Oh yeah no way, do not start with the Republic. If you have any interest in Socrates, you can start with much, much shorter dialogues like Gorgias or Euthyphro, and you'll quickly get a sense of how Socrates/Plato argues.
The "Introducing..." series of illustrated books are actually pretty good ( here's the one for Nietzsche ), giving an overview of the philosophers' biographies as well as their books and thought. (Although Nietzsche's a very good writer! You can easily have a good time with Beyond Good and Evil, I think.) Picking up something like a Norton anthology ( although for god's sake buy it second-hand ) can be useful for getting a broad overview.
Also, if there's a thinker like Kant who you want to know more about but whose books are suuuper dry, I really recommend finding a biography instead first. Reading Ray Monk's book on Wittgenstein, for instance, is a lot more illuminating than trying to read the Tractatus on your own.
Source: I was a philosophy major for about six years before I came to my senses
That's two recs for BGE I think I might start there, and also with the Introducing Nietzche. Thanks for the practical advice! Reading biographies seems like a really solid idea.
Oh yeah no way, do not start with the Republic. If you have any interest in Socrates, you can start with much, much shorter dialogues like Gorgias or Euthyphro, and you'll quickly get a sense of how Socrates/Plato argues.
The "Introducing..." series of illustrated books are actually pretty good ( here's the one for Nietzsche ), giving an overview of the philosophers' biographies as well as their books and thought. (Although Nietzsche's a very good writer! You can easily have a good time with Beyond Good and Evil, I think.) Picking up something like a Norton anthology ( although for god's sake buy it second-hand ) can be useful for getting a broad overview.
Also, if there's a thinker like Kant who you want to know more about but whose books are suuuper dry, I really recommend finding a biography instead first. Reading Ray Monk's book on Wittgenstein, for instance, is a lot more illuminating than trying to read the Tractatus on your own.
Source: I was a philosophy major for about six years before I came to my senses
That's two recs for BGE I think I might start there, and also with the Introducing Nietzche. Thanks for the practical advice! Reading biographies seems like a really solid idea.