I start with a short description of how I used to read philosophy book. I made a fundamental error in my reading described below:
I read philosophy books the same way I read bestsellers and novels. That is, I just skimmed through the pages without forethought or afterthought. This resulted in my not understanding almost all of what I had read. I was able to just understand some stray bits and pieces of everything I went through.
And still my reading changed me as a person. I can claim credit only to two things –
Firstly, I read these books over and over until I had almost memorized them.
Secondly, I put into practice some concepts that I was able to understand and which appealed to me. I behaved in ways which caused me to be misunderstood. And yet – in the long run – my doing what I did benefited me.
There are two applicable sayings:
- One fact mastered is a thousand enjoyed
- We are what we think, all that we are arises with our thoughts, with our thoughts we make the world, so speak or act with a pure mind and happiness will follow you, like a shadow unshakeable.
So the main benefits of reading the way I did was that I thought consistently of philosophical thoughts and that changed me as a person. And also that I learnt by experience.
But to return to how to read a book on philosophy. There are two quotes by Paul Brunton that I think are useful:
- The shortest sentence may contain the profoundest truth and therefore the real benefit comes when one works through them with a deliberate slowness necessary to master a new subject.
- The way to use a philosophic book is not to expect to understand all of it at the first trial and consequently not get disheartened when failure to understand is frequent. Using this cautionary approach, he should carefully note each page and paragraph that brings an intuitive response in his heart’s deep feeling (not to be confused with an intellectual acquiescence in the head’s logical working). As soon as and every time this happens, he should stop his reading, put the book momentarily aside, and surrender himself to the activating words alone. Let them work upon him in their own way. He is merely to be quiet and be receptive. For it is out of such a response that he may eventually find that a door opens to his inner being and a light shines where there was none before. When he passes through that doorway and steps into that light the rest of the book will be easy to understand.
(Sourced from Paul Brunton’s books – The Quest of the Overself and The Notebooks of Paul Brunton)
If I could get as much benefit as I have done by reading philosophy in a completely superficial way then you can get much more if you proceed intelligently using the guidelines above.
The important thing is that your reading should change you as a person. You need to chew and digest serious books so that the book becomes part of your being or your nature. Then you will get the full benefit.
I will write another article that contains more suggestions on how to read serious books (not necessarily philosophy).
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