Philosophy, the pursuit of wisdom, can be an extremely rewarding subject, if the student studies it in a manner conducive to learning. Unfortunately, many new students to philosophy do not understand the deep reading required for an in-depth study of the subject. As a result, many perfectly capable would-be philosophers are discouraged from further study because of frustration over their lack of understanding. By following some simple guidelines on deep reading, however, anyone, given enough patience, can understand, even the most complicated philosophical topics.
In elementary or primary school, most of us are introduced to one method of reading: extensive reading. Such reading is done purely for the pleasure of reading, and we are not always required to absorb all of the information. Such reading is conducive to pleasure reading, e.g. reading novels, comic strips, magazines and newspapers. In these situations, we are simply reading for the pure pleasure of reading. What most people do not realize, however, is that extensive reading is not a good way to read for academic subjects and that another method of reading is needed if we are to fully grasp the essentials of any academic text, especially a philosophical text.
We need to read a philosophical text in such a way that we are able to absorb the details the philosopher is putting forth without loosing sight of the big picture. The type of reading we need is intensive reading. When we read intensively, we are reading for details and information and, as a result, need to shift our attention fully to the text at hand. While you may have been able to read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in a public park or while a relative is watching television in the same room, such practices will only serve to distract you attempt to read a dialogue of Plato or a treatise by Nietzsche. There are several steps we can take to ensure we are intensively reading at our maximum potential.
First, make sure you are in a quiet area where you are unlikely to be disturbed. Family, friends, roommates, television, and pets will only serve to break your concentration and force you to examine material again you have already covered. Philosophy, and any academic subject for that matter, is best studied without interruption so you can fully absorb the material at hand.
Now, research some background on the philosopher, work, and subject at hand. If you are reading Plato's allegory of the cave from The Republic, you could research and find out that Plato was a student of Socrates and often wrote in a dialectic style with a fictional representation of Socrates as the main character. You could research the significance of The Republic as a political work and the allegory itself as it has influenced various philosophers through the centuries. You could also research the significance of caves as a symbol in philosophical works. What have caves represent in philosophy? At this stage in your study, the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, published and maintained by the Stanford University Philosophy Department, is an invaluable resource, and one of the few reliable philosophical databases on the web.
When you are finished with the background stage, you should skim the reading at hand to get an idea of what it is about. Look at the table of contents and read the titles of the chapters in the work. Read through the chapter or passage and look for keywords and headings in the piece you are examining. Read the first sentence of each paragraph to get an idea of what is actually said in the work. By skimming the work, you will not have to concentrate so much on what is being discussed and can focus more on the details of the work at hand.
Now, read the selection completely through once, not worrying much about absorbing details yet. At this stage, you are continuing to gain familiarity with the work and are not so much concerned about the details as you are the big picture. When you are done with this, take a thirty minute break to recharge and gain a fresh perspective. You will be surprised how much difference in comprehension a short break will bring, and you will feel refreshed and recharged for another round.
When you have finished your break, get out your highlighters and a pen: it's time for deep reading! Read the work once again, paragraph for paragraph. As you read each paragraph, highlight the main idea in one color. Highlight any ideas you find personally interesting in another color. Some people find it helpful to write marginalia in the work, or questions and comments that come to mind as you read. Others prefer to write notes in a study notebook for future reference. Whatever your style, make sure you are recording your thoughts about the text as they come to you for future reference.
After the deep reading, it will help if you attempt to summarize what you have just read. Some people like to verbally summarize the material to another student, a friend, or a family member. Others write paragraph summaries of the material they have just read. Still others like to outline the material for future reference. Whatever your prefered method, you should make sure you can summarize what you just read; it will tell you how well you have comprehended the work and whether further study is warranted. If you cannot adequately summarize the material, repeat the above steps as many times as necessary until you feel you feel confident in your grasp.
Above all, utilize your professor, teaching assistant, and other students. Bring your notes and questions to class and don't feel shy about raising points in class. You will not look stupid for asking a question and, in fact, will be engaging in the very spirit of philosophy as championed by Socrates. There is never truly a dumb question in philosophy because questions lead to discussion, discovery, and reinterpretation.
Philosophy can be one of the most rewarding academic disciplines you can pursue, and the skills you will learn from intensive reading of philosophic texts will help you the rest of your life. (It's one reason why so many philosophy undergraduates go to law school.) With a little patience and discipline, anyone can properly read and understand the writings of the great philosophers and share in the wisdom they have passed down to us through the ages.
Christopher A. Rothbauer holds a B.A. in Philosophy and English from Indiana University Southeast and is currently a postgraduate student in Philosophy at the University of Sheffield, where his interests lie in metaphycis, personal identity, philosophy of mind, philosophy of language, and philosophy of film. In his spare time he enjoys traveling, hiking, and watching films. His webpage is located at http://www.redfarmer.net, where he records his thoughts
In elementary or primary school, most of us are introduced to one method of reading: extensive reading. Such reading is done purely for the pleasure of reading, and we are not always required to absorb all of the information. Such reading is conducive to pleasure reading, e.g. reading novels, comic strips, magazines and newspapers. In these situations, we are simply reading for the pure pleasure of reading. What most people do not realize, however, is that extensive reading is not a good way to read for academic subjects and that another method of reading is needed if we are to fully grasp the essentials of any academic text, especially a philosophical text.
We need to read a philosophical text in such a way that we are able to absorb the details the philosopher is putting forth without loosing sight of the big picture. The type of reading we need is intensive reading. When we read intensively, we are reading for details and information and, as a result, need to shift our attention fully to the text at hand. While you may have been able to read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in a public park or while a relative is watching television in the same room, such practices will only serve to distract you attempt to read a dialogue of Plato or a treatise by Nietzsche. There are several steps we can take to ensure we are intensively reading at our maximum potential.
First, make sure you are in a quiet area where you are unlikely to be disturbed. Family, friends, roommates, television, and pets will only serve to break your concentration and force you to examine material again you have already covered. Philosophy, and any academic subject for that matter, is best studied without interruption so you can fully absorb the material at hand.
Now, research some background on the philosopher, work, and subject at hand. If you are reading Plato's allegory of the cave from The Republic, you could research and find out that Plato was a student of Socrates and often wrote in a dialectic style with a fictional representation of Socrates as the main character. You could research the significance of The Republic as a political work and the allegory itself as it has influenced various philosophers through the centuries. You could also research the significance of caves as a symbol in philosophical works. What have caves represent in philosophy? At this stage in your study, the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, published and maintained by the Stanford University Philosophy Department, is an invaluable resource, and one of the few reliable philosophical databases on the web.
When you are finished with the background stage, you should skim the reading at hand to get an idea of what it is about. Look at the table of contents and read the titles of the chapters in the work. Read through the chapter or passage and look for keywords and headings in the piece you are examining. Read the first sentence of each paragraph to get an idea of what is actually said in the work. By skimming the work, you will not have to concentrate so much on what is being discussed and can focus more on the details of the work at hand.
Now, read the selection completely through once, not worrying much about absorbing details yet. At this stage, you are continuing to gain familiarity with the work and are not so much concerned about the details as you are the big picture. When you are done with this, take a thirty minute break to recharge and gain a fresh perspective. You will be surprised how much difference in comprehension a short break will bring, and you will feel refreshed and recharged for another round.
When you have finished your break, get out your highlighters and a pen: it's time for deep reading! Read the work once again, paragraph for paragraph. As you read each paragraph, highlight the main idea in one color. Highlight any ideas you find personally interesting in another color. Some people find it helpful to write marginalia in the work, or questions and comments that come to mind as you read. Others prefer to write notes in a study notebook for future reference. Whatever your style, make sure you are recording your thoughts about the text as they come to you for future reference.
After the deep reading, it will help if you attempt to summarize what you have just read. Some people like to verbally summarize the material to another student, a friend, or a family member. Others write paragraph summaries of the material they have just read. Still others like to outline the material for future reference. Whatever your prefered method, you should make sure you can summarize what you just read; it will tell you how well you have comprehended the work and whether further study is warranted. If you cannot adequately summarize the material, repeat the above steps as many times as necessary until you feel you feel confident in your grasp.
Above all, utilize your professor, teaching assistant, and other students. Bring your notes and questions to class and don't feel shy about raising points in class. You will not look stupid for asking a question and, in fact, will be engaging in the very spirit of philosophy as championed by Socrates. There is never truly a dumb question in philosophy because questions lead to discussion, discovery, and reinterpretation.
Philosophy can be one of the most rewarding academic disciplines you can pursue, and the skills you will learn from intensive reading of philosophic texts will help you the rest of your life. (It's one reason why so many philosophy undergraduates go to law school.) With a little patience and discipline, anyone can properly read and understand the writings of the great philosophers and share in the wisdom they have passed down to us through the ages.
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