Best overview of analytic philosophy to read for a soon-to-be MA student?

[jukeboxhero]

I'm planning on starting an MA program in the fall. My background isn't primarily in philosophy, so I would like to spend some time between now and the fall trying to get up to speed on contemporary analytic philosophy. I'm currently reading 'Philosophy: a guide through the subject' edited by A.C. Grayling. I've found it a great introduction to analytic philosophy so far, and once I finish it, I would love to dig into a slightly more advanced (but not overwhelming!) overview of contemporary analytic philosophy. Does anyone have any book recommendations? 

[machineghost]

20 minutes ago, jukeboxhero said:

I'm planning on starting an MA program in the fall. My background isn't primarily in philosophy, so I would like to spend some time between now and the fall trying to get up to speed on contemporary analytic philosophy. I'm currently reading 'Philosophy: a guide through the subject' edited by A.C. Grayling. I've found it a great introduction to analytic philosophy so far, and once I finish it, I would love to dig into a slightly more advanced (but not overwhelming!) overview of contemporary analytic philosophy. Does anyone have any book recommendations? 

There’s a book called “Philosophy for Graduate Students” that I found helpful as a review of some important areas (epistemology, metaphysics, mind, etc.). It’s available on Amazon. For political philosophy, you can’t beat Kymlicka’s Contemporary Political Philosophy.

[shifgrethor]

I think Philosophy Tube on Youtube has some useful videos for getting an introduction to some topics (I found their philosophy of time discussion to be helpful). Not for deep reading, but if you wanna get a lay of the land its useful.

[coffeepls]

12 hours ago, machineghost said:

There’s a book called “Philosophy for Graduate Students” that I found helpful as a review of some important areas (epistemology, metaphysics, mind, etc.). It’s available on Amazon. For political philosophy, you can’t beat Kymlicka’s Contemporary Political Philosophy.

I bought this book (Philosophy for Graduate Students) after seeing someone recommend it on here and I really like it! It just gives an overview of significant areas/concepts so it helps orient you to the general trend of discussions of a particular topic.

[intrusive.thot]

On 4/4/2018 at 9:02 PM, jukeboxhero said:

I'm planning on starting an MA program in the fall. My background isn't primarily in philosophy, so I would like to spend some time between now and the fall trying to get up to speed on contemporary analytic philosophy. I'm currently reading 'Philosophy: a guide through the subject' edited by A.C. Grayling. I've found it a great introduction to analytic philosophy so far, and once I finish it, I would love to dig into a slightly more advanced (but not overwhelming!) overview of contemporary analytic philosophy. Does anyone have any book recommendations? 

I've always enjoyed the "very short introduction" series from Oxford Press. Depending on how much you already know, they've got 60 or so topics you could choose from. I'd go for Analytic Philosophy & Continental Philosophy to start - and of course check out the epistemology, ethics, metpaphysics. Good for getting a handle on terminology and contemporary problems if nothing else.

Also YOUTUBE

[Kantattheairport]

Regarding YouTube, perhaps you're familiar with them already, but Wireless Philosophy (or Wi-Phi) are consistently excellent and cover a lot of important topics, so would recommend them!

Apart from that, perhaps just take a look at some syllabi for Intro classes and see if you can find some of the papers?

[akraticfanatic]

It really depends on your AOI!

[Halcyon23]

9 minutes ago, akraticfanatic said:

It really depends on your AOI!

This. If you have a specific interest, you should start getting a firm grip on it.

However, if you're interested in a very broad overview, Analytic Philosophy: An Anthology edited by Martinich and Sosa is a great collection of primary sources for all the most relevant works from the first half of the 20th century. Not exactly contemporary but I'd say knowing the most famous works from Russell, Quine, Rawls, etc would be good. The book is divided by the various subfields and the end of each has a 'Further Reading' section that can be helpful.

[quineonthevine]

Any of the above books seem good. I know this isn't an anthology, but I'd also suggest reading all of Kripke's "Naming and Necessity". Personally, I thought it was a fantastic introduction to analytic philosophy of language (but it also has very important implications for metaphysics and philosophy of mind, and it gives you a good sense of some different debates in analytic philosophy), and it's very accessible in my opinion. The manuscript was originally given as a lecture, so the writing is very casual and easy to follow. I think that's the single most important book-length work that someone in your shoes should be somewhat familiar with.

[Cogitodoncrien]

In addition to all of the above, I highly recommend Scott Soames' two volume "Philosophical Analysis in the Twentieth Century".  It is a really great analysis of many of the major figures and positions/arguments in analytic philosophy after Frege.

[Kantattheairport]

And on the subject of philosophy of language in the 20th century, Jason Stanley has a pretty good summary of intellectual events and why the field gained such importance, here.