Philosophy Book Reading Thread

[Reformed Thomist]

Are you currently reading any philosophy books? If so, tell us here what you have on the go.

At the moment, I am working my way through...

The Consequences of Ideas: Understanding the Concepts that Shaped Our World by R.C. Sproul (Crossway, 2009). [An excellent brief overview of the thought of key figures in the history of Western philosophy, geared primarily toward the lay evangelical reader. Much needed.]

On Being and Essence by Thomas Aquinas (Armand Maurer, trans., intro., notes; Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies [University of Toronto Press], 1968). [A young Aquinas defining the basic concepts of Aristotelico-Avicennian metaphysics; very strong, helpful intro. essay and notes from the late Professor Maurer.]

[steven-nemes]

I recently finished Plantinga's Warranted Christian Belief. I wish I could buy his other two in his "Warrant" trilogy but I don't have any money. I also read Searle's Mind: A Brief Introduction and finished it a few weeks ago.

[Reformed Thomist]

Originally Posted by steven-nemes

I also read Searle's Mind: A Brief Introduction and finished it a few weeks ago.

I've read bits and pieces of that text for a course. I'm fixing to read Searle's Speech Acts very soon.

[CharlieJ]

Great stuff on this thread. I've been reading mostly older stuff recently. Since January I've made it through Plato's Republic (must-read) and some of Aristotle's shorter stuff - Categories, Interpretation, Prior Analytics - and have stalled out on Politics.

Also, I did a paper on the metaphysical foundations of John Wyclif's theology and found Robson's Wyclif and the Oxford School and Ian Christopher Levy's John Wyclif: Scriptural Logic, Real Presence, and the Parameters of Orthodoxy to be very helpful in placing Wyclif within the scope of 14th century analytical philosophy.

Read on, brothers!

[Reformed Thomist]

Originally Posted by CharlieJ

Since January I've made it through Plato's Republic (must-read)...

Which translation did you read?

[steven-nemes]

Originally Posted by Reformed Thomist

I've read bits and pieces of that text for a course. I'm fixing to read Searle's Speech Acts very soon.

I'm interested in philosophy of language, among other subjects.

Are there any good "A Brief Introduction to..."-style books to philosophy of language, as well as metaphysics and other subjects that you know of?

[Reformed Thomist]

Originally Posted by steven-nemes

Are there any good "A Brief Introduction to..."-style books to philosophy of language, as well as metaphysics and other subjects that you know of?

The best brief introduction to the philosophy of language that I've seen to date...

Amazon.com: Philosophy of Language (Routledge Contemporary Introductions to Philosophy): William Lycan: Books

Amazon

[steven-nemes]

Thanks! I saw they have a series of books with similar covers on various topics... I'll have to start saving some cash$$$

[The Deeps]

The History of Western Philosophy Bertrand Russell
Pythagoras was a nut!

[cih1355]

I'm reading the book, The Love of Wisdom: A Christian Introduction to Philosophy by Steve Cowan and James Spiegel. I have been enjoying it so far. It is not as in depth as Moreland and Craig's book, but it covers some material that their book does not cover- political philosophy and aesthetics. Below is the link:
The Love of Wisdom -*A Christian Introduction to Philosophy*by Steven Cowan, James Spiegel* || B&H Academic

[christianyouth]

Nathan, on another thread you said something that interested me, something about free will, and about how you are controlled by subconscious psychological drives or something like that. I was thinking I would like to read a little bit on that topic sometime, the free will topic. Do you have any book suggestions for that subject?

[Reformed Thomist]

Originally Posted by christianyouth

Nathan, on another thread you said something that interested me, something about free will, and about how you are controlled by subconscious psychological drives or something like that. I was thinking I would like to read a little bit on that topic sometime, the free will topic. Do you have any book suggestions for that subject?

On the topic of free will (free will as far as philosophy is concerned), there is no better place to begin than Derk Pereboom's reader Free Will, in the 'Hackett Readings in Philosophy' series (Hackett Publishing Co.).

Amazon.com: Free Will (Hackett Readings in Philosophy): Derk Pereboom: Books

Amazon

[Confessor]

Thanks for making this.

I've read Faith and Rationality, eds. Plantinga and Wolterstorff, and I want to master Aquinas at some point in the future (I've got his Shorter Summa). I also have downloaded R.C. Sproul's whole mp3 series on The Consequences of Ideas.

I am planning on reading Jonathan Edwards's The Freedom of the Will, sometime in the future (even though I think I've already got a firm grasp on its main topic), and I've also read his The End for Which God Created the World, if that counts as philosophy. I also plan on getting Gordon Clark's Thales to Dewey.

Philosophy rules.

-----Added 7/21/2009 at 12:40:49 EST-----

This thread might help.

[steven-nemes]

How do you like Faith and Rationality Ben?

[Confessor]

Originally Posted by steven-nemes

How do you like Faith and Rationality Ben?

It was really good. The authors are very clear in the points they get across (Van Til isn't one of the contributors ), although sometimes I think they repeat themselves more than is necessary.

Most importantly, though, I thought that book strengthened and confirmed my presuppositionalism (even though it didn't even mention presuppositionalism once!). It raised objections both to evidential apologetics and to Abraham Kuyper's antithesis between believing and unbelieving thought that I thought only presuppositionalism could answer. Anyway, I don't want to discuss that aspect too much, as it would derail the whole thread.

I also hope to be able to incorporate the notion of "warrant" into my apologetic whenever I get around to reading Plantinga's trilogy.

All in all, highly recommended. It's not too long a read, either.

[steven-nemes]

Yeah, I liked it.

I think Plantinga's epistemology acts also as a pretty good theistic argument: the best theory of knowledge that accounts for warrant involves proper function, and proper function of cognitive faculties makes more sense in a theistic framework than not; if you find "proper functionalism" appealing, you ought to also accept theism.

[CatechumenPatrick]

Are there any good "A Brief Introduction to..."-style books to philosophy of
language, as well as metaphysics and other subjects that you know of?

Ditto on Lycan's book posted above. I think it would sufficiently prepare you to read
primary texts, of which this Readings in the philosophy of language [WorldCat.org]
is one of the best collections. You can get its table of contents on googlebooks and find the articles online.

At the moment, I am working my way through...
The Consequences of Ideas: Understanding the Concepts that Shaped Our World by R.C.
Sproul

That's a helpful introduction. Sproul has a complete audio version on sermonaudio here: SermonAudio.com - Ligonier Ministries

Right now I am reading
1) The Evolution of Morality, by Richard Joyce, along with Darwinian Populations and Natural Selection by Peter Godfrey-Smith (et al books) in part for a seminar paper on Sharon Street's article "A Darwinian Dilemma for Realist Theories of Value." If you are interested in Plantinga's EAAN, you'd also be interested in reading Street's essay: http://philosophy.fas.nyu.edu/docs/I...ianDilemma.pdf I am also trying to finish the last three-fourths of T.M. Scanlon's What We Owe to Each Other after reading the first 100 pages about three times now...
2) In epistemology, Skepticism: a Contemporary Reader, edited by Keith DeRose, along with Ernest Sosa's new work, Reflective Knowledge. Trying to finish my summer readings before the semester starts--mostly spinning my wheels in mud, though

Also, on the topic of books, I (somewhat) work with the googlebooks project at the University of Michigan, and the majority of philosophy and theology books there have been scanned over the past month and should be online soon--keep your eye out on googlebooks for new works in Reformed theology. I just unloaded the Puritanism and Calvinism section today

[py3ak]

I recently read Boethius, The Consolation of Philosophy.

[Reformed Thomist]

Originally Posted by py3ak

I recently read Boethius, The Consolation of Philosophy.

One of my favorite books of all-time.

-----Added 7/21/2009 at 07:16:27 EST-----

Originally Posted by Confessor

... and I want to master Aquinas at some point in the future (I've got his Shorter Summa).

Is that the Peter Kreeft-edited 'A Shorter Summa' or Sophia Institute Press' 'Aquinas's Shorter Summa'? (The first is comprised of selections from the Summa theologiae; the latter is a complete translation of a separate work by Aquinas, traditionally known as the Compendium theologiae.)

Also, keep in mind the following Hackett Publishing Co. editions, if you are not already familiar with them. They're more in-depth, and the prices are right.

Amazon.com: A Summary of Philosophy: Thomas Aquinas, Richard J. Regan: Books

Amazon

[Confessor]

Originally Posted by Reformed Thomist

Is that the Peter Kreeft-edited 'A Shorter Summa' or Sophia Institute Press' 'Aquinas's Shorter Summa'? (The first is comprised of selections from the Summa theologiae; the latter is a complete translation of a separate work by Aquinas, traditionally known as the Compendium theologiae.)

It's the latter,

this one

Amazon

[Reformed Thomist]

Started dipping into The Epicurus Reader: Selected Writings and Testimonia (Brad Inwood & Lloyd P. Gerson, Eds., trans.; D.S. Hutchinson, intro.; Hackett Publishing Co., 1994) last night and ended up burning the midnight oil. This is a well-presented, fascinating read. The introductory essay by Doug Hutchinson -- my favorite professor (I've studied under him in three courses in ancient phil. and counting)! -- alone is worth the price of the book.

Amazon.com: The Epicurus Reader: Selected Writings and Testimonia (HPC Classics): Epicurus, Brad Inwood, Lloyd P. Gerson: Books

Amazon

[CatechumenPatrick]

This, from the same editor, looks like a good read as well:

Amazon.com: Ancient Epistemology (Key Themes in Ancient Philosophy): Lloyd P. Gerson: Books

Amazon

[Reformed Thomist]

Pretty much all of Gerson's books are top-notch and worth the purchase. He's an awesome scholar (and an outstanding, if tough as nails, teacher).

I took his Intro. to Ancient Phil. course in my second year at Toronto. A Jew, Gerson would often pepper his lectures with examples from the Old Testament, which seemed to be lost on most students in the auditorium. He would express mild dismay at this, and tell us to "Start reading the Bible. It's important."

[a mere housewife]

I've been reading a slim volume of Sartre (Existentialism and Human Emotions) since last summer (it's possible because I read like a conscientious turtle, and have been reading twenty or thirty other books since last summer). I think he's a very interactive author -- I usually don't find that I have shouted 'but that makes no sense!' aloud when wrapped in bookish solitude.

[davidsuggs]

I am currently plowing my way through Douglas Hofsteader's Metamagical Themas. I know that some sections of the book are not philosophical but many of them are. He may not be a Christian but some of the studies in this book are just brilliant in many ways and quite enjoyable and entertaining to read.

[steven-nemes]

I bought the Philosophy of Language book from the Routledge series, as well as one on Epistemology. I got the Philosophy of Language today and read about 50 pages or so of it; I like it a lot. It is very clear and not overly technical.

[Reformed Thomist]

I'm glad you are profiting from it, Steven.

[steven-nemes]

What theory of meaning do you subscribe to?

I think there is something interesting about "use" theories of meaning, but there is a problem with them that I cannot think of a way to overcome, namely, when I use the word "God" I should think there is some being that I am speaking about, rather than just some sort of ends I am trying to accomplish by uttering the word. "God exists" I should think should be a statement about the state of some being with certain properties, not just an act I am committing to try and achieve something with.

[Confessor]

Originally Posted by steven-nemes

What theory of meaning do you subscribe to?

I think there is something interesting about "use" theories of meaning, but there is a problem with them that I cannot think of a way to overcome, namely, when I use the word "God" I should think there is some being that I am speaking about, rather than just some sort of ends I am trying to accomplish by uttering the word. "God exists" I should think should be a statement about the state of some being with certain properties, not just an act I am committing to try and achieve something with.

Are theories of meaning subsets of the philosophy of language?

[CharlieJ]

I've been reading through some "worldview" materials lately, since I had considered doing a thesis on it. So far,

Creation Regained by Al Wolters (excellent intro, good framework for evaluating worldview theologically)

Lectures on Calvinism by Abraham Kuyper (best overall, fantastic rhetorical style, great outline)

The Christian View of God and the World by James Orr (like Kuyper, but more detailed interaction with names and -isms)

Worldview: The History of a Concept by David Naugle (very thorough historical treatment of the development of "worldview"; interaction with Kant, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Kuyper, etc.)

I have to say I like Kuyper the best for putting things so clearly and concisely. Anyone could read him and anyone could benefit from him. By not getting bogged down with individual systems, his analysis is in some ways less dated that Orr's.

[steven-nemes]

Ben: that's one thing of interest in philosophy of language, yes.