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Tips for Understanding
Philosophy
READING:
Philosophy needs to be re-read.
Unlike most fiction and some nonfiction, philosophy needs to be read slowly
and deliberately. Don't rush through it - think about issues as they are
raised, going back and forth if necessary. And if you're burning out,
take a break. You will find that a text can seem quite different the second
time through.
Margin Writing
(or glossing) is better than highlighting/underlining. It takes time and
slows things down (I read about 12 pages an hour) but it forces you to
constantly ask yourself: What did I just read? Did that make sense? Summing
up a paragraph in the margins makes studying much easier because you already
have the bullet points of a crib sheet written. Highlighting, on the other
hand, often turns into a cheap substitute for careful concentration; how
many books have you seen with entire pages highlighted? Were those readers
grasping the main points? Probably not.
UNDERSTANDING:
Note Problem Passages
(e.g., with a ? or Q) as you read. These are good points for discussion
in class (where we can clarify or debate them). It's so easy to let a
question go and move ahead but that only makes studying later more difficult.
Copy out important points and questions you have onto a separate sheet
of paper, in other words, organize as you go along.
Read philosophy
in a different order than fiction. Often a philosophical work
can be made easier to understand if you read the contents, introduction
(philosopher's editor's or both) and conclusion first. In other words,
size it up. This frames for you what the writer is trying to do. Skimming
the first sentence of each paragraph can also help. Then, read the assignment
from beginning to end (don't write as you read the intro/conclusion -
just get the gist).
Sum up what you
have read in a single paragraph. Take 5 - 10 minutes to write
this up right after you're done reading (this serves a similar function
as margin writing, but is cumulative.)
Discuss Philosophy with classmates. More
than almost any other subject, philosophy must be discussed and debated
to be clearly understood. Get together to ask each other questions, review
arguments, compare lecture notes, etc. Read each other's papers before
handing them in.
LECTURE:
Read the material before lecture.
A good lecture does not just regurgitate what was in the reading. It gives
some description but also moves ahead to interpretation and analysis of
the issues in the reading. Often students complain that a professor was
"off on a tangent"; sometimes they're right, but often they haven't done
the reading first (so how could they even know what a tangent was?)
Bring questions
about the reading to lecture. Keep them in mind as you listen;
if they're not answered, bring them up if possible.
Don't try to write everything down. Real
listening takes a lot of concentration. Transcribing a lecture will take
too much attention away from your ability to understand the meaning of
what is said. (Don't lose the forest for the trees.) Focus on the larger
themes being covered; make notes about these themes and about questions
which you have. These are the building blocks of understanding much more
than is a hastily-made transcription.
Compare your lecture notes with other classmates;
this helps eliminate gaps and clarity the points made by the professor.
Check them with me (if you like) during office hours.
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