The Apology of Socrates should be anyone’s first encounter with Socrates, and Plato’s dialogues

An Introduction to PhilosophyThe Top 5 Books to Read

1. What Does It All Mean? By Thomas Nagel
2. Life’s Big Questions, by Philosophy Break
3. The Problems of Philosophy, by Bertrand Russell
4. Think: A Compelling Introduction to Philosophy, by Simon Blackburn
5. Philosophy: The Basics, by Nigel Warburton

Hegel

• The Apology (possibly, as a group, with the Crito and Phaedo)
• The Meno
• The Phaedrus
• The Gorgias
• The Theatetus
• The Republic
• The Symposium
• The Timaeus

One needs to read the books and thinkers in order — that’s one common conception First you need to read Plato, and only after that study his student, Aristotle But of course, before Plato (one discovers, while reading Plato, to dismay and chagrin!) one really should have read the pre-Socratics

Plato is complicated and demands re-readings and re-interpretations That’s what makes him great, so just keep at it I’d start with the Republic, even though it’s probably his densest dialogue You can also try something like “Philosophy for Beginners” by Richard Osborne

Alcibiades

Start with Plato’s dialogues, either the Apology or the Alcibiades Neither the Metaphysics nor the Republic is good introductory material Instead, I recommend Plato’s Apology and Euthyphro, Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, and Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations (if you want to go further into Hellenistic philosophy)

6 tips for teaching yourself philosophy

1. Start from a position of ignorance
2. Expect to go slowly
3. Read when you are most alert
4. Pick whatever interests you the most
5. Get a philosophical dictionary
6. Familiarize yourself with the history of Western Thought

Readings for philosophy courses are generally not long, but they are difficult and challenging You cannot expect to go through an assigned reading once and have an adequate grasp of it Some students seem to thrive on the painstaking study required, while others simply don’t have the patience for it