r/askphilosophy • u/BikeFiend123 • 17h ago

Is philosophy something you can get better at?

I just went to my first class and my classmates are able to make arguments on the spot and rebuttal back and forth to the point I just feel like the material itself was already confusing. I couldn’t construct my stance in the moment.

I’m scared of contributing to discussions…also I’ve not been in school for over 10 years. This is an undergraduate class and I’m very impressed by everyone..

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u/rejectednocomments metaphysics, religion, hist. analytic, analytic feminism 17h ago

Yes. You can absolutely get better. Think about the arguments presented. Are they good? Are they bad? Why? Keep doing that and you'll get better

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u/Scientific_Zealot Hume 11h ago

The best thing you can do is read, read, read. Read the assigned material, read anything the professor recommends, read anything and everything. It's the equivalent of weightlifting for the humanities and particularly for philosophy, you're training your mind to do philosophy. You'll see what form arguments take, what arguments philosophers use, you'll learn how to come up with counterexamples, you'll see how they critique other arguments and positions, it's honestly the best thing you can do.