How do I get those sweet sweet intellectual gainz?

quit Jow Forums
attend university lectures
read nonfiction books
ALWAYS, no matter the topic, try to understand as many contradictory points of view as possible.
quit Jow Forums (this place is toxic and full of stupid kids and people that deliberately spread misinformation)
learn another language
become an expert in something (other than fitness and memes)

>Working through that existential dread is brain gains. You clearly failed and decided to regress into semi retardation to since you couldnt handle it
No retarded, I have beaten existential dread several times. It's just that it's i don't want other people to go through it. Ignorance is bliss, my man.

Why? Just practice whatever you need to do. Too much knowledge makes you suicidal.

>51644309
intellectual gains is the hardest muscle to develop, especially if books are your weights. In this generation, videos are easier and quicker to consume and I wish every fucking book had at least a video lecture or audiobook available. I'm doing my master's now on a topic I'm interested in but the theory books I have to read make me tap out in the first 30 mins BECAUSE EVERY FUCKING SENTENCE TAKES AN HOUR TO COMPREHEND LIKE FUCK I JUST WANT TO LIFT AND SLEEP but the point of theory books is to make your comprehension skills flexible and constantly working. It's fucking pain due to boredom but that's how you grow and develop a muscle

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youtube.com/watch?v=HKYmwD_weE8
Watch this video right now.
You are reading wrong

>Just read wikipedia articles for everything that you're curious about and browse several Jow Forums boards.
Based retard

Unironcally you should ask /lit/. Those niggas are far more competent than the troglodytes on this page.

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Read ots of books. All different styles and subjects. A real brainiac doesn't limit himself to literature thag backs up his own beliefs. He will try to understand allsides of each arguement.

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Write essays

>Plato
>redpill
LMAO Plato is rubbish, its pure communism

Don't read Nietzsche. If you must read Nietzsche, read Hegel first.

t. literal caveman

Kinda an odd catch-22 here, huh?

Just started reading Beyond Good and Evil. I'm curious, why should I read Hegel first?

Are you retarded?

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Personally, I like to start with religion (since most philosophical discourse has its roots in religious understanding), then move to myth, history, and philosophy. From there you can decide what you're interested in--I personally enjoy statecraft and metaphysics, but you might be more drawn to the natural sciences. is half-right in that most fiction from the last 100 years is practically, worthless, but there's a lot to appreciate if you approach it from the right perspective. Shakespeare in particular is unironically the greatest writer in the English canon, and reading his works will improve your vocabulary and comprehension overnight.
Here's a truncated version of my reading list:
>the Bible (old and new testament; extra points for the Catholic edition)
>the Talmud
>the Quran
>the Ramayana
>the Pali Canon
>the Epic of Gilgamesh
>Enuma Elish
>Theogony
>Argonautica
>the Illiad
>the Odyssey
>the Aeneid
>Metamorphoses
>Beowulf
>Histories of Herodotus
>History of the Peloponnesian War
>Livy's History of Rome
>the Twelve Caesars
>Augustan History
>Eusebius' Church History
>History of the Kings of Britain
>Ecclesiastical History of the English People
>Alexiad
>the Secret History of the Mongols
>Travels of Marco Polo
>the Elements
>Plato's Apology
>Meditations
>the City of God
>Treatise of Human Nature
>Critique of Pure Reason
>Phenomenology of Spirit
>Fear and Trembling
>the Ego and Its Own
>Being and Time
>Myth of Sisyphus
>Simulacra and Simulation

Most of Nietzsche's ideas were either based on or written in response to past philosophers, and it's difficult to grasp his intended message without understanding the context in which he was writing. Plus, people who start with Nietzsche typically never progress beyond his works, since they're fairly nihilistic and give the impression that other philosophies are useless (rightly or wrongly).

>51648916
I like this list. I might give it a shot. I am not op

Glad you like it. I removed a lot of the exotic (read: non-western) content in favor of a more streamlined approach, and since I'm assuming most people on this board are from an English-speaking country.

Solid list
Would still add the Bhagavad Gita

>a Jow Forumsack's Journey
>read all of the books that are vital to modern left-wing degeneracy, then skip straight ahead to Nietzsche, Heidegger, Adorno and Hegel
what kind of retard made this shit

Thanks I will, that list is pretty based for the most part, but honestly most philosophy is pretty much useless for self improvement, its nice to think about it, but reading Kant, Hume, Hegel etc won't get you anywhere. It's mostly a waste of time really

>t. brainlet who never read Plato
Now go and share wive and children

OP here, thanks for the list

Do you have Part 2?

I have the Mahabharata in my full list, but I trimmed it since Ramayana is more accessible.

Since I'm still here, I'll add my politics and statecraft list:
>Plato's Republic
>Aristotle's Politics
>Book of Lord Shang
>Arthashastra
>De re Militari (Concerning Military Matters)
>Thirty-Six Stratagems
>the Prince
>Discourses on Livy
>Political Testament of Cardinal Richelieu (sadly only available in French)
>Leviathan
>Two Treatises of Government
>the Spirit of the Laws
>the Social Contract
>the Wealth of Nations
>Reflections on the Revolution in France
>Elements of the Philosophy of Right
>Clausewitz's On War
>Democracy in America
>On Liberty
>Das Kapital
>the Conquest of Bread
>Politics as a Vocation

I should note that virtually all of these titles are available for free online as PDFs, so you can download as many as you like and read to your heart's content. If I find one that I particularly enjoy, I'll get a physical copy and put it on my bookshelf.

If self-improvement is your single goal, then at least do yourself a favor and read Marcus Aurelius' Meditations. It's one of the most down to earth and practical works of philosophy ever written, and a very easy read.

kill horses

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I have, honestly the stoics and Nietzsche are the only useful philosophers out there

You could add more!. that would be great.