“To teach how to live without certainty, and yet without being paralyzed by hesitation, is perhaps the chief thing that philosophy, in our age, can still do for those who study it.” – Bertrand Russell
Some of the greatest thinkers in world history have lived within the field of philosophy. By studying the best philosophy books we can try to understand the ways that cultures before us created and understood meaning in their lives.
The ways we think and behave are heavily influenced by the culture we are born into. Philosophy can reveal to us the reasons behind the ways we act, and in doing so help us to gain understanding our inner selves and how we relate to our world around us.
“Everything man is and does is modified by learning and is therefore malleable. But once learned, these behavior patterns, these habitual responses, these ways of interacting gradually sink below the surface of the mind and, like the admiral of a submerged submarine fleet, control from the depths. The hidden controls are usually experienced as though they were innate simply because they are not only ubiquitous but habitual as well.” – Edward T. Hall
Reading the best philosophy books gives us the opportunity to look into those hidden depths and understand our own thinking and behavior at a deeper level, helping us eliminate behavior we don’t like.
Philosophy draws indiscriminately from all fields knowledge, in a never ending questioning. This makes sense given it’s etymological origins: philo – a Greek term for love, and –sophia, a term that has had many variations in meaning through history, but always essentially denoted an aspect of wisdom, knowledge and understanding.
I’ve put together this as a guide to some of the best philosophy books. I’ve included some of the classic works by the big names that you should know, while also including some lesser known introductions and guides that I think are particularly good.
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Best Philosophy Books for Beginners: Introductory and Surveys
A History of Western Philosophy – Bertrand Russell
Bertrand Russel’s ‘A History of Western Philosophy’ has held a position of reverence since its in 1945. Comprehensive, erudite and revealing; this is a survey and history of Western philosophy written by someone who would go on to become a regarded philosopher in his own right.
Sophie’s World – Jostein Gaarder
Over twenty million copies in print – this novel follows 14-year old Norwegian girl Sophie Admundsen on a mystery of perplexing questions. Deeply entrenched and revealing of the Western philosophy canon, this is a great introduction to enjoyably explore some of the biggest questions asked as the basis of philosophy over the course of Western history.
The Story of Philosophy – Will Durant
An excellent survey of philosophy from an outstanding writer. Durant is famous for his multi-volume history of the West and so a history of Western Philosophy is a natural topic for him. Durant begins with the Greek philosophers and works his way up to early 20th century American philosophers.
Top 3 Philosophy Books: Most Immediately Helpful and Applicable
Meditations – Marcus Aurelius
Stoicism has seen an enthusiastic revival in recent years, especially in entrepreneurial circles. Reading ‘Meditations’, a defining work of stoicism, and it’s not hard to see why.
Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius wrote meditations during his experiences administrating the Roman Empire and during his life as a warrior. He outlines a timeless philosophy of commitment to virtue above pleasure, tranquility above happiness, and perhaps most importantly, a search for inner peace in the face of an endlessly changing and chaotic world. Highly practical for everyday life.
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance – Robert M. Pirsig
With a slightly misleading title, this book asks big questions about the way we live our lives. Set to a backdrop of America’s Northwest, it follows a father and young son on a cross country motorcycle trip. Pirsig discusses the ideas of rhetoric, quality, the scientific method, technology and many ideas of the Greeks in the search of a unifying truth.
Man’s Search for Meaning – Viktor Frankl
Outlining Frankl’s theory of ‘logotherapy’, he argues that human beings cannot avoid suffering in life, but we have the power to give it meaning and thus endure it with renewed purpose. He holds that our primary drive in life is not pleasure, as Freud maintained, but the discovery and pursuit of what we personally find meaningful.
All the more impactful for where it was written, Frankl tells the story of his time spent within Nazi extermination camps, including Auschwitz, while his parents, brother, and pregnant wife perished. Library of Congress found Man’s Search for Meaning among the ten most influential books in America.
Best Western Philosophy Books
Classical Books on Philosophy
The Dialogues (Gorgias, Meno, Theatetus, Sophist, Symposium, Phaedrus, Timaeus, The Republic) – Plato
“Plato, the greatest philosopher of ancient Greece, was born in Athens in 428 or 427 B.C.E. to an aristocratic family. He studied under Socrates, who appears as a character in many of his dialogues. He attended Socrates’ trial and that traumatic experience may have led to his attempt to design an ideal society. Following the death of Socrates he traveled widely in search of learning. After twelve years he returned to Athens and founded his Academy, one of the earliest organized schools in western civilization. Among Plato’s pupils was Aristotle. Some of Plato’s other influences were Pythagoras, Anaxagoras, and Parmenides.
Plato wrote extensively and most of his writings survived. His works are in the form of dialogues, where several characters argue a topic by asking questions of each other. This form allows Plato to raise various points of view and let the reader decide which is valid. Plato expounded a form of dualism, where there is a world of ideal forms separate from the world of perception. The most famous exposition of this is his metaphor of the Cave, where people living in a cave are only able to see flickering shadows projected on the wall of the external reality. This influenced many later thinkers, particularly the Neoplatonists and the Gnostics, and is similar to views held by some schools of Hindu dualistic metaphysics”
Physics, Ethics, Poetics, Metaphysics, Categories, On Logic, On the Soul – Aristotle
Aristotle, like Plato, was one of the greatest intellectual figures of Western history. Even after the intellectual revolutions of the Renaissance, the Reformation, and the Enlightenment, Aristotelian concepts remained embedded in Western thinking.
Aristotle’s intellectual range was vast, covering most of the sciences and many of the arts. He was the founder of formal logic, devising for it a finished system that for centuries was regarded as the sum of the discipline; and he pioneered the study of zoology. His writings continue to be studied, and his work remains a powerful stature.
The Essential Epicurus – Epicurus
Epicureanism is commonly regarded as the refined satisfaction of physical desires. Epicurus did not stand for eating too much or too much sex, but for loving life and preserving that love with the smaller delights to be found daily. As a philosophy, however, it also denoted the striving after an independent state of mind and body, imperturbability, and reliance on sensory data as the true basis of knowledge.
Selected Best Modern Philosophy Books
Critique of Pure Reason – Emmanuel Kant
Kant brings together two of history’s biggest opposing schools of thought – rational thought, and empirical, experiential knowledge. Kant explore human reason, and works to establish its illusions and break down to its core constituents.
Essays – Montaigne
Montaigne was a French Renaissance philosopher noted for his merging of casual anecdotes with intellectual insight. He published his massive volume ‘essais‘, which went on to popularize and reinforce the essay as a literary genre. His influence as a philosopher was wide, and has includes many of his contemporaries, many of them appearing also on this list.
Essays is wide ranging going from topics like leadership to raising children. Each essay is stand along so it’s very easy to pick it up and put it down one essay at a time.
Beyond Good And Evil – Nietzsche
Nietzsche’s ‘Beyond Good and Evil’ is one of his slightly more accessible, though he is not known for his accessibility! In Beyond Good and Evil, Nietzsche breaks down the paradoxes of conventional understandings of morality, and in doing so sets the stage for much of the 20th century thought that would follow.
Nietzsche is probably the most influential philosopher on my own thinking, if only because he shattered many of my pre-existing beliefs and illusions.
Meditations on First Philosophy – René Descartes
Meditations on First Philosophy is made up of six meditations. Written in the style of a journal of a six day course of meditation, he first discards all belief in things that are not absolutely certain, and then tries to establish what can be known for sure. One of the most influential philosophical texts ever written, it is widely read to this day.
The Prince – Niccolò Machiavelli
The Prince is sometimes claimed to be one of the first works of modern philosophy, especially modern political philosophy, in which the effective truth is taken to be more important than any abstract ideal. Machiavelli emphasized the need for realism, as opposed to idealism.
This is one of Machiavelli’s most lasting influences upon modernity.
Being and Nothingness – Jean-Paul Sartre
In Being and Nothingness, Sartre writes with some debts to Heidegger, to demonstrate the existence of free will. Wide ranging, he explains in part how man is obsessed by the idea of “completion”, what Sartre calls literally “a being that causes itself”, which many religions and philosophers identify as God. Being and Nothingness is considered Sartre’s most important philosophical work.
The Myth Of Sisyphus and Other Essays – Albert Camus
One of the most important existential works, and works of this century in general, The Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays lays out Camus’ ‘Absurdism’. It begins with a meditation on suicide; the question of living or not living in a universe devoid of order or meaning. Depressing at first, like a lot of existential writing it has light at the end of the tunnel. Camus ultimately reaffirms the value of existence, and the possibility of a life of dignity, creativity and authenticity.
A Treatise of Human Nature – David Hume
“no man has influenced the history of philosophy to a deeper or more disturbing degree” – Isaiah Berlin
In his treatise, he attempts to use the same scientific method of reasoning in order to inquire into human psychology – namely to glimpse the depth of our understanding and potential. He ultimately argues the irrationality of human beings.
Best Eastern Philosophy Books
Tao Te Ching – Lao Tzu
The Tao Te Ching is the foundation of Taoism, and has been the bedrock of Chinese thought and much of it’s spirituality for thousands of years. It teaches peace, harmony and balance; ultimately describing a complete and fulfilling art of living that guides millions to this day.
The Art of War – Sun Tzu
One of the most influential books ever written, The Art of War has applications in business, the military and any situation involving strategy or people. It is composed of 13 chapters, each one describing a part of warfare, relating back to tactics, and immediate application.
Analects – Confuscius
The Analects has been one of the most widely read and studied books in China for the last 2,000 years, and has massive influence over Chinese thought to this today. It is foundational to the development of Chinese and East Asian moral systems.
Confucius believed that the flourishing of a country depended on the morals of its people, beginning with it’s leaders. His educated his students to create ethically cultivated men who would carry themselves well, speak well, and demonstrate integrity in everything they did.
Best Middle Eastern Philosophy Books
The Book of Healing – Avicenna
A 1,000-year-old text at the foundation of modern medicine and biology. This is one of the best philosophy books in the history of medical practice, and forms the foundation of our current understanding of human health and disease. It focused not solely on symptoms and treatment, but on finding root causes of illness and disease through humoral diagnosis— it shows how Avicenna’s understanding of the humors corresponds directly with the modern understanding of the functions of of proteins, lipids, and organic acids.
The Transcendent Philosophy of the Four Journeys of the Intellect – Mulla Sadra
The ‘Hikmat Al Muta’alyah fi-l-asfar al-‘aqliyya al-arba‘a’ is an encyclopedic work that chronicles many of the important issues discussed in Islamic philosophy. Necessarily entrenched and influenced by the Greeks, it nevertheless presents a unique philosophical thought beholden to Islam, yet also touching on a huge variety of schools of thought (and even a nascent form of existentialist thought).
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Last Updated on January 12, 2024 by Taylor Pearson