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On Reading
- Reading will make you a better writer, and you cannot improve at writing without reading.
- Do the reading multiple times, ideally three times: skimming, normal read, and closely returning to key passages you’ve noted earlier.
- Find different ways to read like skimming, highlighting, making reverse outlines of paragraphs.
- There is no substitute for sitting down and doing uninterrupted reading; try setting timers of 25 minutes where you focus on only reading.
- It can be helpful to track your reactions to what you are reading or discussing: what parts of the text give you reactions that are angry, sad, confused, enthusiastic, or joyful? Everything you keep track of helps the whole thing stick.
- Keep track of possible translation issues: follow important words and make note of where the original language may be especially important.
- It can be helpful to keep a glossary of key terms that you define on your own as you go through the reading.
- Journaling what you’ve read after you’ve done so can be incredibly helpful for comprehension as well as reminding yourself what you read when you come back to read more.
On Research
- The assigned reading focuses on key sections of the text’s argument, but you are heavily encouraged to read beyond the assigned reading.
- If the assigned reading is a section from a particular book, try to read other parts of the book.
- Look into what else an author has written. Read about their work by looking them up on different websites.
- Look up the secondary literature on the assigned reading; a good place to start is to do searches on Google Scholar and skim the articles that come up.
- ChatGPT is an aggregate of different sources, and it doesn’t give you the sources, so it’s best to avoid it and do your own research or ask it for sources so you can check the work yourself.
- Good websites to do secondary research are: Wikipedia, Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, and Google Scholar.
- Google the author’s historical context; learn about the country they write in, what their economic conditions are, what the political state of the world is, and who they’re responding to.
- Writers are always in conversation with others, and it’s important to learn the history of that conversation, but to also keep in mind you can only read so much context. Your main assignment is to read the text that is given.
- You need to make an effort to learn about other philosophers, as well as the history of the vocabulary being worked with, so make a good effort but take it slow.
- Secondary sources are never a replacement for reading the original text, and they can often be misleading. Use them as help, but ultimately it is your own original reading that matters more than anything else.
On Discussing
- For most, it will be their first time reading any given text. Recognize that most of your peers will feel similarly confused, lost, or overwhelmed.
- Putting your thoughts into words is a key part of developing philosophically: it forces you to find the language for your thoughts and make them communicable to others. Talking with others, making reading notes, and writing essays are all oriented towards communicate your thoughts so you can get better at doing so.
- Answering rhetorical questions, summarizing what’s being said, and commenting on the arguments are all important ways of participating in discussion. Always try to explain out loud: what is the author saying here? What do the words mean?
- Practice following the arguments and understanding your own: identify the premises of arguments and how the author draws conclusions from those premises.
- Philosophy is very much about following and making arguments, but it’s also about the content of those arguments. Always be asking what is at stake: don’t just focus on what is being said, but also ask why what is being said matters (or doesn’t).
On Writing
- Recognize that you have been taught to write in a very formulaic way that can still be useful. It is good to know how to write a five-paragraph essay: an introduction paragraph with a thesis, body paragraphs that support your thesis, and a conclusion paragraph that restates your thesis.
- Push yourself to become a better writer. Only you can know if you need to break the rules of writing to make your points.
- When in doubt, aim for a clear argument. Read your essay back to yourself out loud and ask yourself if you can tell what the point of the essay is.
- ChatGPT will not make you a better writer, especially when you ask it to correct your grammar, phrasing, or organization. Like anything else, only practicing will help you improve.
- Draft and edit as much as possible. Write, and read back what you wrote 30 minutes to a day later. Writing is a process, and you will always produce better writing when you go back to what you have written.
- Writing is a creative act. At the end of it, you have a product that is yours, and you will enjoy reading it later over the years, so take joy in it!
- Good philosophical writing does nothing more than interpret what the text is saying. Secondary sources and research cannot replace your own one-on-one engagement with what you are reading.
- A tip: pretend you are reading what you wrote to the author of the text. Imagine them sitting in front of you when you write, so that you write with care and respect.