Establish A Philosophy Reading Practice
Do you know how to read? Most people would probably say that they do, and maybe think the question strange. After all, you've been reading since grade school, so chances are that you are a very confident reader. But the thing is that reading philosophy is unlike reading other kinds of things, be it fiction or non-fiction. It's more like reading a foreign language that looks suspiciously like your native tongue, but it wont make much sense at first.
Yes, reading philosophy is like learning to read in a foreign language. After you learn that language's grammar and have acquired basic vocabulary, you begin to read a text in that language. At first, you'll be sitting with a dictionary and your text, circling words you don't know, and doing your best to make sense of what is going on in the text. Initially, you'll get a general sense of what the text says, and you can follow the general gist of the story.
But eventually you'll experience an Aha! moment, something will click, and you will realize that you are no longer reading in translation - translating words and meanings back into your primary language for understanding - and are actually reading the actual foreign language. Pretty freaking cool!
After this, you might wake up in the middle of the night and realize that you've been dreaming in your new language! This is when you know that you're on the road to fluency, and this is where I want to get you to, in terms of philosophy. Yes, I want you to wake up in a cold sweat in the middle of the night and realize that you've been dreaming philosophically!
The best starting point for reading Philosophy (or philosophically!) is the admission that you do not know how to read philosophy, a Socratic admission of ignorance.
So how can you achieve reading fluency for philosophy works? Below are some steps you can take to begin your Philosophy practice.
1. Establish Reading Consistency
Whether you have a daily routine or not, you will want to create a sacred space for reading philosophy on a regular basis, be it daily, weekly, or bi-weekly. You may need to build in a space for reading into your already established routine, or set up a "trigger event" that prompts you to begin your reading session. (I discuss this in more detail in the podcast session.)
Either way, I recommend that you begin by setting aside just 15-20 minutes of philosophy reading time on a regular basis, and work up to 40 minute segments after 30 days (whereupon you will have established enough of a reading practice to build upon it). If you are doing it right, reading philosophy is an arduous business, so you will need to build up your focus muscle gradually.
2. Heighten Your Focus
One of the things that sets philosophical text apart from even other types of non-fiction is that it tends to be dense, so your task is to go as deep in the text as possible. This requires a particular kind of burrowing intellectual focus - think of it as the opposite of speed reading. Know that you will be reading slowly, and although it's counterintuitive, the more fluent your reading becomes, the slower you will read and the deeper you will go.
To this end, think about when and where you achieve your greatest focus: What time of day do you feel most sharp and refreshed? Is it first thing in the morning, or in the evening when your day is done? Where are you best able to focus? Perhaps it is reading in the comfort of your bed, while sitting at a desk, or in the generalized hubbub of a cafe environment. Maybe the in-between space of a daily commute is your best bet. Whatever works for you, this is when an where you should plan to do your reading.
Finally, there are aids to achieving greater focus, including the use of (instrumental) music, and listening to the same text that you are reading (by enabling text-to-speech on your computer or reading device) or finding an audio version of the text you are reading (but you'll need the same edition!). You can try searching Thought Audio for free audio recordings of many philosophy classics.
3. Keep A Philosophy Notebook or Log
I will discuss this in more detail in the next post, but generally speaking, a philosophy notebook or log is a place for you to chronicle and absorb what you've been reading, and to begin tracking the things that interest you philosophically. This is where philosophy gets really fun (me thinks!), as this is where and how your intellectual creativity will really blossom. Stay tuned for more on this!
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Finally, I want to issue you a challenge to read philosophy on a regular basis for two weeks, then reevaluate and make some minor adjustments to space and time (i.e., where and when and under what conditions you read!) and continue for another two weeks. If you can get through to two weeks, you will be well on your way to establishing a philosophy reading practice, and after four weeks you will have a solid practice.
If you are taking me up on this challenge, post the text you'll be reading and anything you'd like either to the comments section below. I'll be there all the way for you, cheering you on and helping you to resolve any issues that come up.
Cheerios for now, may your dreaming become philosophical.
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This is the first article in a part of a 3 part series that includes: (1) How To Establish A Philosophy Reading Practice, (2) How to Keep A Philosophy Notebook, and (3) How To Run A Philosophy Salon.
Resources
A podcast version of this article on dSound.
Existential Comics "How to study philosophy as an amateur" (high recommend!)
"How to Read Philosophy" on PhilosophyNow (more academic, many useful tidbits).