There is an excellent podcast by Peter Adamson on the history of philosophy at www.historyofphilosophy.net. I've listened to 100+ episodes already, and have yet to feel disappointed.
A good start would be to listen to all the episodes on ancient philosophy, and then to approach the original texts directly, with particular emphasis on the Platonic dialogues. As Whitehead said, "The safest general characterization of the philosophical tradition is that it consists of a series of footnotes to Plato." The Stoics are also very approachable.
In the opinion of my teachers, the pivotal figures in the history of philosophy were Plato, Aristotle, Descartes and Kant. If you master those four, you won't go wrong.
A good start would be to listen to all the episodes on ancient philosophy, and then to approach the original texts directly, with particular emphasis on the Platonic dialogues. As Whitehead said, "The safest general characterization of the philosophical tradition is that it consists of a series of footnotes to Plato." The Stoics are also very approachable.
In the opinion of my teachers, the pivotal figures in the history of philosophy were Plato, Aristotle, Descartes and Kant. If you master those four, you won't go wrong.