Donald asked:

I am currently teaching myself philosophy, and I have a few questions I would like answered:

1) What is the difference between logic and clear thinking?

2) What is the difference between logic and clear-headed thought?

3) How can I develop philosophical thinking skills?

4) What books do you recommend for beginners like me (Metaphysics, Logic, Epistemology and
Philosophical thinking?)

5) Also, what is the best way to unclutter my mind,so that I could get rid of the preconceptions,
postconception to become a truly open-minded person?

I am 40 years of age and I just got interested in philosophy. (I'm a High School Graduate).

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1 and 2: Clear-headed thought is the product of clear thinking. Thinking is a process of discovering
answers to questions, while logic describes the process of provingyour right to make a claim, based
on a given set of premisses.

3: It is possible to teach yourself philosophy up to a point: the problem is that you have to be your
own critic, and philosophy (as you will learn) is one of the most fallible of all human activities. The
constant experience of a philosopher is discovering that one has been wrong — made a false
assumption, or a false logical inference, or asked the wrong question etc.

A philosophy student needs to read andwrite. At some point, you will need to have your writings
criticised by others.

4. There is a selection of introductory books on this site at ../programs/pak5.html. You will find advice
on writing a philosophy essay at ../programs/pak4.html.

5. Famously, Descartes describes how he set out to unclutter his mind in the Discourse on Method.
My advice would be to read through some of the pages of questions and answers on the Ask a
Philosopher site. You will go back to your books with an increased awareness of different ways of
looking at things, and with far less confidence in your own infallibility.

As I said, at some point you will realize that you need someone to be a critic and/ or direct your
studies. In the history of philosophy, the only philosopher who was entirely self-taught was Thales.

Geoffrey Klempner