual and society is a fascinating source of philosophical inquiry.
Just a note to thank John for his additions to the library. They all look like excellent reading, and I want to take up several of them myself. Anyone needing ideas or suggestions for their next philosophy book should have a look at the new additions that appear at bottom on the bookshelf.
Tyler, I added maybe 5% of my personal philosophy library to the group library here. I didn't want to burden it down with selections that some might have thought too technical or abstruse. If you're interested, have a look at my "philosophy" books and let me know if you think you would like me to add any more.
Thanks, John, I'll do that. I like the ones you've listed so far. I think you're right -- the ones that are more general and less technical will be more relevant.
I joined the book in the hopes that it might be a little more ... active than it has been. No bites for the past few days or so, until you just said something. Are most here just getting acquainted with philosophy? I noticed you're reading something with "Basic Teachings" in the title. And perhaps we could do something to rouse the members. Or maybe I just haven't participated in enough conversation threads to realize how much everyone else is talking.
The group has members at all levels of understanding of philosophy, so I'm trying to make sure there will be discussions both for beginners and for more technical subjects as well. The group could benefit from more members starting threads of their own, but many are beginners and shy about doing that. But it's mainly a matter of numbers: the more members who join, the more posting there is. It has been more active recently than in previous months.
Tyler wrote: "The group has members at all levels of understanding of philosophy, so I'm trying to make sure there will be discussions both for beginners and for more technical subjects as well. The group could benefit from more members starting threads of their own, but many are beginners and shy about doing that..."Hi Tyler, John et al -- new around here.
I think the reason people are shy about starting topics and commenting in this group is because of the subject matter. Some groups are easy...if you see a film you like, you comment on it. You like a book, you give your opinion. But philosophy is a bit of a different bird. I think that people who are new-ish to philosophy discussions are afraid -- with reason or not -- of being "wrong" or mocked by others who know more about the subject, and so are more comfortable being "lurkers". Being a relative newbie to the study, I'm of that mindset. But I'm also VERY opinionated, so I guarantee that if there is any way I can contribute to the discussion, I will.
Welcome, Cindy. Please feel free to join in. If you're looking to contribute, lately the "Philosophy is Dead" forum has been particularly active, with an interesting (I'm being diplomatic) range of opinion. Feel free to jump in. And feel free to add to the bookshelf if you haven't already.
Hi Cindy --You're right about this. I believe what we need is a thread dedicated to beginners, and I hope I can use your comments as a starting point.
If you haven't done this before, it's easy: click on "bookshelf" below, and in the next screen will appear a box in the upper left for a member to add a book. If you put in your book's name, it will come up as it does in any book search, but there will also be a new button that says "add to group." Click on that and a shaded screen will appear. You can add a synopsis here (under "why this book?"), but if you don't want to fool with the screen at all, go to the bottom and click "save group book." That will add your book to the group's bookshelf.
I've seen many members' philosophy readings, so I'm certain that if enough people add their favorites to the our collection as well, then the Philosophy group will have one of the better "libraries" on Goodreads.