Perhaps you need a more entry-level book to read first?
Maybe the books author is just a bit shit at explaining things? :D
LLMs are very prone to hallucinate untrue scientific facts and or scientific citations of non-existing papers/books out of thin air. If you're not an expert that can spot such mistakes, I would abstain of trusting any of their output-
Lemmy is overwhelmingly anti-AI; you've been around long enough that you really should have known what you were going to get for an answer before you asked this question.
That said, I'll offer a more objective take: Based purely on the example you gave, I'd have a difficult time parsing that passage, too, but the LLM summary is much more understandable. If you're needing to use an LLM to help understand the entire book, maybe it's not a good book for you; if you're using it for a paragraph here and there, the result is similar to what you've posted, and if you're taking that answer and returning to the original paragraph to gain a better understanding of the original meaning, rather than taking the LLM at face value, I don't see any harm in it. (Other than the environmental harm and societal impact, but that's outside the scope of this discussion, I suspect.)
Two thoughts to consider. First is that the author might be abusing language in a way that deliberately obscures meaning, to pursue another goal. I.e. appearing intellectual or appealing to a reader who wants to fit this aesthetic. He may just suck.
The second is that LLMs do this as well. As they adapt to the language in your questions and subject material, they can diverge from the ideal path of bridge building between the reader and subject matter and either dumb it down so as to lose meaning (not explain in laymen's terms), or further obscure meaning by hallucination, misinterpretation, abuse of language in trying to appear to be something.
It may help. It may hurt. They aren't reliable enough yet to know which is which especially when you are unfamiliar enough with the material and trusting the system is all you got. The better method is joining a book club or perhaps a discussion forum for the fans of the book if available. Maybe a forum on the general topic were you might encounter other readers where you can discuss the topic.
I'd rather ask that question from a human. Plenty of people, who understand these things, are hanging around discussion boards, chat rooms and what not.
After a LLM decided that a quote I was looking for, was said by a Chamberlain, a comic book character (https://comicvine.gamespot.com/chamberlain/4005-61139/), instead of Neville Chamberlain, a real world politician... I haven't been able to trust anything that comes out of those things.
These days I use LLM's as search tool. Perhaps you could try to do the same, ask the machine to find you a page, blog or discussion, where that particular thing is being discussed. Or just find a philosophy forum and ask people there.
.... or don't bother with philosophy. I dont. Its a waste of time ;D
A sudden commotion destroyed the moment: the door flew open and two angry men wearing the coarse faded-blue robes and belts of the Cruxwan University burst into the room, thrusting aside the ineffectual flunkies who tried to bar their way.
‘We demand admission!’ shouted the younger of the two men, elbowing a pretty young secretary in the throat.
‘Come on,’ shouted the older one, ‘you can’t keep us out!’ He pushed a junior programmer back through the door.
‘We demand that you can’t keep us out!’ bawled the younger one, though he was now firmly inside the room and no further attempts were being made to stop him.
‘Who are you?’ said Lunkwill, rising angrily from his seat. ‘What do you want?’
‘I am Majikthise!’ announced the older one.
‘And I demand that I am Vroomfondel!’ shouted the younger one.
Majikthise turned on Vroomfondel. ‘It’s all right,’ he explained angrily, ‘you don’t need to demand that.’
‘All right!’ bawled Vroomfondel, banging on a nearby desk. ‘I am Vroomfondel, and that is not a demand, that is a solid fact! What we demand is solid facts!’
‘No we don’t!’ exclaimed Majikthise in irritation. ‘That is precisely what we don’t demand!’
Scarcely pausing for breath, Vroomfondel shouted, ‘We don’t demand solid facts! What we demand is a total absence of solid facts. I demand that I may or may not be Vroomfondel!’
‘But who the devil are you?’ exclaimed an outraged Fook.
‘We,’ said Majikthise, ‘are Philosophers.’
‘Though we may not be,’ said Vroomfondel, waving a warning finger at the programmers.
‘Yes we are,’ insisted Majikthise. ‘We are quite definitely here as representatives of the Amalgamated Union of Philosophers, Sages, Luminaries and Other Thinking Persons, and we want this machine off, and we want it off now!’