Study Plans (6 and 12 Months) 🗓️

This page keeps your reading practical and steady. Pair it with docs/books.md and docs/templates/weekly-study-checklist.md.

Choose Your Track in 30 Seconds

• Pick 6-Month Intensive if you can commit 8-10 hours per week.
• Pick 12-Month Deep if you prefer 5-7 hours per week and slower depth.
• If unsure, start with 12-month for 4 weeks, then re-evaluate.

6-Month Intensive Track ⚡

Target pace: 8-10 hours/week.

Month 1 - Classical Foundations

• Plato (Republic) and Aristotle (Nicomachean Ethics).
• Output: 1 comparison memo (2 pages): justice vs virtue.

Month 2 - Parallel Classical Ethics

• Confucius (Analects), Epicurus (letters/doctrines), Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius.
• Output: 1 practical ethics note (2 pages): role ethics vs Stoic control.

Month 3 - Medieval Synthesis

• Augustine, Avicenna, Maimonides, Aquinas (selected sections).
• Output: 1 concept map: faith/reason models.

Month 4 - Early Modern Split

• Descartes, Hobbes, Locke, Hume, Spinoza.
• Output: 1 matrix: rationalism vs empiricism and political implications.

Month 5 - Enlightenment and Idealism

• Rousseau, Kant, Hegel.
• Output: 1 short essay (3-4 pages): freedom and legitimacy.

Month 6 - Modern Critique and Analytic Turn

• Kierkegaard, Mill, Marx, Nietzsche, Frege, Russell, Wittgenstein.
• Output: final synthesis paper (6-10 pages).

12-Month Deep Track 🌱

Target pace: 5-7 hours/week.

Quarter 1 (Months 1-3)

• Plato, Aristotle, Confucius, Epicurus, Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius.
• Goal: ethical foundations and self-cultivation vocabulary.

Quarter 2 (Months 4-6)

• Plotinus, Augustine, Avicenna, Maimonides, Aquinas.
• Goal: metaphysics and theology across traditions.

Quarter 3 (Months 7-9)

• Descartes, Hobbes, Locke, Hume, Spinoza, Rousseau.
• Goal: modern self, knowledge, and social order.

Quarter 4 (Months 10-12)

• Kant, Hegel, Kierkegaard, Mill, Marx, Nietzsche, Frege, Russell, Wittgenstein.
• Goal: modern critique plus analytic method.

Monthly Rhythm (Both Tracks) 🔄

• Week 1: Primary text focus and annotation.
• Week 2: Secondary guide and terminology consolidation.
• Week 3: Write one argument reconstruction.
• Week 4: Discussion, review, and spaced repetition.

Deliverable Checklist ✅

• 1 argument map per philosopher (minimum concise format).
• 1 monthly comparison note.
• 1 quarterly synthesis (3-5 pages).
• 1 final capstone essay.

If You Fall Behind

• Do not restart from zero.
• Keep one thinker active and reduce weekly page targets.
• Resume full pace after two consistent weeks.