It’s a graduate level text; to benefit from it adequately, one should have at least a pure math undergraduate major worth of training, including the first courses in naive set theory and formal logic. A text that’s too advanced for one’s level risks confusing the reader, introducing intuitive misconceptions and giving the illusion of understanding, so it’s better to read up on something much more basic. This book might be a long term goal that contributes to shaping the curriculum, but then it should be understood that there are at least 20 books before it on the reading list.
Right; many of my selections presume prior training. I do think philosophy should be a Highly Advanced subject of study that requires lots of prior training in maths and the sciences, like string theory but hopefully more productive.
Do you think you could offer a list of bottom-up books, that don’t rely in much more than what you’d expect of a person before they start uni (and a basic programming ability)?
I know I was thinking of buying the afore mentioned book, but I’m roughly at the academic level I just described, and reviews seem to indicate that it (and the AI—Modern Approach) might need a bit more.
Edit: Or even, could you please indicate the sort of prior level required for your actual ‘Intro to Philosophy Mega-Course’. I found that some books (I forget if they’re from that list or the above bigger one) had very few helpful reviews on amazon or elsewhere, and I’m apprehensive in buying an expensive book I might not be able to use. Thanks.
I’ve only read the first ~ten chapters, but AIMA is relatively accessible. It requires you to go at your own proper pace, and notice when you haven’t fully comprehended something, but it doesn’t assume too much background. If you aren’t shy about googling/wikipedia-ing, you should be fine.
It’s a graduate level text; to benefit from it adequately, one should have at least a pure math undergraduate major worth of training, including the first courses in naive set theory and formal logic. A text that’s too advanced for one’s level risks confusing the reader, introducing intuitive misconceptions and giving the illusion of understanding, so it’s better to read up on something much more basic. This book might be a long term goal that contributes to shaping the curriculum, but then it should be understood that there are at least 20 books before it on the reading list.
Right; many of my selections presume prior training. I do think philosophy should be a Highly Advanced subject of study that requires lots of prior training in maths and the sciences, like string theory but hopefully more productive.
Do you think you could offer a list of bottom-up books, that don’t rely in much more than what you’d expect of a person before they start uni (and a basic programming ability)?
I know I was thinking of buying the afore mentioned book, but I’m roughly at the academic level I just described, and reviews seem to indicate that it (and the AI—Modern Approach) might need a bit more.
Edit: Or even, could you please indicate the sort of prior level required for your actual ‘Intro to Philosophy Mega-Course’. I found that some books (I forget if they’re from that list or the above bigger one) had very few helpful reviews on amazon or elsewhere, and I’m apprehensive in buying an expensive book I might not be able to use. Thanks.
I’ve only read the first ~ten chapters, but AIMA is relatively accessible. It requires you to go at your own proper pace, and notice when you haven’t fully comprehended something, but it doesn’t assume too much background. If you aren’t shy about googling/wikipedia-ing, you should be fine.
Thanks.