Hard books
Some books are hard to read, but we still open them again and again.
Books that cannot be read, often work hard to read but have qualitative gains.
Xiaobian shared 10 difficult books today, and I wish you all the best in reading.
1. Phenomenology of Spirit
[De] Hegel; He Lin, translated by Wang Jiuxing
One important reason why Phenomenology of Spirit is difficult to read is that people usually can't get rid of the habit of reading other works. When we read other philosophical works, we have a habit of always involuntarily viewing what is written in the book as a fixed point of view held by the author himself.
One of the important differences between reading Phenomenology of Spirit and reading other works is that we cannot take every sentence in Phenomenology of Spirit seriously. It can even be said that Hegel's purpose is to make the reader suspicious of every link in the book, to have a skeptical attitude, thus forming a "road of doubt".
This is what Hegel himself said, and the Phenomenology of Spirit is a "road of doubt."
Therefore, Hegel's "Phenomenology of Spirit" is a kind of training, a kind of repeated polishing and stimulation of the human spirit, repeated tossing. The normal attitude with which we read Phenomenology of Spirit should be this, that is, the attitude that Hegel desired was this: to speak vainly, to listen to it, to believe it.
I used to argue that reading Phenomenology of Spirit is like reading a novel, and Phenomenology of Spirit is a series of novels, and each spiritual level is like a novel. Therefore, when we read Phenomenology of Spirit, we cannot accept a certain knowledge with a passive attitude, but we must actively mobilize all our inner experiences like reading a novel. Reading a novel that you are interested in reading is not a lesson.
The process of reading Phenomenology of Spirit is a process of spiritual growth and maturity, and it is also a process of recall. When we read Phenomenology of Spirit, we are actually living a philosophical life. We say that we have to invest in it, that we have to invest in our thoughts, that is a philosophical life, or to carry out a philosophical practice, and life is practice.
--Deng Xiaomang
What is the place of phenomenology of spirit in Hegel's philosophical system?
Hegel had planned to write a book called A System of Speculative Philosophy, which consisted of four departments: Phenomenology of Spirit, Logic, Natural Philosophy, and Philosophy of Spirit.
What exactly is hegel's phenomenology?
The meaning of "phenomenology" in Hegel's view is to seek the essence by phenomena. When people observe things, they always seek to know what is inside from the outside, and from the phenomena that appear outside to grasp their inner essence -- this is the study of phenomenology.
Phenomenology of Spirit is a philosophical work by the German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, first published in 1807. As the first programmatic work of the 19th-century German classical philosopher Hegel to expound his philosophical views and methodological principles, "Phenomenology of Spirit" summarizes the philosophical research results of Hegel's previous philosophers and announces the outline of future philosophy.
2. Critique of Pure Reason
[de] Kant
Kant's most important works are collectively known as the "Three Critiques", namely the Critique of Pure Reason, the Critique of Practical Reason, and the Critique of Judgment.
As the first of the three major criticisms, the historical significance of "pure criticism" is extremely important: its birth not only marks the beginning of German classical philosophy, but also a major turning point in the entire history of Western philosophy. If nothing else, just from the point of view of writing, the works of philosophers and thinkers before Kant are still relatively easy to understand, such as Descartes, Bacon and others, philosophy is still popular, although logically rigorous, but generally can still be read, and when Kant comes here, everyone begins to understand.
One of the characteristics of Kant's work is that it is obscure, because he has to repeatedly dwell on the choice and use of some words in order to illustrate a problem, although the logic is very strict, but the expression is very cumbersome, and it is completely impossible to extract a few sentences from the book out of context and say that this is what Kant's philosophy is trying to express. Looking at some selected sentences alone, one may feel that there are contradictions in Kant's philosophical thought, but if the logical inference is strictly followed in the context of the whole book, then these contradictions can be found to be false.
In other words, philosophy is no longer accessible to amateur philosophers when it comes to Kant, and since Kant philosophy has become a profession taught in universities, and there is no way to do philosophy without mastering professional knowledge, so Kant's works need to be read with professional terms, concepts, and techniques to be able to read them.
So, how do you get into Kant's philosophy? Of course, the most important way is to read through the whole text, sort out the complete logical structure, and avoid finding chapters and excerpts.
Also choose a translation that suits you.
Critique of Pure Reason (English-Chinese Edition)
[English] Norman Kemp Smith English translation; Lan Gongwu translation
Critique of Pure Reason, translated by Lan Gongwu
"Critique of Pure Reason" translated by Wang Jiuxing
3. Logical Studies
[de] by Edmund Husserl
"Logical Studies" is "epoch-making" in a double sense.
On the one hand, it is naturally because it is the same age as the 20th century, which can be said to be a salute of the 20th century; and the end of the 20th century means the completion of the century-old effect history of "Logical Studies". On the other hand, the publication of Studies in Logic heralded the opening of a new era in the history of philosophy, which Dilthey even hailed as "the first great advance in philosophy since Kant."
This is not an exaggeration today. Although Heidegger was sometimes critical of his teacher, he always admitted that the study of Logical Studies constituted a key starting point of his philosophy, and that his "phenomenological path" revolved largely around the work; his fascination with the book, or the "magic" that emanated from it, extended even "all the way to its layout and title page, as external things as its layout and title page."
It seems that philosophers of all styles have found in Logical Studies what they seek. In any case, the phenomenological movement of continental Europe that followed the publication of Logical Studies can undoubtedly be regarded as an important philosophical current of this century.
Therefore, "Logical Research" can be viewed as high or low as "Mathematical Principles", and it can be compared with "Existence and Time" according to its front and back.
4. "Being and Time"
Translated by Chen Jiaying and Wang Qingjie
"Existence and Time" has a huge and profound impact, but it is also too difficult because of its large size and too difficult sentences, which makes philosophical lovers and even researchers daunted and difficult to read.
Existence and Time criticizes the tradition of studying philosophy as knowledge and existence as beings since Plato and Aristotle. At the same time, it abandons the method of starting from knowledge in modern philosophical research represented by Descartes.
Heidegger's philosophy begins with the existence of man, this, and reaches the clarity of the meaning of existence in the pursuit of "existence". In his analysis of man's condition of existence, he offers a metaphysical explanation of the rationalization of irrational things for the fundamental emotions of modern man. The philosophy of existence based on Heidegger's Existence and Time represents a major shift in Western philosophy, both in terms of purpose and content.
"Being and Time" is intended to be interpreted in a human-centered manner. Man is and is man. There is no divine commandment or the law of nature that specifies how we should be human beings, and there is no place in heaven or earth that prescribes human nature. Human nature has not yet been directed, it is still creating. Human nature is neither a finished product nor a blueprint yet to be realized, so how can we perceive human nature? We are already there, in all our efforts; we are already troubled, and we are aware of our troubles. It is troublesome to appear in the mood of putting oneself in the shoes of others, to comprehend in planning, to communicate in language, and to unfold existence itself in existence. But nothing can be bothered. Annoyance is not a fixed situation, nor is the understanding of annoyance. The question of human nature, or the answer to the existential problem, is not like the root of an equation, and it is there to find it. Thinking comprehends being, and always comprehends being. It does not provide a "conclusion", but only keeps it in the "obscurity of the being".
——Chen Jiaying, "Introduction to Heidegger's Philosophy"
5.《Philosophy Research》
[O] Wittgenstein
A difficult philosophical classic, it has had a profound impact on modern and contemporary philosophy.
Philosophical Studies is a representative work of the late Wittgenstein. In the book, he argues that many of the philosophical problems of the past stemmed from the philosopher's misunderstanding and use of language, making philosophy an empty metaphysics. This book mainly criticizes its early ideas about language, mind, and world, proposes relevant new understandings, and holds that the consistent relationship between language, mind, and world occurs within language, rather than outside language; and makes a new interpretation of the nature of philosophy, asserting that philosophical research is grammatical research.
Philosophical Studies, translated by Chen Jiaying
Philosophical Studies, translated by Li Bulou and Chen Weihang
6. "A Brief Theory of Special and General Relativity"
By Albert Einstein; translated by Zhang Butian
Everyone talks about relativity, but not all of them understand the theory of relativity, but they love to read relativity.
At the beginning of the theory of relativity, only a few people could read Einstein's theory. Einstein created the theory of special relativity in 1905 and the theory of general relativity in 1915. More than a hundred years later, many physical experiments and observations have verified the accuracy of relativity.
How to read such a fascinating theory? Listen to Einstein himself popularizing relativity: this book is his popular explanation of relativity.
As an important part of modern physics, the theory of relativity is one of the two pillars of modern and contemporary physics. This book is one of the important classic works in the department of physics, introducing the theoretical basis and main ideas of relativity, telling wonderful scientific theories in a simple and in-depth manner, and is a good book that Einstein personally popularized the theory of relativity.
7. "Gödel, Escher, Bach – The Great Convergence of Different Things"
[Beauty] Hou Shida, translation of this book
How to read "Set Different"? This is the biggest confusion of many readers and friends reading this book.
This book was rated 9.4 by netizens, take a look at the highlight short review:
There are two kinds of people in the world: those who have read this book and those who have not.
When I was a freshman, the logic teacher recommended this book, which seems to be reasonable, just after the college entrance examination, iq is still at the highest point of life.
After reading it, you will sigh how someone can write such a book and play such a superior game of thought.
After reading five chapters with difficulty, I decided to play five stars, and then I stopped looking down and put them on the bookshelf for offering.
What exactly is "Ji Yi Bi" talking about? How to read Gödel, Escher, Bach? The author Hou Shida personally explained in the preface to the 20th anniversary edition of GEB:
Why is it so hard to be sure what this book is about?
Needless to say, this general confusion among the public has frustrated me rather for many years, for I confirm that I have spoken out my intentions over and over again in the writing of this book. However, it is clear that I have not done enough, or not made clear enough, this matter.
Let me try again and for the last time to say why I wrote this book, what it is about, and what its main theme is.
A word GEB is a very personal attempt to illustrate what is going on when living beings can arise from inanimate things. What is a self, and how can a self arise from something that has no self like a stone or a puddle?
- Hou Shida
Gödel, Escher, Bach is a "book of god" published in the United States in 1979, which is an unprecedented strange book, an outstanding masterpiece of scientific popularization, and a pulitzer prize winner (non-fiction). Through the comprehensive exposition of the mathematical logic of the mathematician Gödel, the printmaking of the printmaker Eischer, and the music of the musician Bach, this popular science work introduces the theories of mathematical logic, artificial intelligence, linguistics, genetics, music, and painting. People call it the "Bible of Artificial Intelligence", and although the author Hou Shida does not agree with this assessment, his depiction of "the secret software structure in our brains" has opened up an entire generation of young people's exploration of artificial intelligence.