The Discovery of Freedom

Paul Woodruff, Spring, 2013

How to Read Philosophy

A. CHOOSING BOOKS

Buy books that are fairly clean, so that you can make your own marks on them.
You should not accept a roughly used book or one that has been heavily marked.

B. CHOOSING A TIME TO READ

Philosophical writing is hard to read and takes time. You cannot read through
Plato or Descartes as speedily as you would read through Harry Potter or Percy
Jackson.
Choose a time when you are wide-awake. Then go slow. We recommend
that you read each assignment at least twiceonce to get the lay of the land and
a second time to work out how the argument runs.

C. MARKING A TEXT

Dont underline everything. Do not make many marks on the first reading. Here
are some tips for the second reading:

1. Identify the most important thesis in each section. Mark it in the margin,
using a symbol you understand.

2. Identify the argument the author gives for that thesis, if there is one. Mark
that with a different symbol.

2a. The argument has a conclusion, which is either the thesis or a

waypoint to the thesis. Make sure you understand what the conclusion says.
Mark the conclusion.

2b. The argument has premises. The argument starts from premises,
which are supposed to lead to the conclusion. Find the premises and mark them
in some way.
 2c. The argument has a logical structure. A good argument works this
way: If you agree to the premises, you have to agree to the conclusion. Ask
yourself whether the structure of your argument is valid. See Section D, below.

3. A good philosopher considers objections to the thesis. If your author does

this, mark those, again with a different symbol. Ask yourself whether the author
answers the objections, and, if so, whether author has successfully defended the
thesis.

D. EVALUATING AN ARGUMENT

After the second reading, take some time to evaluate the argument for the main
thesis. This is the hardest part of your job. Ask your TA to help you through this
process in discussion section with a sample argument.

Ask these questions:

Are you compelled to agree with the conclusion if you agree to the
premises? If not, the argument is a non sequitur. Thats Latin for it does not
follow.

If the argument looks like a non sequitur, it probably suffers from one of
the following flaws:

1. MISSING PREMISES. The author has not stated all the premises
needed. Perhaps you can supply the missing premises. What premises has the
author assumed without stating?

2. UNSUPPORTED PREMISES. Once youve supplied missing premises,

ask whether all premises are plausible or adequately supported.

3. FALLACIES. A fallacy is a flaw in the logic of the argument. Well

discuss some of the common ones in class as we proceed. Heres something to
watch for: You commit a fallacy of equivocation if you use a word with one
meaning in a premise, and with another meaning in the conclusion.

E. RESPONDING
 If you wanted to reject the authors conclusion, would you attack the logic
or the premises? If the logic, can you show what is wrong with it? (Sometimes
an example helps.) If the premises, which one would you attack? On what
grounds?