7 Philosophy Books for Beginners 

The title text under Descartes' name says 'Confessions', which is an unfortunate error made during the editing process. The text recommended is, in fact, the Meditations. This link in the description takes you to the correct book.

I was bored one day and randomly read the Meno by Plato from a book of classical literature I found at a thrift store, and it really spoke to me. I never thought much about philosophy before then. That was about two years ago, and it's led me down a wonderful rabbit hole. I've read many of your suggestions, and I'm currently on St. Augustine.

It was actually Sophie’s world that started my love for philosophy when I read it as a teenager… honestly I don’t remember it well but I guess it worked I’m even if not perfect :) I remember how much I loved it when I was reading it and it really shaped me as a reader… maybe I should go back to it as an adult to see if I still feel that way

What surprised me the most about Confessions was just how honest St Augustine was about what he struggled with.

Thank you for the disclaimer at the beginning. Everybody else mostly gloss over that fact and pretend philosophy is a western thing.

What I like about Decartes is that he writes in a very beginner friendly way. He explains his problems, how to tried to solve them, and his method, and then his eventual answer. You don't have to agree with him, but he is very open about his process which makes it very useful to learn how to think systematically about philosophy.

Such a calm and chilled video. It's nice to see someone who is both extremely qualified and yet pretty humble - in terms of the way they discuss the topic. Watched a few videos from this channel and, as a history postgrad, they're a nice introduction into a field I'm horribly new to. It would be great to have a video explaining each field of philosophy, key thinkers within it, and some key ideas that it espouses. Thanks for the video and Merry Christmas!

I took a philosophy 101 course in undergrad and always wanted to expand on that basic knowledge. I have 2 degree in social work and the more I advance in my career the more I connect philosophy to human nature and human problems. So glad I found your channel.

I've read "Think" and I agree with you that that's an excellent intro to Philosophy for beginners. I read it after I got my BA in Philosophy and remember thinking "I wish I had read this one before I began my studies".

I’m a high school student in France and philosophy is mandatory on our last year. It’s really comforting to see that your approach, as an overseas philosopher, is the same as my teacher’s. There’s this vague sense of conformity on what to start with which is reassuring. My teacher is a little more radical. He mostly tells us that no one knows how to read (as in, read between the lines, understand all the references and the ideas and the concepts that lie in one single sentence of a great philosopher’s work), and just says that if we want to know how to read, we just have to read. Immediately start reading. He said he’d bought a Hagel book (and Hagel destroyed my brain when I studied him in class) at age 14 and read the whole thing and said he didn’t understand a word, and when you don’t understand you just read it again. And with time and more reading you get a huge cultural and conceptual foundation for philosophy. I did as he told me to, and I’d really gotten into Freud from our lesson on the unconscious. I read the Metapsychology once and didn’t understand anything. I read it twice and became more familiar with certain concepts. I’m half-way through reading it for the third time and everything is already much clearer in my head. The only advantage I’d have is that my teacher says this class in not made for us graduating high school (linking to the idea we will anyway since the French system is flawed and it’s too easy to graduate) but rather for us to be able to read. He teaches us the basics of concepts so we can have some idea of what we’re reading when we open philosophy book. And if I hadn’t had that lesson on Freud I would have made much less progress by know. He also knows what translations to recommend, what are the “good” (as in worth reading) philosophers, and he’s pretty strict about all that. All this to say, just start reading, it works 😂

I recently decided to rediscover my love for reading and philosophy and I’m super glad to have found your channel. It has been a great companion to do so and keep being motivated. Besides that you intro to the video was really refreshing to hear, thanks for including that!

This was a fantastic set of recommendations. I have read 3 of those books and know the others by reputation and I believe that all have been foundational for the way we think in the west, and they are also a very good way to start awakening our philosophical minds. As soon as I finish reading my current book, I'll read some Plato's dialogues which I already bought. I'm really looking forwards to it. Also, I agree that in the future, some videos on specific types of philosophy would be very useful for intermediate readers. Keep up the good work! (Btw, I think you kept saying Decarte's meditations and the video text said confessions)

A great book for those like myself that only like to read a few pages a day is: A Calendar Of Wisdom by Tolstoy. It’s a book full of philosophy quotes that is easy to read.

A beautifully-written, page-turning introduction to philosophy that reads like a novel is Richard Tarnas, The Passion of the Western Mind. While primary texts are a second step, Tarnas (and even Sophie's World) give you a structure - a first take of ideas at the primary level - that you can then build on. When you get that structure first, it's easier to read a primary text and then integrate more complexity into your mental framework.

The prince by Machiavelli is a worthwhile read for anyone and everyone. Short, quite simple yet extremely clarifying and helpful for understanding the world.

This is the first video i watched from you and i must say that i‘m truly impressed. You present your ideas in a calm way with enough knowledge to back all of it up. Would love to sit in a lecture of yours and just listen haha! I got into philosophy through stoicism a few months ago and just finished Meditations by Marcus Aurelius a few weeks ago. I can probably say that this will forever be one of my favorite books. I think what most people like about stoicism is the practicality in every day life. And that‘s how it was for those pioneers like Marcus, Seneca and Epictetus back then. They were contemplating on their life and how to make the best out of it. Philosophy is truly something everyone needs to have in their life! Thanks for covering these topics🙌🏼

Really interesting list! It's interesting to hear you go against big surveys as starter points. I like that thinking. I'll be really curious to hear your deep dive into stoicism. It is for sure a favorite of mine but has been blended when it comes to my personal philosophy. I think people like it because it is more accessible and immediately applicable.

I remember getting my hands on Aristotle's Poetics when I was really young. I picked up the book thinking it would just be a play and boy, was I wrong. I was left scratching my head. So, a book that helped me immensly as an absolute novice, was "Reading Philosophy" by Samuel Guttenplan, Jennifer Hornsby, Christopher Janaway and John Schwenkler. Highly recommend! Bonus point: it starts with Rene Descertes's First meditations. UPDATE: I got Think by Simon Blackburn after your recommendation and after just reading the first chapter, I absolutely love it! It's well written and great introductory lessons for any novice. Again, highly recommend! Thanks for the recommendation, Jared :)

Im definitely interested in those things you mentioned at last. I would also love if you would discuss your favorites. Maybe just discuss a particular dialogue by Plato, in that way you can encourage others to read it as well

Great list! I really appreciate what you're doing with your channel.

amazing video! exactly the type of information I needed to continue my philosophy education. I love your disclaimer at the beginning of the video about western philosophy, so much of philosophy on youtube tends to completely ignore all other philosophers that aren't speaking Indo-European languages with no acknowledgment of their work. Just appreciated you spending the extra time to put that in :)

At the very beginning, maybe like an embryonic philosopher , I would suggest: 1. What does it all mean ? By Thomas Nagel A very short introduction to philosophy which personally inspired me to think in layers and multi perspectives about other minds, mind - body problem, free will, right and wrong,justice, the meaning of life etc . Strong points of the book: philosophical terminology is gently introduced through humorous thought experiments . Friendly and around the camp fire style of writing .

Great list for beginners - loving your channel, keep up the good work.

I just finish reading the last chapter of "The problems of Philosophy" by Bertrand Russell and let me tell you, I've never read anything that encourage me to pursue the learning path of philosophy like that. Fucking incredible. For example he wrote in that chapter, the reason you have to put your Self down in order to start philosophize is because "Through the infinity of the universe the mind which contemplates it achieves some share in infinity." Such a humble thought that the universe is infinite and you cannot ever get into the final truth of many of its questions, but also such a motivational thought, as because just by stand aside, put down all of your previous ego and belief, you can "see through" and can becoming parts of something way bigger than yourself.

Thank you so much! Loved Plato & Aurelius so much during school. This is a much needed refresher course and shock back on the philosophical path. Much love!

As a former aspiring philosopher (ABD), I think those are some solid recommendations. I've long thought that there are three points in the Western canon where a beginner can dive in: Plato's dialogues, Descartes's Meditations, and Russell's Problems of Philosophy, so I was glad to see you in agreement on all three. My first philosophy class was a historical survey. We started with Descartes's Meditations, all six IIRC. Then we read selections from Hume's Inquiry Concerning Human Understanding, which was the point where I fell in love with philosophy. Then we read selections from Kant's Critique of Pure Reason. That was definitely too heavy for a first class in philosophy. After than we read some Kierkegaard's Either/Or. That was an idiosyncratic choice on the part of our professor, who was a big Kierkegaard fan. Next we read selections from Nietzsche's Genealogy of Morals, followed by William James's Will to Believe, which was the easiest text we read. Last we read selections from Wittgenstein's Philosophical Investigations, which is not a book I would recommend reading without having read the works it was reacting to. I'd be very interested in hearing your recommended place to start with Plato. I'm a believer in starting with Euthyphro. Then once you've got a feel for the character of Socrates, read the Apology. After that some of the classic material from the middle dialogues: the Meno, and selections from the Republic (books I and VI maybe?).

A list of books for metaphysics will be highly helpful! Thank you for this video.

I have learned more from watching your videos and getting some books that you have recommended that I'd learned in high school + a semester of philosophy and ethics at college you definitely have a gift to teach and share knowledge to others, it would be greatly appreciated if you can also recommended websites where we could get Articles and commentaries to complement the readings, I wish you the best for this 2023 and I am 100% sure it will be even greater than the last 5 months of this 2022! Cheers!

I loved your suggestions, especially Augustine's Confessions. And I wanted to recommend things that made me interested deeply in philosophy. Though these two essays are not very easy to read, I really recommend Ralph Waldo Emerson's 'Self-Reliance,' and 'The American Scholar.' His essay, 'Nature,' can be read later. Thank you for your amazing video.

Intros and suggested reading lists for different branches of philosophy, as mentioned at the end, would be very welcome! Thanks for this video. It prompted me to discover and borrow Blackburn's book. Looking forward to it.

If you have any particular philosopher who interests you but are completely new to them, the Oxford very short introduction series can be a good stepping stone to the primary text

Been an avid science fiction and fantasy reader my whole life. Finding philosophy through your content. Thank you!

I’ve always felt intimidated when looking for philosophy books. Thanks for making this video and sharing your thoughts!

Just found your channel today after searching ‘philosophy books for beginners’ and I am so glad I did! Right before I found this video I watched the one on logical fallacies. Love your content it’s very easy to follow without being “dumbed down”. 😃

Thank you so much Jared for this very helpful video. I'm studying education and bioethics and absolutely agree with your recommendations here. Have a good new year and please keep up your great work. :)

Awesome video. I'm a newbie to the topic so this is very helpful. Thank you for your time in sharing the info.

Great recommendations! My entry into philosophy was through a practical problem: as a PhD student in computer science I was having difficulties writing research papers - more precisely, structuring my thoughts in a piece of writing. After a lot of searching, I found Aristotle's Rhetoric, and that opened my eyes for a (for me) an entirely new way of thinking. The Rhetoric has some pointers to some other of his works, for a more in-depth view on specific areas, and so I read Categories, Topics and Sophistical Refutations after that. After that I was hooked.

Two works I would highly recommend to anyone who wants to get into philosophy are Diogenes Laërtius' _Lives and Opinions of the Eminent Philosophers,_ and Cicero's _Tusculan Disputations._ The first book, while not the most reliable biography of the ancient Western philosophers is still a great summary of ancient Western philosophy in general. The second book is, in my opinion, the best distillation of Stoic philosophy and how it relates to the other popular philosophical systems at the time, such as Epicureanism and Pyrrhonism (aka Skepticism).

Definitely needed this. I became interested in philrel a couple years back and have watched many RU-vid videos and debates. I've started buying books and some are way too advanced for me right now (like Logic and Theism from Sobel). Now just to wait for Amazon to bring me my more beginner-appropriate material in a couple days haha.

Where I live, we have at least 3 mandatory philosophy courses to do to graduate & have a diploma. I have to say that I honestly felt completely lost during a portion of these classes and burned out of it. Lately, I've been reading novels with underlying philosophical themes, and it's sparking my interest for philosophy again. I found your account yesterday, and I've already watched so much! Thank you for your content, it's very interesting and it's helping me get back into it! Definitely will be revisiting my Plato's complete works book. Keep doing great things!

As a common mortal completely outside academia: based in my learning experience in classic literature classes, picking the best translation is REALLY important as it will make your reading journey easier and even pleasant. I studied Homer and believe me, if it wasn't for the amazing translation I would have failed miserably. You could tell how passionate the translator was, and that is SO important when translating classical texts imo.

Thank you. I'm 2 weeks in to an online philosophy degree with Domuni Universitas and this video contains some really good advice to the beginner as to how to begin to approach philosophy. I also found reading Zena Hitz's books on the religious and intellectual life inspired me to get started.

• Bernard Russel • "Think" • Plato's Dialogues • Marcus Aurelius's 'Meditations' • St Augustine's 'Confessions' • Rene Descrates 'Meditations' • John Stuart Mill's 'On Liberty'

Love your idea about starting with a question. A question is indeed a door to philosophy.

What a great selection. I agree that it's very good to begin by reading the classics. I would just add too works by canonical philosophers of modern and contemporary period: "What is enlightment ?" by Kant and "Existencialism is a humanism" by Sartre.

Thank you so much I just discovered your channel it’s so helpful and I enjoy o lot and can’t wait to watch them all 😂❤

So glad I was just recommended this video.. I gave up on trying to educate myself in philosophy about 2 years ago. I was always trying to find a syllabus. Thinking about starting a reading journal now.

This is a great video. Solid recommendations and presented so well. Thank you!

Seneca's "Moral Letters to Lucilius" is also worth mentioning to beginners. Great book to read before Marcus Aurelius' "Meditation" for me

I have recently arrived at this channel as someone in their thirties looking to expand my understanding and rekindle my joy of research and learning which I have not really experienced since leaving academia in my mid-twenties. Work and the grind of life simply got in the way, which I accept is not a good reason but nevertheless it's the truth, so it has taken me some time to realise that the feeling of personal development is what I have been lacking. Philosophy is a vast topic of interest that I have been interested in previously but have never really studied in any detail - as a student of Ancient History my knowledge is limited to excerpts and 'iconic' works of Ancient philosophers. Thank you for the clear list, alongside other clear suggestions and thoughts in other videos on this channel, I look forward to exploring these books and one day joining your discord to strike up conversations with others who enjoy the pursuit of knowledge.

Maybe the best book review/recommendations I have seen on this platform. Great job 👍

Thank you for this, Im currently a theology student and I have begun studying Philosophy on the side and it's challenging but so rich.

My favorite recommendation is Good and Evil by Richard Taylor. He was a famous analytic philosopher in the 70s and this book was a response to the vacuity of that tradition with relation to the meaning of life. It represents an interesting and remarkable combination of virtue ethics and moral psychology. It is particularly great because his insights are predictive of much of the findings of X-Phi and empirical moral psychology today.

Agree with the Russell pick. The book is so clear and interesting and after reading it you have a very good idea what philosophy is all about. Everyone getting into philosophy should start with that book

Hello, I just found this channel and I love it! I love the diversity of books you suggest.

As a French person with the baccalauréat, I studied philosophy during my last year of high school, 10 hours a week. Freaking interesting. We spent hours on Descartes, we started with Plato though. I have kept reading philosophy ever since. As for the success of stoicism, I can partake of my experience. I suffer from debiliitating illnesses so that philosphy helps me cope with life, simple as that. It has made me stronger and more resilient and due to that change of attitude, I started working up the ladder.

I don’t know that I’d recommend it to a complete beginner, but I think I would recommend Cora Diamond’s The Realistic Spirit as an introduction to the analytic tradition. I like using her essays to help people feel the force of some of the apparently simple/naive questions Frege and Wittgenstein puzzled over (which can be difficult to feel without relevant background) and to help them see why our answers to those questions matter so much. (It also works nicely as a counterbalance to a certain conception of the tradition, one exposure to folks like Russell, Moore, Ayer, and Carnap can create, of analytic philosophy as impatient and narrow-minded.)

When I was an undergrad, I really enjoyed those enormous topical anthologies. I got to delve into a specific set of questions that interested me, while also getting a broad overview of the landscape surrounding those questions through reading many shorter essays by a diverse array of philosophers. I engaged a lot more with the "Ethics in Practice" anthology than any other book I *had* to get.

I could find how kind you are and how deeply your life was enrichd through reading those books. I felt like being in a reading circle and enjoying discussing what is really important in life.

I agree that Simon Blackwell's "Think" is one of the best introductions to philosophy. After going through the chapters "Free Will", "Mind", "The World" and "The Self", I found out that adopting certain beliefs in one subject had important consequences in the others; for example, believing that the world is physical leads you to believe that everything including humans are physical and thus have to obey the laws of cause and effect/quantum randomness, which leads to the nonexistence of free will, which then leads to the nonexistence of moral responsibility (Ethics is unfortunately not talked about much in his book); and now you end up in a world where all criminals are innocent and no one can be blamed/praised for any of their actions. I also highly recommend the paper titled "What do Philosophers Believe?" which surveyed the beliefs held by modern philosophers, mostly in the analytic department, on 30 different philosophical questions. It concluded that philosophers are really bad at predicting what beliefs were mainstream.

Thanks. I just read The Problems of Philosophy. I think it's a great first philosophy book. It really helped me to understand what philosophy is and to put me in the mindset of taking on other books in the future.

Thanks for the list! I studied philosophy in university and was offered a masters afterwards and, regretfully, didn't take up the offer. Wanted to dip my toes back in! That Steve Blackburn book looks great so going to give that a go!! Great channel! :)

Ok, sounds like what I was looking for ! (Yes, to intros for particular studies for beginners) Thanks!

This video is helpful and guides me more towards this topic, thanks.

Love your videos, man. I hope you can make a video of why and how read Plato. Thanks.

Hey! I'm a beginner and also started my journey into Philosophy just this month. Will be saving the books you've recommended here. A resource I found insanely helpful was Jack Sanders' lecture series right here on RU-vid called "Introduction to Philosophy". The weekly readings are in the comments, and I've found myself absolutely obsessed with the lectures and lessons. Sometimes it's nice to try and read texts and then have someone review it with me. This has helped me learn some pretty basic yet core foundational concepts so I definitely recommend beginners check that out!

Hi Jared, I'm glad that RU-vid suggested your video. I immediately subscribed. I would add one step before a complete beginner read your suggested books: Read an introductory/ a survey book first, something like DK's "The Philosophy Book", Cassell's "Cracking Philosophy", or Oxford's "A Very Short Introduction to Philosophy". Those are just the titles that come to mind but there are plenty of similar books. After that I think the person will find the books that you recommend even easier to read, now that they have a general idea about what is it that they're getting into. Cheers!

I would definitely love to hear more on metaphysics and epistemology!

Really interesting channel Jared. I'm working my way through your videos atm. I'm also working my way through Bertrand Russell's popular works. Wonderful, wonderful writer - piercing intelligence, crystal clear prose, and a lovely undercurrent of humour. He reminds me of Orwell, actually, both in the clarity of his style and of his thought. (I live in the UK, and bought his collected works from Heffers bookshop in Cambridge, which both Russell and Wittgenstein used to pass every day.)

Great stuff on recommending primary texts directly! For history too for example herodotus landmark edition is great. Also there are great RU-vid videos about these books

I'm very philosophically minded and took philosophy in 11th grade with "From Socrates to Sarte" as a text book. Metaphysics and ethics, primarily from a Christian perspective, have always been of interest which has moved me more into theology. My main problem is having working definitions of words given may aren't used outside of studying the topic (ontological, existential, etc). Fun fact: Pete Doctor who heads Pixar was in my high school philosophy club and getting to know him helps me see alot of his philosophy in his animations.

Such a good video, very informative! Thanks very much Jared u legend x

Great suggestions. As a beginner, later in his life, I appreciate the opinion of a expert in Philosophy!

Thanks. I’ve been considering some stoic learning and hadn’t read anything from the humanities part of my college books in some time. I have been considering meditations by Marcus Aurelius and I am happy you consider it accessible to beginners. I did not know about skeptics in its previous forms as described. I have heard of Descartes but I didn’t know why he was noteworthy.

Love the video! Why do you specifically recommend reading or starting with Augustine over Aquinas for theologians?

So far I would say that as a beginner in philosophy, I think a book that is heavily underrated and helped me get excited about the subject is Big Ideas Simply Explained; The Book of Philosophy DK It explains a lot of the big names, ideas and categories philosophy has to offer. I think what is most helpful is how it describes a good handful of philosophers and each of their philosophies in bite-sized, digestible forms. They could have a three page essay on Descartes and only a one page segment on Diogenes. I really recommend it. I recommend most of their books actually if you want to get into any subject and without unbiased research

Cool recommendations! It would be cool to have more of these, perhaps more specialized ones.

Kierkegaard’s “Fear and Trembling” is a great intro to Existentialism.

I don't know if it's been mentioned on this channel, but D.C. Schindler's "Plato's Critique of Impure Reason" has opened up Plato's Republic to me in an intense and beautiful way. I can't recommend it enough. I honestly have never found this much insight in a reading before.

I love your channel. Please keep it up.

THANK YOU, for this, Jared!

I absolutely love your videos! As someone who is currently thinking about going into a masters program in philosophy, how did you make the decision that philosophy was the program you wanted to pursue? Any advice would be extremely helpful!

I have read three of Russell's books, including his 'Autobiography'. My plan is to read his 'History of Western Philosophy' and jumping off from there into the other thinkers.

The value of philosophy by Russell is actually amazing and probably the only think I like about his work in philosophy.

What a wonderful mindset! Gives me hope i can do so too!

Amazing video. My interest in philosophy started with some meaning crisis in my life. Apparently I digged into existentialism, absurdism and nihilism - Sartre, Camus, Nietzsche, Dostoyevsky. These cured my depression and helped to find peace and understand life a little bit better. Also was familiar with stoicism, but this type of philosophy is more practical.

Lovely video. No goofs or gaffs, just delivering on your promise made in the title. Great intonation, calm setting, great camera quality. Instantly subbed and will for sure look out for the books you recommended next time I'm in a book store. A journey into philosophy for me would mean a journey into learning how to use my mind in different (not necessarily better) ways. Thanks for sharing these thoughts with us!

I’m working my way through Russell’s History of western philosophy, and it’s an absolute gold mine of information, I’ve used it as a springboard for other philosophical studies, I’d recommend it emphatically.

Philosophy = the love for wisdom. We spend time learning & practicing to read, to write, to get a job, to play sports; but how many of us learn and practice thinking? That's philosophy. Our minds react to our feelings but it is our mind that also has the power to decide how to react to those feelings. Our mind determines how we interpret the environment from all our senses, either automatically or rationally. Viktor Frankl says that we have a lot of choice between a Stimulus and our Response. That is where philosophy comes in and helps strengthen our natural ability to reason. I think The Five dialogues are a good start for Plato, to learn of the trial and death of Socrates, plus a start on the Socratic process of thinking. In addition to Meditations is Epictetus Discourses and Letters by Seneca. Seneca is probably the most easiest to read as he speaks in common language and the letters are giving advice to a friend. The Socratic Method by Farnsworth. Mans Search for Meaning, Frankl. I think Western Philosophy is a confusing reference as it seems that most of Western Philosophy is based on Aristotle. There were numerous other schools of thought that emerged from Socrates & Plato. I think Stoicism is becoming popular lately because they were one of the last schools of thought and used experiences with several of the other Plato Academy schools to develop there's. Being the last school, they realized that some parts of the other schools were on the mark, but also that some parts were not quite right. As I understand it, Stoicism has similarities with Tao and Buddhism, and has ties to Christianity. So in my opinion, it is more closely related to humanity or our human nature.

i take introductory philosophy classes in my high school and what's really gotten me interested in philosophy is the assignment we had to complete a while ago - essay on why do people do evil (we were talking about socrates's ethical intellectualism at the time). my research on that matter led me to nietzsche's philosophy and i've been interested in him ever since. i've tried picking up his full works but i'm afraid its not the best start for a beginner. i still am particularly interested in ethics and axiology. i would love to get recommended a "path" to reading nietzsche - which works should i read in order to get there? i must say, i'm not a big fan of plato and i see his works getting recommended every time. i'd also like something possibly translated to polish, as it is my first language and reading philosophical works in a foreign language i'm not completely fluent in yet can be a struggle. thanks in advance!!

Thanks, I'll work through the list

Thank you. And I really appreciate it if you make similar video on "political philosophy".

Reading primary texts is probably a good idea (I vividly remember reading Plato, Augustine, and Descartes as a younger person). There's something to be said for a good introductory survey, too, to know what direction to go in. For just the continental tradition, I thought two introductions to the field were pretty good: David West's An Introduction to Continental Philosophy and Time and Philosophy: A History of Continental Philosophy by John McCumber.

Such a great channel. I enjoy listening to your videos. Also, when you said your wife also studied philosophy, I wondered what some of your dinner conversations must be like!

I love your your style of communication! Thank-you. I study a very analytic course at Glasgow University, and intend on leaning more into continental over my summer! Are there any hermeneutic thinkers you would recommend after Heidegger? Also, as an academic in Analytic Philosophy (assuming that's not a contentious term) with foundations in the Continental Tradition, do you think there is a future 'post-analytic' stage in which both traditions form / are their ways of discourse incommensurable? Love the channel, and thanks for your time!

thank you for this. So v helpful. Would you recommend reading in the order you've presented?

Excellent list! Definitely time I reread Augustine's Confessions. Didn't gel with it too well the last time I read it. City of God is calling out louder though, as are a thousand other books.

Great post. Thank you. No need for the disclaimer when suggesting ‘Confessions’. To be genuinely religious is to think deeply. With an emphasis on genuinely.

Thanks a lot for the recommendations. I like your channel a lot. I am studying a Ph.D. in Political Science in Mexico. Unfortunately, in my country more social and political postgraduate programs are putting aside philosophy from their syllabuses, even political philosophy. Particularly, I am interested in the Philosophy of Science and Epistemology because those disciplines teach the basic rules of any scientific inquiry. So, maybe you can recommend me some basic books or texts to start in the Philosophy of Science and Epistemology? Cheers.

"The Big Questions" by Robert C. Solomon is a superb introductory book, skillfully guiding beginners through profound concepts. Its chapters culminate with thought-provoking questions, enhancing the learning experience.