A Beginner's Guide to Philosophy
On where to start with reading philosophy from someone who studied it at uni...
One of the reasons I started this Substack — beyond keeping my writing muscles warm and indulging my love of research — was to share some of the knowledge I was lucky enough to access through my time at university. I’ve always wanted to make philosophy feel less intimidating, more conversational. It's a subject that gets a bad rep for being abstract or overly dense (which, to be fair, it often is — I studied it for three years and still hesitate when asked to define it). It sits somewhere between pure faith and hard science, offering frameworks for thinking that aren’t quite provable, but still deeply meaningful.
At one point, philosophy was science — or at least the best version of it we had. Now it’s more like a companion to it: speculative, exploratory, unfinished. But instead of getting bogged down in definitions or diving straight into the deep end with Kant or Hegel (who, frankly, even admitted they’re hard to read), I wanted to share some more accessible entry points. This isn’t about being pretentious or academic — just about opening doors. Philosophy after all is just speculative thought and we can all do it (please do not google philosophical logic!).
Below, you’ll find a mix of beginner-friendly texts, companion reads, and online resources to help you figure out where your interests might lie. And I shall provide a link to those were free texts are available (which is most of them that are over 100 years old!)
Core Accessible Philosophers
Plato
If you’re looking for a place to begin with philosophy, Plato is a surprisingly great entry point. Though he’s one of the oldest thinkers in the Western tradition, his dialogues read more like literature than dense academic theory. His ideas can be a little fantastical (especially compared to his more grounded student, Aristotle), but that’s part of the appeal — they’re bold, strange, and often deeply human.
I read all of these via the Pengiun or Oxford editions but you can also find versions online.
The Republic This is arguably Plato’s most famous work — and my personal favourite. While it’s technically a philosophical text about justice, the ideal society, and the nature of the soul, it reads like a dramatic thought experiment. Expect allegories, utopias, and some very intense discussions about morality, education, and who should rule. It's philosophy, yes, but it’s also compelling storytelling.
You can read online for free here.
