Top 10. Best Books on Philosophy

The best books on philosophy have absorbed all the wisdom of the ages, which the great thinkers managed to put on paper. They teach a person to be wise, make them think in a completely different way and illuminate issues that have been hidden behind a veil of secrecy for several centuries. The World Library stores many philosophical works, which are the real property of all mankind. The list below includes only the smallest part of the best works of the great thinkers of all time.

10 Words and things | Michel Foucault

“Words and Things” (Michel Foucault) opens the list of the best books on philosophy. This is the only work of the philosopher to date, which is available in Russian. One of the most controversial and complex creative works of Foucault, where the thinker considers a shift in the history of Western knowledge. The question is considered that in the Western culture of the 19th century a certain form of thinking arose, which is characteristic of the humanities. The writer separately identifies three different configurations of knowledge – these are the Renaissance, classical and modern.

9. Creative evolution | Henri Bergson

“Creative evolution” (Henri Bergson) is one of the best philosophical works. We can safely say that this book concentrates not only the views of the thinker himself, but also represents the idea of ​​a whole philosophical direction. One of the key works of the French philosopher claims to be a treatise on the philosophy of evolution. According to the thinker himself, evolution gives the realization that matter is “rather a flow than a thing”, and the engine of evolution is a “life impulse”. The book contains a large number of phrases that turned into “winged” and became aphorisms.

8. Free will | Sam Harris

“Free will” (Sam Harris) is one of the best philosophical works of the great thinker. This book, which highlights such questions as whether a person really has free will and whether he bears undeniable responsibility for his actions. Harris suggests that a person’s actions are largely determined by genes, not by society or upbringing. People who consider themselves and others to be individuals are convinced that they have freedom of choice. However, the author of the book debunks this belief in his philosophical work. He argues step by step that, in principle, free will does not exist.

7. Second floor | Simon de Beauvoir

“second floor” (Simon de Beauvoir) is rightfully one of the top ten books on philosophy. One of the most famous works of the great thinker of the second half of the 20th century tells about the attitude towards women throughout the existence of mankind. This book has a feminist bias, so it will be of interest primarily to women. It took de Borvoir about a year and a half to write the work. The resulting two-volume book was included by the Vatican in the list of books forbidden to read. The first volume was called “Facts and Myths”, the second – “The Life of a Woman”. This philosophical work is primarily about the difficult fate of women throughout the history of mankind.

6. Mind life | Hannah Arendt

“Life of the Mind” (Hannah Arendt) – one of the best works of the German-American philosopher, who has Jewish roots. This is the last and most significant work of the great thinker of the 20th century. In this book, Arendt conducts his own study of the meaning of the word. The philosopher managed to complete only the first two volumes under the titles “Thinking” and “Volition”. The third volume, entitled “Judgments”, was never destined to appear, as Hannah Arendt was overtaken by death. One of the most significant political and thought figures made a great contribution to philosophy.

5. Language, truth and logic | A. J. Ayer

“Language, Truth and Logic” (A. J. Ayer) is one of the best philosophical works of our time. The book is one of the most published in analytic philosophy. The book is the source of a turn in linguistics, which in turn has to some extent changed the image of philosophy in the 20th century. Thus, “Language, Truth and Logic” serves to form the image of philosophy not only in the eyes of professional philosophers, but also among ordinary people. This work is especially popular in England, where more than one million copies have been produced to date.

4. Being and time | Martin Heidegger

“Being and Time” (Martin Heidegger) is one of the best books on philosophy, which determined a whole direction in the science of all sciences. The main themes of scientific work are loneliness, a sense of abandonment and death. The book traces the echoes of the works of such prominent postmodern writers as Sartre and Camus. In this work, Martin Heidegger created his own style of language, in which he expresses his thoughts in a very complex form. Being and Time is a difficult book to comprehend, requiring deep thoughtfulness, and not everyone can understand it.

3. About responsibilities | Cicero

Philosophical work “On Responsibilities” (Cicero) opens the top three books on philosophy. In this total work done by Cicero, many political and legal problems are covered. The works of such thinkers as Aristotle and Plato had a great role in his worldview in this book. The state for Cicero is nothing but the common property of the people. The main reason for the emergence of the state, according to the thinker, is the need to exist in a team. The duties of every person who is a citizen of the state, according to Cicero, are justice, decency and greatness of spirit. Justice in the understanding of Cicero is not to harm the people around you.

2. Nicomachean ethics | Aristotle

“Nicomachean Ethics” (Aristotle) ​​is included in the list of the best philosophical works of ancient thinkers. This is one of the three ethical writings of Aristotle. The work covers such topics as the highest good, happiness, virtue. According to the philosopher, the true good and happiness lies in the virtues that he teaches in his work. The voluminous work of the thinker includes nine books in total.

1. Conversations and judgments | Confucius

“Conversations and Judgments» (Confucius) completes the list of the best books on philosophy. One of the most prominent thinkers in history had a great influence on philosophy. His dialogues, notes and aphorisms were written down by his students, after which they were published under the name Lun-yu, which means “Thoughts and judgments” in translation. For many centuries this treatise was considered obligatory for memorization in many higher educational institutions of the world. The book was translated into Russian only at the beginning of the 20th century. The main themes of the book are mercy, justice and common sense.