Some starting points would be helpful...What kinds of things are you interested in? Are you religious? More info will yield more results.
Not religous, very practical. Intelligence is best seen through simplicity kinda guy. Sent from my SM-S820L using Grasscity Forum mobile app
Beyond good and evil - nietzsche Groundwork for the Metaphysic of morals- Kant. Both of those books changed my life. Or it sound as if you may be interested in the stoics.
Yourself. It's the only one you'll ever have to convince, the only one you'll have rule over, the only one that knows you best. You contain the answers to what you're looking for...you did it just now by inquring about inquiring about philosophy lol Corny go-to answer yaya ihearya Check out Osho along with the famous ones. Literally type into google Osho __________ insert: desire, ambition, life, work, play, ethics, philosophy, etc. Eastern > Western philosophy, HOWEVER...this is big, West Coast Hip Hop > East Coast Hip Hop
I'd start with Plato, specifically The Republic. It presents a lot of ideas as labels and functions, and is useful for comparing/contrasting your own thoughts/beliefs with. This functions well as a way to hone or drop your own ideas. This is one of the reasons that Plato's Republic is often one of the first philosophical works we are introduced to in school.
for a more modern perspective.. he was a true visionary. i do think that 'getting' Jim Morrison requires a certain mindset... or.. having traveled certain places mentally? perhaps that's a good way to describe it, but once you get it... it really clicks. Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum mobile app
I'd second Alan Watts... his Wisdom of Insecurity was really good for me. I'm very partial to Albert Camus, The Stranger is very short and quite a good read. It really shook my world up when I first read it. Franz Kafka does a lot of good stuff on "not fitting in". Metamorphosis is probably his best work. Kafka isn't really a philosopher, but his writings are probably relevant to you.
Terence Mckenna has some good stuff and deep understanding of the universe through teachings of plants including cannabis if you feel ready to understand it. If it sounds too crazy, try again in 6 months or so.
Books by Aldous Huxley really leave me thinking about my place in the world/universe. Some that come to mind are Brave New World and Island. Both are somewhat pessimistic with regard to the nature and future of humanity, but what's important is they bring these concepts to mind and make you really think. His Perrenial Philosophy was a good read too. He looks at the worlds religions and searches for a common, universal truth that lies at the heart of their doctrines. This universal truth may be what all religions are ultimately founded on. He speaks of a philosophy that all religions share, and he explains complex spiritual/religions concepts in a way that we can all understand.
Terence McKenna. The guy is on point with so many things it's eerie. Some of the things I was able to verify personally are seriously spooky on point. Obviously one should avail oneself of various points of view, but I thank Odin I found McKenna All over Youtube. I'd particularly recommend his full size workshops. They're like 10 hours long, just audio but a ton of cool info jammed in there.
Great thread dude, lots of smart replies here too. I grew up without any parental figures/role models, so I had to seek out and build my own ideal of what a man is 'Discovered' myself (or, at least, the man I intend to build myself into) mostly in these 3 short books: 1) Letters to a Young Contrarian by Christopher Hitchens (social/civic philosphy, how to think about people and politics) 2) The Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi (martial philosophy, how to think about conflict, self-improvement) 3) Meditations by Marcus Aurelius (introspection and influences, how to know and master 'the self') They all touch on the school of philosophy known as stoicism, of which I am a huge fan. Brief examples of all 3 in cheesy qoute memes: Helped me re-align from being young and confused to having at least some anchors on myself in relation to the world.