Best philosophy book

[Charlie]

What is your philosophy book you like best?

 

I like "Poor Richard´s Almanack" from Benjamin Franklin and "The Wisdom of Life" from Arthur Schopenhauer.

 

They are very much "Munger-style" written. Short, sharp and focused to the point. 

 

 

[adventurer]

Schopenhauers "Aphorisms" are truly good. I read them 2-3 times myself and they have a strong connection to Stoicism which is highly en vogue right now (Marc Aurel, Epictetus and Seneca). 

With these two books you are referring to how to conduct a good life. There are of course many other fields within philosophy but since this is what many people are concerned with when turning to philosophy one may also find interesting:

 

- Aristotles` "Nicomachean Ethics" (though far more "dry" and academic)
- Michele de Montaigne`s "Essais" (very good, also has a strong relation to stoicism)

- Bertrand Russells` "The Conquest of Happiness"

I have many more but they are most prominent when it comes to how to conduct a good life. 

Edited 11 hours ago by adventurer

[Eldad]

The History of Western Philosophy by Bertrand Russell (also a famous philosopher) is very good for an in-depth overview. 
 

But unlike Russell, I agree with Blaise Pascal in believing in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and not of the philosophers and of the learned. Therefore IMO, the best book for studying truth, knowledge, and realty would be the Holy Bible and Jesus would be the best explainer of that truth. 

 

Edited 4 hours ago by Eldad

[cubsfan]

9 hours ago, Charlie said:

What is your philosophy book you like best?

 

I like "Poor Richard´s Almanack" from Benjamin Franklin and "The Wisdom of Life" from Arthur Schopenhauer.

 

They are very much "Munger-style" written. Short, sharp and focused to the point. 

 

 

yeah i have to agree with you on Poor Charlie’s Almanack - i’ve given away several copies to young people.

[bizaro86]

2 hours ago, Eldad said:

The History of Western Philosophy by Bertrand Russell (also a famous philosopher) is very good for an in-depth overview. 
 

But unlike Russell, I agree with Blaise Pascal in believing in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and not of the philosophers and of the learned. Therefore IMO, the best book for studying truth, knowledge, and realty would be the Holy Bible and Jesus would be the best explainer of that truth. 

 

 

I agree with you - but even besides that the Biblical book of Proverbs is clearly exceptional wisdom whatever your religious beliefs happen to be. 

[Blake Hampton]

- Meditations by Marcus Aurelius

- and The Republic by Plato

I think reading The Republic could be especially important today given the current political situation. The author of The Republic, Plato, was a student of Socrates in ancient Athens. Those men were brilliant beyond words. Politics to those two, later including Aristotle and even Alexander the Great, seemed almost akin to applied philosophy, which is interesting.

[Blake Hampton]

Applied philosophy today in America:

 

[coffeecaninvestor]

Probably not on the same level as all the other books discussed here, but an easy daily read is the daily stoic by Ryan Holiday. I liked to reach it each night, and then reflect on that night's reading. 

 

On the Shortness of Life: Life Is Long if You Know How to Use It (Penguin Great Ideas) was a good read as well. 

 

 

[Castanza]

1 hour ago, Blake Hampton said:

- Meditations by Marcus Aurelius

- and The Republic by Plato

I think reading The Republic could be especially important today given the current political situation. The author of The Republic, Plato, was a student of Socrates in ancient Athens. Those men were brilliant beyond words. Politics to those two, later including Aristotle and even Alexander the Great, seemed almost akin to applied philosophy, which is interesting.

 

Are you sure about that? I'm not sure you've examined their works close enough and instead have settled for two of their core thoughts while ignoring many others they held. Very few of their views translate to modern societal standards and norms both politically and culturally. 

[Rainier]

The Bible would be far and away #1. 

 

Pensees by Pascal is good. A collection of very short truisms. 

 

There are lots of good books/authors on natural theology. This is the concept of arguing for a single creator based solely on our knowledge of the universe and logic. Natural theology is usually a precursor for anyone who begins their religious inquiry from a position of reason or proof seeking. These types of books would consider stuff like the problem of evil, Euthyphro dilemma, ontological argument, cosmological argument, why is there a universe rather than no universe, etc.

[Castanza]

Not philosophy in the strict sense but The Lessons of History by Will and Ariel Durant is a very good read. 

[Rainier]

10 minutes ago, Castanza said:

Not philosophy in the strict sense but The Lessons of History by Will and Ariel Durant is a very good read. 

+1.  This is an extremely good book.

[Eldad]

16 minutes ago, Rainier said:

The Bible would be far and away #1. 

 

Pensees by Pascal is good. A collection of very short truisms. 

 

There are lots of good books/authors on natural theology. This is the concept of arguing for a single creator based solely on our knowledge of the universe and logic. Natural theology is usually a precursor for anyone who begins their religious inquiry from a position of reason or proof seeking. These types of books would consider stuff like the problem of evil, Euthyphro dilemma, ontological argument, cosmological argument, why is there a universe rather than no universe, etc.

Yes, natural theology would be like the idea of the watchmaker God of the Enlightenment and most of the US Founding Fathers. 
 

This is still present in the scientific community but now they call it “the Universe” which I think is kind of funny. Even Stephen Hawking can’t get around the fact that math, physics, etc. follows laws and always works and has always been. It seems as if something made the software that drives the hardware (material world) but they don’t want to say that so they say “The Universe is so incredible!”

[rogermunibond]

I quite enjoyed Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

[nafregnum]

Philosophy came alive for me in my 30s when I read Meditations by Marcus Aurelius.  Munger says to make friends with the eminent dead.  The Meditations are entries in a journal of very personal thoughts by a Roman Emperor, and it felt rare to be seeing into the mind of someone who died in 180.  I was deeply affected by thoughts on time, and death, like some of these in book 4:
 

Quote

 

"Time is a river, a violent current of events, glimpsed once and already carried past us, and another follows and is gone."

 

...

 

"Suppose that a god announced that you were going to die tomorrow “or the day after.” Unless you were a complete coward you wouldn’t kick up a fuss about which day it was—what difference could it make? Now recognize that the difference between years from now and tomorrow is just as small."

 

...

 

"Don’t let yourself forget how many doctors have died, after furrowing their brows over how many deathbeds. How many astrologers, after pompous forecasts about others’ ends. How many philosophers, after endless disquisitions on death and immortality. How many warriors, after inflicting thousands of casualties themselves. How many tyrants, after abusing the power of life and death atrociously, as if they were themselves immortal.

 

How many whole cities have met their end: Helike, Pompeii, Herculaneum, and countless others.

 

And all the ones you know yourself, one after another. One who laid out another for burial, and was buried himself, and then the man who buried him—all in the same short space of time."

 

...

 

"Think of yourself as dead. You have lived your life. Now take what's left and live it properly."

 

For me, the discovery of death gave rise to a more serious interest in philosophy.  Some other death-oriented doorways I found around that time in life:

 

"The Death of Ivan Ilyich" by Tolstoy can give a shock of inspiration not to die an unexamined life.

 

"Slaughterhouse Five" by Kurt Vonnegut with its commonly repeated "So it goes" 

 

"The Last Days of Socrates" by Plato

 

"Dialogues and Essays" by Seneca

 

"How to Think Like a Roman Emperor" by Donald J. Robertson is my favorite in the Stoicism category by modern authors.  I also like the Scottish accent in the Audible narration.  This one does a good job of discussing those parts that stand the test of time.  

 

"The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin" has plenty of practical philosophy, including the death-oriented letter written from one mayfly to another:
https://americanliterature.com/author/benjamin-franklin/letter/the-ephemera-an-emblem-of-human-life

 

Not books, but a couple philosophy podcasts I've enjoyed are "Philosophize This!" and "Very Bad Wizards"