TAYLOR PEARSON

The Best Philosophy Books

“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 it’s
first publication in 1945. Comprehensive, erudite and revealing; this is a history written by one
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.
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 it’s
illusions and break down to it’s core constituents.

Essays – Montaigne

Montaigne was a French Rennaisance 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.

Beyond Good And Evil – Nietzsche

One of the leading philosophers of the existential movement, Nietzsche’s ‘Beyond Good and Evil’
is one of his slightly more accessible. He 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.
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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 Discover the simple habits that help me read over 60 books a year,
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