Books on philosophy

[Invincible 2,092]

Hey everyone. There's a question i'd like to ask, is anyone familiar with a good book they can recommend on Philosophy? I was looking for something new to read, it doesn't have to be something specific like social philosophy, or 'the art of war' or games theory. Just interested in some new thinking materials. Anything at all?

[SkyBound 829]

Oh, philosophy!  I know I have several books on the subject, so let me see what I have in my personal library here...

 

'How to Think About the Great Ideas' by Mortimer J. Adler

'A Brief History of the Paradox' by Roy Sorensen

'An Essay Concerning Human Understanding' by John Locke

'The Pocket Aristotle' 

 

These are the books that I could currently dig up that I own, though I still have yet to read the ones by Sorensen or Locke, so I cannot really comment on their quality.  The one by Adler, however, I have had a chance to read to completion and I thought it was a very thought-provoking read, as it goes through a wide variety of topics, such as truth/knowledge/opinion, emotion, love, good/evil, beauty, law, government, art and quite a few more.  If nothing else, I would highly recommend this one of only on the grounds that it is sure to have at least one section that would perk your interest.

 

Happy reading!

Edited June 25, 2014 by SkyBound
Mistakes galore!

[boiteporte 591]

There is a series of books written by Aristotle called "Metaphysics", which deals with the branch of Philosophy called Metaphysics.

Apparently, it's very good but I'm not really into that kind of stuff, so I don't have my own opinion on this.

Edited June 22, 2014 by boiteporte

[Lagom 204]

Have you heard of ''Sophie's World'' by Jostein Gaarder? It's more a review of all the philosophers with a plot, but don't is isn't full of a lot of action, since it's more centered about the different philosophies. Also ''A little history of philosophy'' by Nigel Warburton, I'm not done with it, but I think it's an easy overview of the philosophers.

[Keen Blade 64]

There's also A History of Philosophy by Frederick Copleston.

[GreyScholar 1,584]

Well, since I consider it counting... there is a book on Taoism that uses Winnie the Pooh for its analogy in explaining it.

 

The book is titled The Tao of Pooh, with a sequel called The Te of Piglet.

 

The book I feel does a good job at explaining Taoism while also beng entertaining and using a book series that is fondly remembered by many .

[Titan Rising 2,156]

All the books listed here are pretty advanced..  I would recommend Ayn Rand's "atlas shrugged", not because I necessarily agree with the philosophy she promotes or even that its a good book, but it makes you think about certain things.  I think it's a very good place to start.

[GhostPony750 959]

I don't know if it's philosophy, but I suggest you read Les Miserables, if you haven't already.

 

A masterpiece about our society. It gives a lot to think about.

[Virgil 686]

I would recommend:

Plato's recording of Socrates' Apology

Analects of Confucius

Try to read either Aristotle's work on ethics or politics

Seneca, his letters are quite interesting.

Blaise Pascal's Pensees

Cicero's De Legibus ( Which means "On The Laws" )

The Dao De Jing by Lao Tzu if your feeling like being delightfully confused

 

Those would be my suggestions.

[SCS 7,537]

I recommend the book Being and Time by Martin Heidegger if you don't mind wading through something immensely difficult. I have yet to read most of the book myself, but I've read small bits of it and it's quite complicated. I think it has at least somewhat of a reputation for being a particularly challenging read, even among those who study philosophy at the university level. 
 
That being said, it is quite fascinating and would be particularly useful not just for people who have a particular interest in its subject matter, but for anyone who would want more practice with reading and understanding difficult texts.

 

I wouldn't recommend it if you're looking for a more introductory work.