Philosophy Stack Exchange
Philosophy Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [learning-methods]

50 questions
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Best way to start philosophy?

I'm a software engineer, have a passion for philosophy. But I have no background in human science, but I guess I'm good at logic. Can you provide a profound study path to philosophy? What are the best authentic, accurate and comprehensive…
Handsome Nerd
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What are some simple ways to start learning philosophy?

It is hard for me to read and understand philosophical texts or secondary literature - even with Wikipedia. I don't want to give up, I just need to start slowly and with very basic things. How can I proceed? It's too large a challenge for me…
Sabrina
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Most effective ways to self-learn philosophy

I am interested in self-learning philosophy, but I am faced with a seemingly insurmountable obstacle: being dyslexic (metaphorically speaking) while reading serious philosophical works (including books, papers, etc.). All of these things (even most…
Michael Smith
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Do machine learning algorithms have knowledge (if not justified true beliefs)?

By "machine learning algorithm" I'm referring to basic, primarily statistical, machine learning algorithms; for concrete examples consider simple classifier algorithms like SVM or Bayesian classifier or decision trees. I'm stipulating that these…
Dave
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Should you read simpler paraphrases before the older original works of philosophy?

I'm self-learning philosophy, but am untrained in linguistics, and fear obscurantism. So I prefer and find more helpful 'paraphrases': (which I define to mean) other philosophers' rewrites and glosses, of the originals, in enjoyable plain simple…
user8572
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Can it be shown that video games have in some way impacted philosophy or vice versa?

Video games are a quite recent invention and they became popular far after being invented, maybe by the 90s. However, I think video games somehow affected my worldview and produced some ideas. I will give a few examples of mine, which might or might…
rus9384
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How do we learn math and science?

I was wondering how we actually learn math and science (physics). Some people say that it is important to "understand" the formulas/equations. However, if anyone were asked what 5 divided by 5 is, they would immediately respond 1. Most people…
dts
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What is the prerequisite knowledge for reading philosophers of the Enlightenment?

I want to read philosophical texts, however I have not done so because I am daunted by the prospect of it. I guess this stems from the nature of ideas, that is they are usually in dialogue with other ideas that have preceded them. Ideas don't exist…
seeker
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Understanding "Being and Time"

After reading a few books on introduction to philosophy, I was recommended to read "Being and Time" by Martin Heidegger as I found temporality very interesting. Knowing that this book is one that many students of philosphy have a hard time…
David
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Why is a well-understood theory easier to understand, and does this answer the question "Why is older philosophy 'easier' to understand"?

I know the question sounds weird, so I'll bring an example coming from my field: mathematics. One of the greatest mathematicians of all time is Gauss. One of his results is the "Remarkable theorem" in differential geometry, whom he proved in 1827.…
rod
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How to stay up-to-date on modern philosophy?

It is rather difficult to decide what to read, what is obsolete, and so forth. How does one stay up-to-date on modern philosophical thought? Are there journal apps which show new essays, articles, studies, etc.?
Sermo
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Is it necessary to read philosophical texts in order?

What I mean by this is simple: does one necessarily need to read Plato in order to grasp his theory of forms before reading Aristotle; and further still, must one read the two of them in order to read Aquinas? For example, would it be appropriate,…
Sermo
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How to self study Plato?

I started to self study Plato but I am not sure how to arrange my knowledge. In general philosophy books, Plato's philosophy is separated by subject matter (metaphysics, language, ethics), but this can be difficult to sort out when I'm reading his…
MKu
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Is Rule-Based Machine Learning an Example of Inductive Logic in the Philosophical Sense?

Human beings are capable of deciding upon rules based on intuitions and observations their neurons presumably provide (certainly metaphysical presumptuous). According to WP, this is inductive reasoning: Inductive reasoning is a method of reasoning…
J D
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How to make sense of philosophical text that might seem like "nonsense" but isn't?

I am reading the work of Jean Baudrillard. Some of his ideas "feels" right: they make sense to me in a weird way, but I can't get deeper because I can't understand most of what I read. Take for example this extract of "The perfect crime": Now, the…
Chegon
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