New to philosophy? Want to find out what all the hubbub is about? Here are my 9 picks for great philosophers to start with, none of whom require any prerequisite knowledge to get into. I can vouch for every one of these philosophers’ graspableness, as I, too, am of typical intelligecn.e
(Human-made list ⠀ | ⠀ Human-done math)
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Plato / Socrates
Ancient Greeks - 2,450ish- and 2,500ish-year-old philosophers
— questioning, virtue, knowledge, justice, dialectic —
Foundational thinkers on how to reason, examine your beliefs, and ask what makes a life or society good. The Socratic Method is one of the most important inventions in the history of argumentation
♦ Start with: Five Dialogues
Philosophy Toons • How to Read Plato — Good introduction to Plato’s Dialogues.
“You need no prior philosophical knowledge to hop in.”
The School of Life • Philosophy - Plato — More of a “Plato and you” piece
TED-Ed • Plato's Best (and Worst) Ideas — Very good little overview of Platonic thought. The good and the bad. Several of his major ideas, including some that have not exactly withstood the test of time (just ask Aquaman).
Unsolicited Advice • Plato's Guide to Fixing Politics — A longer piece focused on Plato’s “The Republic” rather than all his Dialogues more generally. Caution: The video creator notes that after studying Plato more they are no longer happy with this presentation… but I still think it’s good. If you skip any video on this list, don’t skip this one the least.
Professor Dave Explains • Classical Greek Philosophy: Socrates and Plato — Compact overview of Socrates and Plato, with useful historical context around their ideas.
Pursuit of Wonder • If Everyone Believes It, It's Probably Wrong - The Philosophy of Socrates (& Plato) — More of a story-telling video. An enjoyable 15 minutes of your time.
Academy of Ideas • The Ideas of Socrates — Socrates as a thinker concerned with examination, virtue, and how to live. On care of the soul, virtue, ignorance, injustice, the all-important learned skill of self-examination, and the question of how one ought to live. This is broader than just the Socratic Method (see the videos below for that).
Erick Wilberding • This tool will help improve your critical thinking — A brief introduction to the Socratic Method as a critical-thinking tool: on questioning values, principles, and beliefs.
The Right Questions • The Socratic Method Step by Step: How It Works with a Real Example — A deeper look into the Socratic Method. Or, as the video puts it: “Conversation based learning”
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Epictetus
Slightly less ancient Greek - 2,000 years old
— Stoicism, control, resilience —
Focused on judgment, adversity, and the distinction between what is/isn’t under your control.
♦ Start with: Enchiridion / The Handbook
Academy of Ideas • Epictetus and Stoicism: The Wisdom of the Slave Philosopher — More of an introduction to Epictetus and his overall philosophy than any of his works specifically.
Einzelgänger • Be a Loser if Need Be | The Philosophy of Epictetus — On judgement, status, and social approval through a Stoic lens.
Philosophies for Life • How To Be A Stoic - Epictetus (Stoicism) — Approachable introduction to Epictetus, including practical Stoic exercises derived from his philosophy and the Enchiridion.
Eudaimonia • The Discourses of Epictetus (Animated Book Summary) — Very visual and watchable introduction to Epictetus’ Discourses.
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Confucius*
Chinese - 2,600 years old
— duty, relationships, ritual, social harmony —
Big on personal conduct, responsibility, relationships, and the cultivation of good character.
♦ Start with: The Analects
Religion for Breakfast • Intro to Confucianism — An introduction to Confucianism and the tradition behind the Analects — education, family, ritual, societal development — more so than a video on Confucius himself.
TED-Ed • Who Was Confucius? — A video on Confucius himself.
Peter Bolland • The Confucian Virtues - Shu, Ren, and Li — On reciprocity, humaneness, and ritual (proper conduct).
Philosophy Toons • 3 Lessons From Confucius | The Analects — Three select lessons from the Analects: The Golden Rule, honesty, and social contribution
The School of Life • Eastern Philosophy - Confucius — There are already enough videos here on Confucius… but this one’s really fun. Practical Confucianism.
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René Descartes
French - 430 years old
— skepticism, certainty, rationalism —
A central figure in modern philosophy, especially concerned with what we CAN know… and how we can justify knowing it.
♦ Start with: Discourse on the Method
The School of Life • René Descartes — A general introduction to René, an early rationalist who is a foundational figure in modern philosophy, and whose work helped set the stage for the Enlightenment.
Crash Course • Cartesian Skepticism - Neo, Meet René — It’s Crash Course. Watch it - it’s guaranteed good. Hank Green introduces methodical doubt and the problem of certainty, using The Matrix for analogy. It’s more focused on skepticism than Descartes; however, without Descartes, skepticism may still be a bunch of old Greeks wondering if chairs still exist once you leave the room or if they go back to the plane of ideal chairness to await further human observance.
Alex O’Connor • “I Think Therefore I Am” Explained — A longer-form video exploring what is possibly the most profound realization any person has ever had. (My take:) When you drop all of your fundamental, unsupported axioms and predetermined principles, you eventually get down to the only thing any person can say with absolute certainty: “I think, therefore I am” (Note: Some philosophers disagree, but they’re mistaken).
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David Hume
Scottish - 315 years old
— empiricism, causation, skepticism, human nature —
Sharp skeptic of certainty. Examined how people form beliefs about causes, morality, evidence, and the world.
♦ Start with: An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding
Then & Now • Introduction to Hume: An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding — An introduction to Hume’s philosophy through the Enquiry: empiricism, impressions, ideas, causation, skepticism, induction, probability, etc. A titan of early modern epistemology, Hume’s work focuses on determining what we can actually know.
The Classical Mind • Why You Should Read David Hume — A true Hume lover’s guide to getting into Hume: why he matters, where to start, and useful resources for reading him seriously.
Quixotic Questions • What is Causation? David Hume explained! — Focused look at Hume’s “problem of causation”: what justifies belief that A causes B, rather than merely observing that B often follows A?
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John Stuart Mill
English - 220 years old
— liberty, individuality, utilitarianism, free speech —
A major thinker on freedom, morality, social pressure, and the limits of legitimate interference with other people.
♦ Start with: On Liberty
Tom Richey • John Stuart Mill: An Introduction (On Liberty, Utilitarianism, The Subjection of Women) — A broad introduction to John Stuard Mill and his philosophy
Academy of Ideas • John Stuart Mill - On Liberty — A look more specifically at Mill’s work “On Liberty”: the importance of individual liberties, especially freedom of opinion and expression.
James Muldoon • John Stuart Mill - On Liberty | Political Philosophy — A broader portrait of Mill’s political thought and the historical context in which he lived. Includes contradictions and less flattering parts, providing a more balanced picture of the man as a thinker, and the environment that helped shape his thinking.
Dr Gregory Sadler - (That Philosophy Guy) • John Stuart Mill, On Liberty | The Harm Principle | Philosophy Core Concepts — a more academic professor-led deep dive into Mill’s “harm principle”, and what it actually does, and does not permit. A little drier than some of the earlier videos, but still very interesting, and delivered by an actual philosophy professor.
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Bertrand Russell
British - 154 years old
— logic, knowledge, skepticism —
Wide-ranging philosopher known for unusually clear thinking about logic, knowledge, reality, and intellectual honesty.
♦ Start with: The Problems of Philosophy
Garneades.org • Who Was Bertrand Russell? — A brief near-biographical survey of his life and overview of his work and contribution to modern thought. Described in this video as the father of analytic philosophy, it touches on his writings and thoughts on logic and philosophy of language. (Like Wittgenstein, but readable).
Attic Philosophy • Bertrand Russell’s Philosophy — Attic Philosophy is super excited to talk to you about Bertrand Russell today. This is a longer-form video that covers a good deal of breadth: knowledge, perception, logic, language, and other focuses.
Philosophy Overdose • Bertrand Russell Interview on Philosophy (1960) — While not as good of a teaching resource as other videos on this list, this is the first (and only) video on this list where you can see the philosopher themself speak. Highly recommended if you find Russell at all interesting.
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Albert Camus
French-Algerian / Algerian / it’s complicated - turns 113 in November
— absurdity, meaning, rebellion, mortality —
Concerned with how humans should live in a world that offers no guaranteed meaning or cosmic purpose.
♦ Start with: The Myth of Sisyphus
Philosophy Toons • Absurdism: Albert Camus and The Myth of Sisyphus — A solid introduction to Camus’s absurdism through The Myth of Sisyphus. Absurdism, philosophical suicide, and his alternative of revolt, freedom, and passion.
Unsolicited Advice • Albert Camus: how to live in a meaningless world (Absurdism explained) — A much deeper and more interpretive look at Camus: meaninglessness, meaningfulness, freedom, indifference, values. What it means to live without appeal. Unsolicited Advice explicitly points out that this video is the creator’s interpretation.
Philosophize This! • Albert Camus - The Rebel — Later Camus. How revolt develops into questions of solidarity, justice, political violence, human dignity, and what the limits of rebellion may be. This is a longer video (it’s actually a podcast episode turned into a YouTube video), but it’s a genuinely different side of Camus’s thoughts, rather than another introduction to absurdism.
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You can find most of the suggested starting books for free, either at MIT’s “Internet Classics Archive” (https://classics.mit.edu/) or on Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org/), and some are available as free volunteer-read audiobooks at LibriVox (https://librivox.org/)
*Confucius note: Free translations can be very clunky and difficult to read. Go to your local bookstore or library and pick up a copy of the Penguin Classics version of The Analects.You don’t need exceptional intelligence or formal training to start doing philosophy. You just need interesting questions and sustained attention.
— Me. I said that just now. Read it again if you don’t believe me.
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Good list. I’d add Xenophon.