Many of the posts in this series have been about helping you escape from reality into an engaging fictional world, but maybe you want to use your time at home to grow yourself and expand the way you think. You know, ponder the big questions. If that’s the case, then here are some engaging reads on philosophy to get you thinking.
- Meditations– Basically the personal journal of Emperor Marcus Aurelias. It contains a variety of thoughts about ethics and personal responsibility. A great read that is easy to read and understand.
- Thus Spoke Zarathustra: A Book for All and None- Nietzsche’s work concerning the “eternal recurrence” which is a favorite philosophical theory of mine.
- A History of Western Philosophy– A survey of Western Philosophy that does have some omissions and misinterpretations but generally does a good job of getting you up to speed with the state of play.
- The Tao of Pooh: Winnie the Pooh and Eastern philosophy. How could you not want to find out more? No, but really, this is a great beginner’s guide to Taoism and is an utterly charming read.
- Discipline and Punish– This will give you a whole new understanding of prisons and their role in society.
- The Republic– Plato’s masterpiece and the foundational work of Western political philosophy. It’s really remarkable that more than 2,000 years later it is still relevant and thought-provoking, but it is.
- Fear and Trembling– Look, I hate people who casually drop Kierkegaard into everyday conversation as much as you do, but that doesn’t mean that the guy had nothing to say. It just means hipsters that went to grad school suck. Here Kierkegaard examines faith and grief and what responsibilities a person of faith has to the world and to god. There is some good stuff in here for everyone, but I highly recommend this if you are the follower of a monotheistic faith. Or if you want to use it to tell off some name-dropping Kierkegaard dickhead at a house party.
- Star Trek and Philosophy: The Wrath of Kant– I picked this one up a while back based on the subtitle alone. Turns out it was a surprisingly good read, playful and insightful. The other works on this list are a bit heavy, so here is an accessible read that con really help you get an overview of many schools of philosophical though if you are new to the discipline.
- Praise of Folly- A humorous satire with layers upon layers of entendre. But while it is comedic in presentation, its deconstruction of the church and its accompanying myths are anything but laughable. This is like a humanist Trojan horse. Sublimely crafted by Desiderius Erasmus. And if you don’t get all the jokes, just remember they were super funny back in 1509.
- The Second Sex-. Simone de Beauvoir’s seminal work on the history of being a woman. This is the work that launched second-wave feminism and still shapes the feminist movement today. Essential reading no matter what gender you identify as.