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Can anyonne recommend some philopsphy books to me, so i can improve my logical reasoning??? ( i am reading LR bible now, but decided to embrace a new challenge one)

I am very good at LG, so i never worry about that part..

Do you mean philosophy like philosophers? If so, then read John Rawls for some liberal fun or Robert Nozick for conservative fun.

Logic books I don't know.

uchicago wrote:Can anyonne recommend some philopsphy books to me, so i can improve my logical reasoning??? ( i am reading LR bible now, but decided to embrace a new challenge one)

I am very good at LG, so i never worry about that part..

Nietzsche FTW. Try and see if you can find an anthology or complilation. I think there is one called "Basic Writings" or maybe "Basic Studies" that include "Beyond Good and Evil" and "Ecce Homo." A glimpse into Kant and Hume's conceptual moral philosophies may provide a good start as well. For something more contemporary, one of my favorite books is "The Evolution of Morality" by Richard Joyce.

Don't limit yourself to just philosophy, though. Read a wide range of topics. Although I will say, philosophy is great for helping with LR and RC. Even as a philosophy major, I will often read a paragraph and just be like, "Whaaaaa...?" It really forces you to pick apart sentences and critically analyze what the author is trying to say.

uchicago wrote:Can anyonne recommend some philopsphy books to me, so i can improve my logical reasoning??? ( i am reading LR bible now, but decided to embrace a new challenge one)

I am very good at LG, so i never worry about that part..

"The Concept of Law" by H.L.A. Hart.

And of course, like the above poster said: "Justice as Fairness" by Rawls; and "Anarchy, State, and Utopia" by Nozick.

uchicago wrote:Can anyonne recommend some philopsphy books to me, so i can improve my logical reasoning??? ( i am reading LR bible now, but decided to embrace a new challenge one)

I am very good at LG, so i never worry about that part..

http://lsatblog.blogspot.com/2008/12/ls ... books.html

There are some logic books recommended here (near the bottom of the page)! I have read two of them & they have helped me with LR.

if you want some decently hard philosophy to improve your logical reasoning go with Kant's critique of pure reason. If you want something lighter but still worthwhile, go with anything by J.S. Mill, I prefer his Utilitarianism and On Liberty. Also, Hume would be good too.

I didn't like Rawls and Hart very much, but I did spend quite a bit of time reading them (especially Hart).

I think Kant's Antinomies would be especially good to practice on because there are 4 antinomies (so 4 thesis and anti-thesis) that you can read. They are straight forward arguments so you won't have to read a lot of fluff like you would have to if you were reading Hart and Rawls.

eandy wrote:Do you mean philosophy like philosophers? If so, then read John Rawls for some liberal fun or Robert Nozick for conservative fun.

Logic books I don't know.

I saw this topic and I was going to respond with the same 2 pieces.

TITCR.

Blindsided wrote:if you want some decently hard philosophy to improve your logical reasoning go with Kant's critique of pure reason.

If you are not already immersed in philosophy, do not take this advise. It will only hurt your brain, and you won't get anything out of it.

1ferret! wrote:

Blindsided wrote:if you want some decently hard philosophy to improve your logical reasoning go with Kant's critique of pure reason.

If you are not already immersed in philosophy, do not take this advise. It will only hurt your brain, and you won't get anything out of it.

I disagree. I'm not big into philosophy, and I enjoyed it. It's mentally challenging, but nothing a sharp layperson can't handle.

...you have a long way to go.

For philosophy that might help LR, I would agree with the above poster about Hume (particularly his work on causation). Berkeley's short read "A treatise concerning human knowledge" is interesting because it gives a concise argument for why the external world understood as materialist does not exist, and can be fun to evaluate. These, as well as all of the other suggestions already given, are extremely classical pieces that your average philosophy 101 might encounter (although perhaps not do justice) and are accessible, at least superficially, to your average person. For less cliché pieces, I encourage you to identify an area in particular that interests you and delve into it. For suggestions on selections relating to consciousness and innate moral reasoning feel free to message me.

register for HBC next fall

Atlas Shrugged










Just kidding.

Nightrunner wrote:If you would like to improve your logical reasoning qua logical reasoning, take a logic class.

If you would like to improve your logical reasoning for the sake of the LSAT, none of these books will be of a utility great enough to merit the resources they will consume.

Agreed. Most philosophy essays are too lengthy to be comparable to the RC sections of the LSAT. As a philosophy major, I would suggest you read something else to prepare.

Russell: The Problems of Philosophy this book is short and to the point. Russell's arguments are not the greatest nor is writing style but this is a good introduction to Analytic philosophy which seems to me what all the LR is about. Ayer's language truth and logic could also be good. The above advice mostly recommends political and moral philosophy which could also be good since anyone could find it interesting. I'd say make sure to read something more modern since it is pretty easy to get bogged down in the language of writers like Hume and Kant.

For help deciphering conclusion/sub-conclusion/premises etc. read Rulebook for Arguments by. Anthony Weston (not so much a philosophy book as much as just a book about arguments. I'll just reiterate what others posters have said onn JS Mill and Kant. Their essays have many arguments similiar to those on the LR section though I should warn you Kant gets very dense and difficult to understand at times. I particularly like Mill's Utilitarianism. Another one that is packed full of arguments is Blaise Pascal's Pensees. Basically an argument reasoning the consequences of the existence of God, but void of emotion. Good book with a ton of short arguments. Mill; however, (imo) is the most interesting read.

OOOO and another thing... if you happen to look through a "formal logic" book the only thing in it thats applicable to the LSAT is the section on logical fallacies. Only study that section and maybe the section on conditionals (although in my mind powerscore does a better job of conditional reasoning for the LSAT). There is almost always a flaw question on the LSAT that should be a "gimme" ..they're always textbook cases of logical fallacies. (usually ad hominen attacking the person)

I just thought of this, there is a really good anthology with great translations that we used in my political theory class. It's Classics of Moral and Political Theory.
http://www.amazon.com/Classics-Politica ... 0872207765

You can get a used copy for 12 bucks. It has everything: Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Aquinas, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Hume, Rousseau, Kant, Mill, Marx, Nietzsche, and Weber.

I still think, though, that if you want to stay awake enough to benefit, go with Justice as Fairness and/or Anarchy, State, and Utopia

eandy wrote:Do you mean philosophy like philosophers? If so, then read John Rawls for some liberal fun or Robert Nozick for conservative fun.

Logic books I don't know.

Don't read Rawls for practice. The arguments are far too complex to be helpful for, or analogous to, anything on the LSAT. Definitely don't read him for any kind of fun. Very boring.

IBThatGuy wrote:

eandy wrote:Do you mean philosophy like philosophers? If so, then read John Rawls for some liberal fun or Robert Nozick for conservative fun.

Logic books I don't know.

Don't read Rawls for practice. The arguments are far too complex to be helpful for, or analogous to, anything on the LSAT. Definitely don't read him for any kind of fun. Very boring.

Theory of Justice was a bit confusing a good deal of the time, but he sorted it out in Justice as Fairness. Some of the other stuff is a little boring, but I think Justice as Fairness is extremely interesting.
Different strokes for different folks, I guess.

being and nothingness.

romothesavior wrote:

uchicago wrote:Can anyonne recommend some philopsphy books to me, so i can improve my logical reasoning??? ( i am reading LR bible now, but decided to embrace a new challenge one)

I am very good at LG, so i never worry about that part..

Nietzsche FTW. Try and see if you can find an anthology or complilation. I think there is one called "Basic Writings" or maybe "Basic Studies" that include "Beyond Good and Evil" and "Ecce Homo." A glimpse into Kant and Hume's conceptual moral philosophies may provide a good start as well. For something more contemporary, one of my favorite books is "The Evolution of Morality" by Richard Joyce.

Don't limit yourself to just philosophy, though. Read a wide range of topics. Although I will say, philosophy is great for helping with LR and RC. Even as a philosophy major, I will often read a paragraph and just be like, "Whaaaaa...?" It really forces you to pick apart sentences and critically analyze what the author is trying to say.

agree, but would recommend "on the genealogy of morals" in its entirety, as well.

Korsgaards "Sources of Normativity" is interesting, thought maybe better to read after Kant.

I think Rawl's last book in his veil of ignorance/justice series was Justice as Fairness: A restatement, which is not terribly long.

Look into "W'ff 'N Proof: The Game of Modern Logic". It was actually created by a University of Michigan law professor. Should help with those logica games.

As for actual philosophical texts, for your purposes, I would recommend Descartes' Meditations on First Philosophy. You may never find anything more marvelously written.

Johannes de Silentio would recommend Kierkegaard's Fear and Trembling.

With Good Reason by Engel and Critical Thinking: An Introduction by Fisher. I used both of these books for an informal logic class and think they would be helpful with LR.

A Concise Introduction to Logic by Hurley is the textbook I used in my formal logic class. It has all the formal logic you need to know for the LSAT and more, and a good chapter on informal fallacies.

Elements of Argument by Rottenberg and Winchell would also be helpful.

Anything Foucault. Particularly his stuff on power/knowledge. Very strong stuff.

I also like Stuart Hall of UCL and his stuff on representation. Ceci n'est pas une pipe!

Depends on what type of phil., tho.

My personal favs are: Burke, Foucault, Chompsky, Gramsci, Said, most literary theorists, post-structuralists. too many to name really

Edit: these are not likely to improve your lsat experience.