Skip to main content

Introductory readings

Read the book that you want to read, the one that seems interesting.

Choices for introductory work for the history of philosophy:

  • For beginners: Kenny single-vol one (±1000 pages)
  • For readers with existing basic knowledge: Copleston complete series (±6000 pages)
  • For people who are not ready to read 1k pages: Sophie's World (±400 pages)
  • For people who prefer listening: the audio version of Adamson's A History of Philosophy on https://historyofphilosophy.net/
  • Alternative podcast intro: https://www.philosophizethis.org (remove this?)

Of course it's possible to mix and match here, or if you get bored to start reading from the primary works, but you'll get less out of it.

Feel free to skip this step and only consult the works if you don't understand something.

After the introductory work: Cottingham's Anthology