Blue Book, The
Ludwig Wittgenstein, The Blue Book: This small volume conveys a vibrant sense of the life of philosophy. With intellectual honesty reminiscent of Augustine’s Confessions, we […]
Upanishads
Upanishads: A repository of some of humanity’s earliest philosophical explorations – including an appearance by the first documented female philosopher, Gargi. Through dialogues, stories,
Tragic Sense of Life
Miguel de Unamuno, Tragic Sense of Life: We humans are creatures of thought, but also of ‘flesh and bone.’ That reason and feeling are
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Enemies of Hope
Raymond Tallis, Enemies of Hope: A Critique of Contemporary Pessimism: A long book you won’t want to end, which is sometimes funny, often passionate,
Thinking to Some Purpose
L. S. Stebbing, Thinking to Some Purpose: Susan Stebbing (1885-1943) is a significant but often overlooked figure in twentieth-century philosophy. In 1939, just under
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Death and the Afterlife
Samuel Scheffler, Death and the Afterlife: If you discovered the human race were going to be annihilated soon after you died, how would you
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Émile
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Émile: Despite misanthropic tendencies and profound failure as a father, Rousseau deigns to offer advice on educating a child disconnected from peers
Phaedo
Plato, The Phaedo: Plato’s Phaedo is about the meaning of life and death. Socrates is about to be executed and his friends challenge his
Apology of Socrates
Plato, Apology of Socrates: Socrates subjected his fellow Athenians to prolonged interrogation, bringing home to them how little they knew about what really matters,
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Pensés
Blaise Pascal, Pensés: The Pensés are an enduring testament to the powers and limitations of human expression. Pascal wrote about our self-love, the grandeur
Word Child, A
Iris Murdoch, A Word Child: A Word Child is first and foremost a work of fiction, and a very finely crafted one at that.
Idea of Africa, The
V. Y. Mudimbe, The Idea of Africa: The Idea of Africa traces notions of Africanity within a variety of historical archives and using a
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Mencius, The
Mencius, The Mencius: Dr. Anthony Fauci’s face palm behind a president railing against the ‘Deep State Department’ illustrates an age-old problem: what to do
On the Nature of Things
Lucretius, On the Nature of Things: This great Latin poem, a guided tour of the infinite, reveals a universe of atoms and void, gloriously
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Sickness Unto Death
Søren Kierkegaard, Sickness Unto Death: ‘Sickness unto Death’ isn’t an encouraging title in pandemic times, but Kierkegaard claims that the only thing we need
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Objectivity and Diversity
Sandra Harding, Objectivity and Diversity: Can anything intelligible come from the whirlwind of pandemic evidence and punditry currently bombarding us? Yes, answers Harding, who
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Paradox of Cruelty, The
Philip P. Hallie, The Paradox of Cruelty: Understood as ‘the infliction of ruin, whatever the motives,’ cruelty upon humans subdivides into fatal cruelties, which
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Epistemic Injustice
Miranda Fricker, Epistemic Injustice: One thing we’ve learned from this pandemic: those in power often ignore those in the know. Historically marginalized people will
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Manual, The (Enchiridion)
Epictetus, The Manual (Enchiridion): ‘What is the path to happiness?’ This is surely the most important philosophical question, and no one has answered it
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Origin of Species, The
Charles Darwin, The Origin of Species: Charles Darwin’s Origin of Species (1859), in which he argues for the evolution of organisms by virtue of
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Analects, The
Confucius, The Analects: In China today, one may find statues of Confucius or Kongzi (551-479 B.C.E) depicting him as the ‘model teacher for 10,000
Ash Wednesday Supper, The
Giordano Bruno, The Ash Wednesday Supper: Bruno’s dialogue defends the new Copernican astronomy, but also presents our world as a mere speck in an
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Inward Morning, The
Henry Bugbee, The Inward Morning: A philosophical journal that presents the task of thinking above all as giving expression to what presents itself to
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