I know a lot of those who post here and at Dr. Feser's blog have a great interest in philosophy but little or no formal training. I was thinking that this thread could be a place to offer advise and resources to those who wish to increase their knowledge of philosophical tools, methods, and general foundational knowledge, whether they wish for just a little more knowledge or are trying to become self-taught philosophers.

So, if anyone has any advise, whether on areas to study, authors and works that are a must read, methods to argue better and present arguments better, important books or other resources, and so on, please post them here. Any topic that you see as an important foundation for a would-be philosopher, from informal reasoning to foundational mathematical or even scientific knowledge that some might feel important for contemporary philosophy, is welcome.

Obviously, different schools of philosophy have different ideas about how to conduct philosophical investigation and what foundations are necessary (An Analytical Philosopher may well feel Predicate Logic is a basic foundation for philosophy today, whereas a Continental Philosopher and even some Thomists might think it quite unimportant) and even individuals may have different ideas of what is basic to philosophical inquiry. So, if needs be some background on your basic philosophical approach or the reasons you offer some particular advise or resource would be good.

Of course, questions from those seeking knowledge are also welcome.

Last edited by Jeremy Taylor (7/07/2015 4:53 pm)