Notes on Reading

(With special reference to classic philosophical texts)

(1) You haven’t read a book once until you’ve read it twice. First read a book or assignment quickly through to get a sense of the overall argument and architecture. Reread it slowly for details and consistency.

(2) Be naive. When you begin to study a great book, try to understand it as its author did. Put aside—at least initially—questions of historical context and biography and try to understand the argument as if it were addressed to you by a wise and honest friend. Treat the author as your teacher. Begin with the assumption that you have something important to learn. Criticism and evaluation are pointless if one does not first establish the most complete and plausible meaning of the text.

(3) Treat nothing as an accident. Read a great book as if every word were essential. Often the most important statements elude us because we read past them through carelessness or complacency. This is especially important in cases where one detects what appears to be an obvious contradiction or lapse in logic. A great authority on political philosophy once wrote, “If a master of the art of writing commits such blunders as would shame an intelligent high school boy, it is reasonable to assume that they are intentional, especially if the author discusses, however incidentally, the possibility of intentional blunders in writing.” Often, such intentional blunders are intended to point the careful reader to more sustained thought about the matter under consideration.

(4) Read actively. Great books mean to educate us about the world, so keep the world in mind when reading. Treat the question being discussed as a live question, one that it is important for you to resolve or at least to clarify.

(5) Read even more actively. Read with pencil and paper ready. Mark up your texts, make lists, take notes, and construct summaries and outlines. It is often useful to make one’s own index while reading so that specific passages can be easily recalled and compared. Scribbling down definitions of key terms that are peculiar to the author or text is also useful.