How to Read Philosophy and Other Difficult Books

Philosophy can be difficult to read. Philosophers often use complex language since they want people of equal intelligence to understand and challenge their work. To the typical reader, philosophical pieces can be impossible to understand. But with practice and the right strategies, you can understand them easily.

The following are some tips on how to read and understand philosophical texts and other difficult books.

1. Familiarize yourself with philosophical jargon

There are words you need to understand, especially when reading analytical philosophy. Terms like valid, sound, and fallacious are often thrown around in philosophical works. But there are also more complex terms you need to brush up on, like reduction ad absurdum and modus tollens/ponens.

To familiarize yourself with philosophical jargon, we recommend Julian Baggini’s The Philosophers Toolkit.

2. Read related texts

Philosophy is more like a continuous story as they often involve a back and forth between philosophers. Therefore, reading one text in isolation could mean missing the bigger picture as you could be reading one part of a broader philosophical debate.

If you read a text that makes little sense, find the background text. You could also find books that provide an introduction to the branch of philosophy you are reading. By the time you are returning to your primary text, you will have enough knowledge to understand it.

3. Focus on the bigger picture

Each philosophical text has a central idea, aka the main thesis. But before the writer gets to the main argument, they will take you through a journey of supporting arguments, examples, and data. Do not let the supporting elements distract you from the bigger picture.

Each time you read something that seems unrelated, ask yourself how it ties to the main argument. Focus on what the point is, rather than trying to understand what the writer is saying.

The point is, do not be weighed down by one small argument that you do not understand. Maybe it has been poorly presented, or it just doesn’t make sense. Move on and stay focused on the bigger picture.

4. Do not be in a hurry

It takes time to understand and form an opinion of a philosophical text. There is a good reason why traditional philosophy is dying. We live in a fast-paced world where people no longer have the patience to indulge in a long battle of ideas.

Do not rush through a philosophical text in the hopes of understanding it immediately. Spend minutes on one page if you have to.

It takes practice and consistency to develop your philosophical skillset. So, do not beat yourself up for not instantly understanding a philosophical text.

There are hidden treasures of ideas behind all that philosophical jargon. All you have to do to see them is to take your time to look closely enough.

5. Understand that philosophy is open to interpretation

Your interpretation of a philosophical text might be different from your lecturer’s understanding. That doesn’t mean you are wrong. It just means your views are slightly different from the standard interpretation.

Like in pottery, no one really knows what philosophical authors meant. Often there is an unending debate surrounding the intention of a philosopher in a given text. Therefore, like your much more experienced philosophy lecturer, you have as much right to analyze the author’s original intention.

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