Captain_Proton

This is a question for everyone who considers him/herself an aficionado of philosophy. What is the best way to learn philosophy?
I'm asking this because I am caught in an educational dilemma. I am currently taking a senior philosophy class in my last year of high school. I'm thinking of dropping the class for the following reasons: It is literally the most difficult course in the school. The workload is killer, and I already have other classes that require the consumption of tremendous amounts of time and effort. It is not prerequisite for anything I want to do in the future, (i.e. engineering), but my other courses are, so they should really be my priorities. My teacher encouraged us to learn by ourselves. He won't be spoon feeding anything to us, and the class is only there for discussions. On the other hand, I'm intellectually curious and fascinated by philosphy, especially epistemology, and my teacher is one the best professors in the country.
I know that from some of you here, philosophy can be self-taught. But I wonder, is formal academic training necessary for a corrigible understanding of philosophy, or is it merely a luxury? Most importantly, I want to know, would I be able to understand Nietzsche from reading his works myself, or are lectures by the academically elite more preferrable?
Some advice please.

Thieving Magpie

I find formal learning to be a crutch.

Philosophy is inherently personal, so if you cannot come up with your own thoughts and feelings on certain subjects, it is not desirable to fill your mind up with other's thoughts and feelings. Some leisurely study is still good because it may help you to understand your own thoughts better, but all in all, formal study is useless if you actually need it to understand philosophy.

So, I say drop your course, but instead, spend some time to think on your own, and discuss your ideas with others, at your leisure. That is all there is to it.

philechat

It would depend on the philosophers. Analytical philosophers and modern existentialists tend to be difficult and require some background knowledge in terminalogy, works from other philosophers, and formal logic. Kant is also quite difficult in my opinion.

Nietzsche can be tricky at first, but he is consistently interesting (he is actually considered one of the best writers in the German language. Too bad I don't read German). Many philosophers also like to invent their own language, in a way that some may find confusing.

Some knowledge of ancient Greek philosophy and medieval Christian philosophy is recommended, for much modern philosophy is built upon those foundations even when they disagree with each other.

August Spies

Honestly... I think that its much better to study it in school normally. Most modern philosophy uses tons of terms and phrases that only make sense if you have a large background in philosophy.

You can certainly learn some of it on your own, but it will be much clearer in class. I mean, most people who read Thus Spake Zarathrustra probably will think its just a nice story about a wizard unless they really analize... and even then, they would need to know about Nietszches other works and other philosophers to fully understand.

but you can always wait till college.

jpbrooks

Hello Captain_Proton.

This is indeed a tough decision problem! On the one hand, I would say that it would be to your advantage to take the course now while you have the opportunity to learn philosophy under a good teacher. Trying to learn philosophy (or any other subject, for that matter) completely on your own, without having had any formal training or course work to serve as an introduction to the subject, while not impossible, is difficult. It is, for example, much easier to make progress in understanding the basic concepts and terminology of logic (an important prerequisite for engaging in philosophical inquiry) when there is an "expert" in the field available to answer any questions that may arise as you study the subject.
On the other hand however, I would say that your grade point average (GPA) is the factor that should be given the most weight in this decision. If a poor grade in the philosophy class is likely to significantly drag your GPA down so as to lower your chances of getting into a school that has a good engineering program, then I would not recommend taking the course. Once you get to college, you may, at some schools, have the opportunity to enroll in or audit classes (such as philosophy classes) outside of your major, as "electives" that would count toward your degree.

Adrian Selby

There are of course pros and cons. Cons if you think a different degree course will yield better career prospects, which it may in fact do. I would say however that depends on what you want to do.

Philosophy, among other things, will teach you to think more rationally, more clearly and analytically. This ability to break into the core of what is being said can be very useful if you ever have to elucidate or paraphrase information, such as in journalism.

There's also the school of thought that says a degree is good enough on its own, and you might as well do one therefore that interests you. I did it purely out of interest with no thought for my career. I haven't had the most focussed career, but its on its way now at 32. However, I am really glad the degree gave me a chance to get my head around issues that were important to me, I do feel I've got my head sorted on a lot of philosophical issues.

Aside from this, I think a formal degree is useful for providing a structure to your learning, and forcing you to face philosophers and subject areas you might not have otherwise. I was amazed at how interesting some subjects were that I wouldn't otherwise have studied.

You also get access to the latest journals and texts, which is a very good thing

Hugo Holbling

You could combine the two, either by studying at school and following your own whims at home (as i do), or by reading philosophers and their main interpreters/critics and rendering schooling in Nietzsche otiose. If you choose the latter, here are a few suggestions to begin with.

Most people start with or eventually find their way to Kaufmann; although some consider his reading weak, his translations are generally well-praised. An interesting approach is taken by Kee, recommended to me by a philosophy professor i know (you can see his review at the link). Nehemas takes a Bloomian view that comes endorsed by Rorty, but which draws criticism from other quarters. Perhaps the most under-rated and least-known work is Mencken's; he admired Nietzsche a good deal but still took him to task in brutal fashion. Deleuze draws flak from the usual suspects but his reading is challenging. Lastly, Klossowski is well worth a look.

In amongst these, you might like to read Nietzsche himself...