Some Tips for Reading Philosophical Essays

Reading a philosophical essay is quite different from other types of reading. When reading a philosophical essay the focus is always on argument and counter-argument. It is crucial at every point that you fully understand the main lines of these arguments and counter-arguments. Make sure you can clearly conceptualize the positions being offered and scrutinized. If you are interested, below are some friendly words of advice that I know have helped me and that I hope will help you as well. If you know of any other advice that you would like to share - or if you have any other comments - please send me an e-mail at ronbutzu@hotmail.com.

As painful as it may sound, plan on reading everything at least twice.
On the first reading concentrate on simply grasping the big picture: What is the author's position and what are the principle reasons that he or she offers in defense of his or her view?

Also on this first reading: a. underline or highlight points that you think are important to the author's main argument, and b. freely make comments in the margins of the text. (Comments such as "Wrong!" or "Exactly!" or whatever else captures your first impression.)
On the second reading you should try to take actual notes on the essay. I find that typing my notes into a word processor is the best way to go here. (Also: Find a bookstand! They make life wonderful!) In your notes, lay out the author's central thesis (ideally in one or two sentences), state the essentials of the central argument, list the principle objections considered and the author's replies, and then spell out in greater detail any comments that you may have (do your initial impressions still seem to hold?).
Be careful on this second reading that you do not try to type too much. (This is a pitfall that I myself fall into all the time!) Try to stay away from long quotation. As much as possible, go for the central ideas and try to put them in your own words (while retaining the author's meaning).

I hope that you find the above tips at least somewhat helpful. For my part, I would say that any student who took the time to follow the above guidelines deserves to be considered a "serious student".

The above hints are either my own ideas or ideas that I've gotten from a variety of sources over the years. For more advice along the same lines you may want to check out Douglas Soccio's How to Get the Most Out of Philosophy or Jay Rosenberg's The Practice of Philosophy. I've also heard good things about Jack Meiland's College Thinking, How to Get the Best Out of College, though I've not had the chance to take a look at it myself.

Back to Student Resources