Dinchamion

8 Ways to Journal Like a Philosopher

22 min read

Summary

In this video, Parker Settecase presents eight distinct methods for journaling like a philosopher, demonstrating how this practice can be a powerful tool for Thinking, Self-reflection, and developing a coherent worldview. He argues that journaling is not just about recording events, but about composing thoughts, thinking more clearly, and discovering one’s true beliefs. Parker showcases his extensive personal collection of journals, each dedicated to a specific purpose, illustrating that the act of writing is central to the philosophical life. The methods range from practical idea-capture systems to more profound exercises in self-examination and creative expression.

The core idea is that different types of thinking require different spaces. A Pocket Journal is for capturing fleeting ideas, while a Deep Work journal is for sustained, rigorous analysis. He also advocates for journals dedicated to taking notes on philosophical lectures, writing one’s own philosophical papers, and even a “Book of Proverbs” for crystallizing personal wisdom into pithy, memorable statements. The video emphasizes that journaling can be a way to engage with philosophy actively, whether by writing poetry, having dialogues with oneself (soliloquies), or documenting conversations with other thinkers. Parker encourages viewers to adopt these practices, suggesting that adorning one’s tools (like using leather covers) can add a sense of seriousness and ritual to the work, ultimately making the abstract work of philosophy a tangible, daily habit.

1. The Pocket Journal

The first method is to maintain a Pocket Journal for capturing ideas as they arise. Parker explains that you never know when a good idea will strike, and having a small, portable notebook on hand ensures that these thoughts are not lost. This journal serves as an external brain, a place to offload ideas, freeing up mental space to think about other things. He shows his own well-used pocket journals, which contain everything from YouTube video ideas to rough philosophical concepts. The key is to have a dedicated, always-accessible place for immediate thought capture.

Key Point: “You never know when a good idea is going to strike you. And so it’s always a good idea to have a pocket journal with you.” — 0:20

2. The Deep Writing / Thinking Journal

The second method involves a dedicated journal for Deep Work and sustained thinking, inspired by Cal Newport’s concept. This is a space for sitting down intentionally, often with a cup of coffee, to rigorously work through complex philosophical problems without distraction. Unlike the pocket journal for quick notes, this journal is for deep, focused analysis and argumentation. Parker uses this to do his most serious philosophical work, treating it as the place where he sits down to “go hard” and critique his own ideas.

Key Point: “This is my deep thoughts journal, my deep writing journal, and I mean that in the technical sense of like the Cal Newport deep work, right? So this is me like sitting down in a coffee shop or at my table with a cup of coffee… and thinking through some like deep ideas.” — 2:10

3. The Philosophical Notes Journal

The third method is to keep a journal specifically for taking notes on philosophy. This can include notes from university lectures, online videos, podcasts, or any other source of philosophical learning. Parker, a graduate student, uses his to record notes from his professors’ lectures. He suggests that even those not in school can use this method by taking notes on YouTube philosophy channels or podcasts. This journal becomes a repository of learned information, a resource to be reviewed and integrated into one’s own thinking.

Key Point: “This is where I take all my philosophical notes, my professors, my lectures. When I’m watching a YouTube video on philosophy, I will take notes in here.” — 3:32

4. The Book of Proverbs

The fourth method is a unique journal for creating one’s own pithy statements, gnomic sayings, and proverbs, much like Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations or Pascal’s Pensées. Parker describes this as a journal where he forces himself to be less analytical and more creative, distilling complex thoughts into memorable, wise sayings that he might want to pass on to his son. This practice encourages a different kind of philosophical engagement, one focused on wisdom and timeless truths rather than just rigorous logic.

Key Point: “This is like in the classical sense of philosophy, where you are coming up with pithy statements, gnomic statements, you’re coming up with your own proverbs… Think of Marcus Aurelius’s The Meditations.” — 3:57

5. The Philosophy Papers Journal

The fifth method is to use a journal for the explicit purpose of writing philosophy papers. This is where the rough ideas and notes from other journals are synthesized into structured, formal arguments. Parker uses this journal to outline and draft his academic papers, complete with footnotes and detailed sections. For those not in academia, this could be a space to write blog posts or essays for a Substack or WordPress site, turning personal philosophical exploration into a public-facing work.

Key Point: “This is where I write all of my philosophy papers. This one will be much more detailed. I’ll put a lot of footnotes in here. This is helping me write my papers.” — 5:07

6. The Soliloquies Journal

The sixth method involves keeping a journal for soliloquies—a space for having a dialogue with oneself. This journal is for deep self-examination, where Parker asks himself questions about his own character, motivations, and beliefs. He uses it to explore personal topics, such as why he is drawn to certain types of characters in movies, in an effort to “figure out who I am.” This method directly embodies the Socratic maxim that “the unexamined life is not worth living.”

Key Point: “This is where I’m talking to myself. This is where I’m trying to figure out who I am… This is a dialogue with yourself. I’m trying to figure out who I am. I’m trying to examine my life.” — 5:52

7. The Philosophical Poetry Journal

The seventh method is to maintain a journal for philosophical poetry. Parker notes that modern philosophers often neglect the creative expression of ideas through poetry. He uses this journal to write simple, often rhyming poems about complex philosophical topics like the trolley problem, logic, or the existence of God. This practice allows for a different, more artistic way to engage with and remember philosophical concepts, moving beyond purely analytical prose.

Key Point: “I think something that philosophers miss out on today is writing poems. That’s part of what it means to be a philosophical sage, is to give a wise statement, to give a cool poem, to give a deep thought that makes people think.” — 7:07

8. The Office Hours Journal

The eighth and final method is to keep an “Office Hours” journal to document philosophical conversations with other thinkers. Parker uses this to prepare for and take notes during discussions with his professors, theologians, and podcast guests. This journal contains questions he wants to ask, ideas sparked during the conversation, and his own mind-maps of the discussion. It serves as a record of intellectual engagement with others, allowing him to learn from them and metabolize their ideas into his own work.

Key Point: “This is a journal where I’ll keep notes from my discussions with philosophers and theologians… I want to take notes about that, and this is where I keep my own ideas, ideas that I want to ask them, questions that I have for them.” — 7:33

tagsrelated keywords
journalingpersonal development
philosophycritical thinking
notetakingknowledge management
selfimprovementintellectual growth
thinkingmental models
writingcreative writing
commonplacebookzettelkasten
deepworkproductivity
stoicismmindfulness
selfreflectionpersonal inquiry
learninglifelong learning
creativityartistic expression
academicwritingthought organization
mindmappingidea capture
penséesaphorisms

Key points

  • Journaling is a tool for clearer thinking and self-discovery. It’s not just for recording memories but for actively composing your thoughts, understanding your beliefs, and clarifying your worldview.

“Journaling can be a great way to compose your thoughts, to think more clearly, and to find out what you really are and what you really believe.” — 0:00

  • Corroboration: The practice of journaling for self-reflection and clarity is a cornerstone of many philosophical and personal development systems, most notably in Stoicism. Ryan Holiday is a modern proponent who frequently writes about this.

  • Compartmentalizing journals for different purposes enhances focus. Using separate notebooks for fleeting ideas (Pocket Journal), deep analysis (Deep Work), and creative expression (Poetry) helps tailor the tool to the specific type of thinking required.

“I compartmentalize my stuff a little bit too much. You don't have to do that. If you like any of these, then take it.” — 8:43

  • Corroboration: Many productivity experts, including Tiago Forte, advocate for separating different types of information capture to maintain organization and clarity, though they may use digital systems instead of physical notebooks.

  • The aesthetic quality of your tools can motivate you to use them. Parker emphasizes his preference for high-quality leather covers because they make the act of journaling feel more serious and intentional, which encourages him to do the work.

“I just like adorning my journals in something. It helps me take them more seriously. It helps me feel like a philosopher… if it helps you write, if it helps you do philosophy, then do it.” — 1:57

  • Corroboration: The idea that a pleasing environment and tools can enhance creativity and productivity is a well-known concept in design and psychology. This aligns with the principles discussed in books like Austin Kleon’s Show Your Work!.

  • Active engagement is key to philosophical practice. The video promotes moving beyond passive consumption of philosophy by actively writing, questioning, creating, and discussing ideas through various journaling methods.

“You can write philosophy. Get yourself a Substack or a WordPress and think hard, think through the quotes that you want to use, think through the different sources, think through your arguments.” — 5:17

  • Corroboration: This is a central theme in practical philosophy. Philosophers from Seneca to Montaigne used writing not just to record thoughts but to actively practice their philosophies.

  • Philosophical journaling can create a legacy of wisdom. The “Book of Proverbs” and “Soliloquies” journals are presented not just as tools for personal growth but as potential heirlooms—a way to pass down family wisdom and a record of a well-examined life.

“This could be a really cool way to pass on family proverbs, family wisdom to your sons.” — 4:25

  • Corroboration: The concept of the ethical will or legacy letter is a modern practice that mirrors this idea, where individuals write down their values, life lessons, and wisdom for future generations.

Articles & Blog Posts

  • “How And Why To Keep A “Commonplace Book”” by Ryan Holiday. An excellent introduction to the historical and practical reasons for keeping a centralized notebook for quotes, ideas, and observations, which aligns with several of Parker’s methods. journaling, commonplace book, philosophy, self improvement
  • “The Zettelkasten Method: The Best, Most Efficient Way to Take Notes” by Farnam Street. This post explains a more structured note-taking system for connecting ideas, which is a logical next step from the “Deep Thinking” and “Philosophical Notes” journals. note taking, zettelkasten, learning, thinking
  • “10 Ways to Fill a Notebook” by Austin Kleon. A practical and creative guide to using notebooks that breaks down the barrier of the blank page, offering fun and useful ways to journal that complement Parker’s more philosophical focus. journaling, creativity, writing, self improvement
  • “On the Shortness of Life: An Introduction to Seneca” by The Daily Stoic. This article explores the philosophy of Seneca, who heavily used writing and letters as a form of philosophical practice, similar to the journaling methods discussed in the video. philosophy, stoicism, self reflection, writing

Videos & Podcasts

  • “Cal Newport: How to Live a “Deep Life” in a Distracted World” by The Diary Of A CEO. A podcast episode where Cal Newport discusses the principles from his book Deep Work, providing a deeper context for Parker’s “Deep Thinking Journal” method. deep work, productivity, thinking, self improvement
  • “How to Take Smart Notes (The Zettelkasten Method)” by Ali Abdaal. A video that visually breaks down the Zettelkasten method, offering a system for organizing the notes and ideas gathered through the various journals Parker suggests. note taking, zettelkasten, learning, productivity
  • “Alain de Botton: On Love, Relationships, and The School of Life” by Lex Fridman. A conversation with a modern philosopher who aims to make philosophy practical and applicable to everyday life, echoing the spirit of the video. philosophy, self reflection, thinking, learning
  • “Episode #076 … The Stoics pt. 4 - Marcus Aurelius” by Philosophize This!. A podcast episode that provides an accessible overview of Marcus Aurelius and his Meditations, which Parker cites as a key example of a philosophical journal. philosophy, stoicism, self reflection, journaling

Books

  • Deep Work_Cal Newport. The foundational text for the “Deep Thinking” journal method. Newport provides a compelling argument and practical advice for cultivating focus in a distracted world. deep work, thinking, productivity, philosophy
  • Meditations_Marcus Aurelius. The quintessential example of philosophical journaling for self-improvement. It’s a collection of personal reflections and Stoic exercises that directly inspired several of the methods in the video. stoicism, philosophy, journaling, self reflection
  • The Art of the Commonplace_Christopher H. L. George. (Note: While not a direct match, the spirit of collecting and reflecting on deep thoughts is here. A more direct book on the method is harder to find). The concept of a commonplace book is central to historical intellectual practice and aligns perfectly with the note-taking methods. commonplace book, note taking, journaling, learning
  • The Examined Life_Stephen Grosz. A book of short, insightful stories from a psychoanalyst’s practice. It beautifully illustrates the power of self-examination and understanding one’s own inner world, which is the goal of the “Soliloquies” journal. self reflection, thinking, philosophy, self improvement

Creators

Transcript

0:00 > Journaling can be a great way to compose yur thoughts, to think more clearly, and to find out who you really are and what you really believe.>
So, in a minute, eight different ways to journal like a philosopher.
0:15 So the first way to journal like a philosopher is to keep a pocket journal. You never know when a good idea is going to strike you. And so it’s always a good idea to have a pocket journal with you in your pocket, in your purse, in your bag, wherever. The idea of a pocket journal is just a place to keep your thoughts as they pop up. If you’re anything like me, then your ideas stay in your mind and it’s hard for you to think about anything else. You don’t want to lose that idea, right? Pocket journal is great for that.
0:46 So I keep this on me at all times, either in my breast pocket if I’m wearing a coat, my back pocket, my front pocket, wherever, and I collect my ideas in here, like ideas for YouTube videos. This here is a Leuchtturm 1917, and I just have it with a leather cover that I got from Etsy. It’s got this elastic band here and the pen can go right in the side.
1:05 Now this is the first time I started using the Leuchtturm, but I’ve been using these Moleskines, these Moleskines for years and years and years and years, right? So I’ve got a lot of them. I’ve been doing it for a long time and it’s been immensely beneficial to me.
1:24 I used to use these Saddleback leather covers for my Moleskines, but as I switched to the Leuchtturm 1917, they don’t fit. So no problem. You know, I’m not here to hawk a certain leather product, but I do like the Leuchtturm 1917 because it has page numbers and it’s got two page holders.
1:43 The next way to journal like a philosopher is to keep a deep writing or deep thinking journal. Now again, this is a Leuchtturm 1917 and I’ve got it here in my Saddleback Moleskine cover. These are brand new. You don’t have to buy all the leather. > I just like adorning my journals in something. It helps me take them more seriously. It helps me feel like a philosopher. Now, feeling like a philosopher is not everything, but if it helps you write, if it helps you do philosophy, then do it.>
2:10 > This is my deep thoughts journal, my deep writing journal, and I mean that in the technical sense of like the Cal Newport deep work, right? So this is me like sitting down in a coffee shop or at my table with a cup of coffee. It’s always with coffee and thinking through some like deep ideas.> This is where I actually do a lot of my philosophy work. I’m a student in philosophy and this is where I sit down to think rigorously, to critique myself, to go hard.
2:37 So, way number two is keep a deep thoughts journal where you’re doing the hard work of thinking through philosophical ideas.
2:44 A third way to journal or take notes like a philosopher is my philosophical notes journal. Now this is where I take class notes. So when my professors are lecturing, I keep all the notes in here. And you guys can do this even if you’re not a graduate student in philosophy. Just go to YouTube, check out my podcast, get yourself a… This is a Moleskine, Moleskine, whatever.
3:09 This is a Moleskine journal and again, I told you I keep my stuff in leather. This is another Saddleback. > Saddleback, holler at your boy. Like, let’s get some promotion going. Somebody tag Saddleback in this so they’ll send me these for free. I spend way too much money on this stuff.> But again, I like to adorn it. I like it to be beautiful so I will write in it. Anything to help me write, that’s cool with me. So here I take all my philosophical notes, my professors, my lectures. > When I’m watching a YouTube video on philosophy, I will take notes in here.> And then I can go over it later. I can go over it before bed. I can go up before I do a talk, before I sit down to write, I can use this to get the juices flowing.
3:50 Okay, the fourth way to journal like a philosopher is to get an actual journal and write like a philosopher. > This is like in the classical sense of philosophy, where you are coming up with pithy statements, gnomic statements, you’re coming up with your own proverbs.> And I force myself not to get analytic, not to get too rigorous, but to think of a pithy statement that I would want to pass on to my son. Something like that where you’re thinking like the Book of Proverbs, think of Pascal’s Pensées, think of Marcus Aurelius’s The Meditations. And look, if you don’t want anyone to to see these, like, I don’t know, burn it when you’re done.
4:24 But > this could be a really cool way to pass on family proverbs, family wisdom to your sons.> This is a beautiful Rogue journal. Again, I’m not trying to hawk anything, but look at how beautiful that looks. That makes you want to write in it. And I tell myself before bed, you owe yourself some philosophy. You owe it to yourself. Keep writing in this. So this is like Parker’s Book of Proverbs.
4:47 A fifth way to journal like a philosopher is to write philosophy. Now, I already showed you the deep work, deep thinking journal. That one is for, you know, scratching and scribbling and thinking through and crossing out and doing the hard work. > This is where I write all of my philosophy papers.> This one will be much more detailed. I’ll put a lot of footnotes in here. This is helping me write my papers. So you guys can do this as well, even if you’re not in school. > You can write philosophy. Get yourself a Substack or a WordPress and think hard, think through the quotes that you want to use, think through the different sources, think through your arguments.>
5:27 This is where I do all my philosophical work. And again, this is a Saddleback. You can’t get these anymore. This is the old school version and some Moleskine. So this is actually where like I write philosophy papers. I will write them in here and then I will go back and do them in Microsoft Word or wherever.
5:45 A sixth way to journal like a philosopher is to keep a log of soliloquies. > This is where like I’m talking to myself. This is where I’m trying to figure out who I am.> Maybe it’s more psychology or something, but > this is a dialogue with yourself.> So what I do in here is I will think of something that’s characteristic of me and I’ll ask myself, why do I like that? Why am I like that? Why do I aspire to be that type of thing?
6:11 And these are no outside sources. I’m not writing anything except my own thoughts here. I’m trying to figure out who I am. > I’m trying to examine my life.> The unexamined life is not worth living. And so I have a book of soliloquies where I sit down and try to get to know myself. So I have an entry in here like, why do I love villains in movies so much? I really love villains, and I’m trying to figure out, is that a character flaw? What’s the deal? So that’s another way you can use a journal, take notes, whatever, like a philosopher, a book of soliloquies.
6:42 A seventh way to journal like a philosopher is to keep a journal of philosophical poetry. Now, I am very simplistic. I like all my poems to rhyme, but I’ll write poems about the trolley problem, about logic, about the existence of God, about apologetics. I like to write poems. I like them to be sing-songy, Shel Silverstein type style. You might be deeper than me, but > I think something that philosophers miss out on today is writing poems. That’s part of what it means to be a philosophical sage, is to give a wise statement, to give a cool poem, to give a deep thought that makes people think.>
7:20 So another way to journal like a philosopher is to keep a book of philosophical poetry. And the eighth way to journal like a philosopher is to keep an office hours notebook or journal. > This is a journal where I’ll keep notes from my discussions with philosophers and theologians.> Now I do this on my podcast, but if I go into someone’s office hours or I meet them on Zoom or whatever, and I’m asking them about their ideas, > I want to take notes about that. And this is where I keep my own ideas, ideas that I want to ask them, questions that I have for them.> I’ll write them down, I’ll circle, I’ll try to help myself figure it out. And then from here, I can take new notes back in the other journals to metabolize what they’ve said.
8:01 Now, if you’re not in school and you don’t have regular access to philosophers, that’s okay. A lot of these people are really accessible and maybe they’ll hop on a Zoom call with you or maybe they will respond to your emails. And so I have a office hours journal where I’m keeping track of the philosophical conversations I have in order to help myself learn. I can look back and to help myself ask them the questions that I have for them. So that’s it, folks. That’s eight ways to journal or keep notes like a philosopher. I’m still a graduate student myself.
8:32 I’m just a philosopher on the way. I’m not claiming to have all the answers. If you guys have another way to journal like a philosopher, let me know. Leave me a comment. I want to know. Obviously, I like doing it. Perhaps > I compartmentalize my stuff a little bit too much. You don’t have to do that. If you like any of these, then take it.> You don’t have to put anything in leather. I do because I’m weird. If you guys like this, leave me a like, leave me a thumbs up, leave me a little philosopher thinking emoji. And check out the rest of the channel to find in-depth podcast episodes with some of the leading philosophers and theologians.