Becoming a Formal Student of Philosophy

  • Thread starter Thread starter trickster
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
T

trickster

Guest
I have been accepted and will start a four year program and the undergraduate level in philosophy. Because of funding realities I was limited to going to a provincially funded public university here in British Columbia. However, I believe in philosophy we can talk about just about anything, so I wanted to get connected with on-line Catholic philosophical circles so that I can build the catholic component in to my studies.

Would you be able to refer me to some of the circles you may know.

Bruce Ferguson
trickster
 
Congratulations! Don’t know about circles, but the writings of Ed Feser, an American philosopher and college professor (also a Catholic and a Thomist), may provide some antidote.
 
You might want to start with a list of Catholic philosophers, past and present:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Catholic_philosophers_and_theologians

I am currently writing a thesis on philosophy of science, and that makes me familiar with Alvin Plantinga, a Calvinist. I don’t agree with his take, but interesting reading. Howard Van Till is another Protestant philosopher, and he is also a professor of physics and astronomy.

I very much like Ernan McMullin’s writings. He is, or rather was, a Catholic priest and specializes on history and philosophy of science.

Other interesting Christian philosophers are Bas van Fraassen and Arthur Peacocke. I like Fr George Coyne, a Catholic priest and astronomer.

If you are interested in the dividing line between religion and science, I can recommend all of the above and also Larry Laudan. Michael Ruse, himself an agnostic, has written a number of books on that topic.
 
Hans_W said:
You might want to start with a list of Catholic philosophers, past and present:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Catholic_philosophers_and_theologians

I am currently writing a thesis on philosophy of science, and that makes me familiar with Alvin Plantinga, a Calvinist. I don’t agree with his take, but interesting reading. Howard Van Till is another Protestant philosopher, and he is also a professor of physics and astronomy.

I very much like Ernan McMullin’s writings. He is, or rather was, a Catholic priest and specializes on history and philosophy of science.

Other interesting Christian philosophers are Bas van Fraassen and Arthur Peacocke. I like Fr George Coyne, a Catholic priest and astronomer.

If you are interested in the dividing line between religion and science, I can recommend all of the above and also Larry Laudan. Michael Ruse, himself an agnostic, has written a number of books on that topic.
Click to expand...
Here is a link to the International Catholic University. It offers a number of selections suitable for under graduates in philosophy by Catholic authors. The cost is minimal and worth while. icucourses.com/

Here is a free course on the philosophy of nature by a noted Catholic scholar which is based on a book by the author ( which you can find in a good library or purchase ).
home.comcast.net/~icuweb/c02000.htm

Here is a link to English translations of works by Thomas Aquinas.

dhspriory.org/thomas/

Here is a link to a good article on the philosophy of Thomas Aquinas.
personal.stthomas.edu/mwrota/Causation%20Oxford%20Handbook%20of%20Aquinas.pdf

Here is a link to important source to the thought of Fr. Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange, a noted Thomist.

thesumma.info/index.php

And you don’t want to forget Aquinas and Scholastic Metaphysics by Dr. Edward Feser ;and his blogspot.
.
LInus2nd
 
Congratulations from me as well. Not an easy path to choose. Good luck with it. Hope you find the time to practice on us amateurs.
 
THANK YOU EVERYONE! I am deeply honoured for the support shown already in these few threads outlining different sources. I will definitely follow up and see what I can do to weave the Catholic conversation in my studies at Kwantlen Polytechnique University!

Bruce Ferguson
Trickster
 
Since the study of ethics will be required for your philosophy degree, and since you will be at a public university, you will need a Catholic perspective to work from. You cannot do better than to purchase a used copy (hard bound) at Amazon for as little as $4 of Jesuit Austin Fagothey’s Right and Reason: Ethics in Theory and Practice. First published in 1952 I believe, it has gone through many editions. I use it regularly for a quick reference to the ethics views of many philosophers. It is well written, clear, and comprehensive. The index in the back of the book is thorough and helpful. 👍

Enjoy your adventures in philosophy! 🙂
 
Verbum said:
Hi Trickster,

You should become acquainted with Jacques Maritain, one of the preeminnent Catholic philosophers of the 20th Century.
Click to expand...
I’ll second that! 👍

Maritain was both a lay philosopher and a very holy man.

Some of his writings are more difficult to read than others.

I would leave his more complex writings (such as The Degrees of Knowledge) for later study. His works on politics are very readable, as are most of his works on Art.
 
You’ll encounter a lot of philosophies/philosophers but here are my “go to guys” for beginners.

**Prof. Peter Kreeft **- Listen to his audio lectures.

learnoutloud.com/Catalog/Philosophy/Philosophers/Ethics-A-History-of-Moral-Thought/3502

learnoutloud.com/Catalog/Religion-and-Spirituality/Christianity/A-Brief-Biography-of-Thomas-Aquinas/36573

Prof. Daniel Robinson - Good resource for major philosophers.

amazon.com/Great-Ideas-Philosophy-Edition-Courses/dp/1565859820

Thomas Aquinas - Of course.

Jean-Paul Sartre - most consistent atheist, read “Existenialism is a Humanism”. Holds that a consistent and coherent atheism leads to meaninglessness.

marxists.org/reference/archive/sartre/works/exist/sartre.htm

Philosophy Bro - Bro amazingly explains stuff in a funny way. Please don’t be turned off by his expletives. His article actually helped me understand Heidegger’s Being and Time a lot more. Heidegger was such a pain to read.

philosophybro.com/p/full-list.html

Hope that helps.
 
Patty23 said:
Jean-Paul Sartre - most consistent atheist, read “Existenialism is a Humanism”. Holds that a consistent and coherent atheism leads to meaninglessness.

Hope that helps.
Click to expand...
Sartre apparently found meaning near the end, as he was reported to have taken a sudden interest in Judaism.

You’re right. Sartre spoke of atheism as a “dreadful freedom.” I’ve always admired him at least for that admission. Most atheists will deny the meaninglessness of atheism.

Likewise, the other French atheist Albert Camus said the most significant of all philosophical problems is why we should not commit suicide. Without meaning, life loses its flavor.
 
I know I am repeated others, but I would recommend Edward Feser as well. Read his books (Aquinas and Scholastic Metaphysics at least) and then peruse his blog. If you’re looking for a “Catholic philosophical circle,” then the discussions on his blog are probably among the best, considering that many commenters are not formally trained philosophers with PhDs.

I would recommend that you read as much as possible, even outside of classes. Some other Thomist authors worth reading are David Oderberg, John Haldane, Alasdair MacIntyre, Barry Miller, and GEM Anscombe; I think they can give you an idea of how Catholic philosophers can engage non-Catholic traditions. A couple other philosophers are James Ross and Linda Zagzebski. They are Thomists in a bit of a looser sense, but they are versatile and brilliant Catholic philosophers as well. I think by reading their books you learn a lot about philosophy in general.
 
The Quaker writer David Elton Trueblood wrote an interesting book title The Philosophy of Religion Hard copies are available for as little as $3.30 at Amazon.

amazon.com/gp/product/0060466901/sr=8-13/qid=1407427368/ref=olp_product_details?ie=UTF8&me=&qid=1407427368&sr=8-13

He is broad-minded enough to include references to Catholics such as Aquinas, Augustine, Gilson, and Maritain (even Chesterton is mentioned once). A very easy read, he covers many aspects of the relationship between religion and philosophy and psychology (interesting remarks on Freud’s repudiation of religion as wishful thinking).

Trueblood avoids all references to denominational religions, which is good.
 
Again, thank you all. I am continuing to get references and that is great. School starts on September 2nd…so I will have to start looking at these works in earnest pretty soon…still enjoying the summer though 🙂

Bruce
 
thank you Charlemagne. Are you a philosopher, student of philosophy or lover of the field? I really appreciate your references…right now I am focused on finding an apartment and doing all the housekeeping things one has to do to get ready for a semester, but once the semester starts it would be nice to send you reflections, thoughts, etc. to you for your thoughts.

Bruce
 
trickster said:
thank you Charlemagne. Are you a philosopher, student of philosophy or lover of the field? I really appreciate your references…right now I am focused on finding an apartment and doing all the housekeeping things one has to do to get ready for a semester, but once the semester starts it would be nice to send you reflections, thoughts, etc. to you for your thoughts.

Bruce
Click to expand...
Check your messages. 🙂
 
I spoke a while back about Elton Trueblood’s General Philosophy. I have it now in hand. It is the perfect introduction to philosophy for a young person just starting the adventures in philosophy. I don’t understand why it is not required reading in many courses of Introduction to Philosophy. Perhaps because he is a Quaker and his Christian bias shines through. I wish that when I was your age I had known about this book and read it.
 
Charlemagne_III said:
I spoke a while back about Elton Trueblood’s General Philosophy. I have it now in hand. It is the perfect introduction to philosophy for a young person just starting the adventures in philosophy. I don’t understand why it is not required reading in many courses of Introduction to Philosophy. Perhaps because he is a Quaker and his Christian bias shines through. I wish that when I was your age I had known about this book and read it.
Click to expand...
thank you Charlemagne. I am getting closer to our first semester and I was advised to take 2 philosophy courses per semester…so this semester I am doing “Ancient Greek Philosophy” and “An Introduction to Logic”…but I will also be doing some english writing courses as my minor is Creative Writing… so I could incorporate these Catholic sources (even if it is Quaker 🙂 into the studies…thank you so much.

Bruce Ferguson
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top