Books with category đź’­ Philosophy
Displaying 12 books

The Ego and Its Own

2017

by Max Stirner

The Ego and Its Own is an 1844 work by Max Stirner. It presents a radically nominalist and individualist critique of Christianity, nationalism, and traditional morality, as well as humanism, utilitarianism, liberalism, and much of the then-burgeoning socialist movement. Stirner advocates for an amoral (though not inherently immoral or antisocial) egoism.

Ego emphasizes owness as self-description, moving past fixed conceptions of the Self and Other through the recognition of power relations and self-discovery of the mind.

Johann Kaspar Schmidt (1806-1856), also known as Max Stirner, was a German philosopher who is often considered one of the pioneers in anarchism, nihilism, existentialism, and postmodernism. His ideas challenge the enslavement of the mind by religion and nationalism, advocating for individual freedom and autonomy.

Braving the Wilderness

2017

by Brené Brown

In Braving the Wilderness, Brown redefines what it means to truly belong in an age of increased polarization. With her trademark mix of research, storytelling, and honesty, Brown will again change the cultural conversation while mapping a clear path to true belonging.

Brown argues that we're experiencing a spiritual crisis of disconnection, and introduces four practices of true belonging that challenge everything we believe about ourselves and each other. She writes, "True belonging requires us to believe in and belong to ourselves so fully that we can find sacredness both in being a part of something and in standing alone when necessary. But in a culture that's rife with perfectionism and pleasing, and with the erosion of civility, it's easy to stay quiet, hide in our ideological bunkers, or fit in rather than show up as our true selves and brave the wilderness of uncertainty and criticism. But true belonging is not something we negotiate or accomplish with others; it's a daily practice that demands integrity and authenticity. It's a personal commitment that we carry in our hearts." 

Brown offers us the clarity and courage we need to find our way back to ourselves and to each other. And that path cuts right through the wilderness. 

The Book of Disquiet: The Complete Edition

2017

by Fernando Pessoa

Fernando Pessoa was many writers in one. He attributed his prolific writings to a wide range of alternate selves, each of which had a distinct biography, ideology, and horoscope. When he died in 1935, Pessoa left behind a trunk filled with unfinished and unpublished writings, among which were the remarkable pages that make up his posthumous masterpiece, The Book of Disquiet, an astonishing work that, in George Steiner's words, "gives to Lisbon the haunting spell of Joyce's Dublin or Kafka's Prague."

Published for the first time some fifty years after his death, this unique collection of short, aphoristic paragraphs comprises the "autobiography" of Bernardo Soares, one of Pessoa's alternate selves. Part intimate diary, part prose poetry, part descriptive narrative, captivatingly translated by Richard Zenith, The Book of Disquiet is one of the greatest works of the twentieth century.

Arcadia

2017

by Tom Stoppard

Arcadia takes us back and forth between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, ranging over the nature of truth and time, the difference between the Classical and the Romantic temperament, and the disruptive influence of sex on our orbits in life. Focusing on the mysteries--romantic, scientific, literary--that engage the minds and hearts of characters whose passions and lives intersect across scientific planes and centuries, it is Stoppard's richest, most ravishing comedy to date, a play of wit, intellect, language, brio and... emotion. It's like a dream of levitation: you're instantaneously aloft, soaring, banking, doing loop-the-loops and then, when you think you're about to plummet to earth, swooping to a gentle touchdown of not easily described sweetness and sorrow... Exhilarating.

The Kingdom of God Is Within You

Banned in Russia, Tolstoy's The Kingdom of God Is Within You was deemed a threat to church and state. This work is the culmination of a lifetime's thought, espousing a commitment to Jesus's message of turning the other cheek. In a bold and original manner, Tolstoy shows his readers clearly why they must reject violence of any sort—even that sanctioned by the state or the church—and urges them to look within themselves to find the answers to questions of morality.

In 1894, one of the first English translations of this book found its way into the hands of a young Gandhi. Inspired by its message of nonresistance to evil, the Mahatma declared it a source of independent thinking, profound morality, and truthfulness.

Much of this work's emotional and moral appeal lies in its emphasis on fair treatment of the poor and working class. Its view of Christianity, not as a mystic religion but as a workable philosophy originating from the words of a remarkable teacher, extends its appeal to secular and religious readers alike.

The Koalemos Initiative

2017

by P.H. Wilson

What is TKI? TKI is not like anything ever created before (that is the kind of line business managers make you write, I apologise), it is 3 books in 1 which is quite surprising given that it is a novella.

Layer 1
Layer one is a thriller that has none stop action from start to finish.
Who is the man in the yellow polo shirt? Is he an anarchist, a jihadist or a fascist bent on a new world order? What was he doing at the scene of two separate terrorist attacks and why has he reappeared five years later during the deadliest bombings London has seen since the blitz?
Agent Heller, the only member of her Majesty's Secret Service that believes the man in the yellow polo shirt is behind it all, must find out the deadly truth, but what is the truth in the world of espionage and where does reality end and madness begin?

Layer 2
Layer two is a philosophical meta-fiction discussing the ramifications of actions and thoughts.
What if everything that happened in the world of a novel was real? What if authors were evil monsters torturing innocent characters with their evil schemes? And what does that make the reader?

Layer 3
Layer three is a literary criticism discussing the state of modern commercial fiction, its inflexible state of being, the trite cliches, the sloppy editing, the scores of grammar and spelling mistakes and its obsession with sales over quality.
If novel writing has basically become an algorithm to be followed, why would the world need writers anymore? If the world simply wants the same thing in slightly varying degrees, what is the point of creativity?

The Drowned and the Saved

2017

by Primo Levi

The Drowned and the Saved is a profound exploration by Primo Levi as he attempts to understand the rationale behind the atrocities of Auschwitz, Treblinka, and Bergen-Belsen. Levi dismisses the stereotyped images of brutal Nazi torturers and helpless victims, drawing extensively on his own experiences to delve into the minds and motives of oppressors and oppressed alike.

He describes the difficulty and shame of remembering, the limited forms of collaboration between inmates and SS goalers, the exploitation of useless violence, and the plight of the intellectual. Levi writes about the issue of power, mercy, and guilt, and their effects on the lives of the ordinary people who suffered so incomprehendingly.

Through his writing, Levi warns and reminds us that the unimaginable can happen again, urging us to learn from the past to make sense of the senseless.

Venus in Furs

Venus in Furs describes the obsessions of Severin von Kusiemski, a European nobleman who desires to be enslaved to a woman. Severin finds his ideal of voluptuous cruelty in the merciless Wanda von Dunajew. This is a passionate and powerful portrayal of one man's struggle to enlighten and instruct himself and others in the realm of desire.

Published in 1870, the novel gained notoriety and a degree of immortality for its author when the word "masochism"—derived from his name—entered the vocabulary of psychiatry. This remains a classic literary statement on sexual submission and control.

Like the Flowing River

2017

by Paulo Coelho

Like the Flowing River is a breathtaking collection of reflections from one of the world's best-loved storytellers, Paulo Coelho. In this riveting collection of thoughts and stories, Coelho offers his personal reflections on a wide range of subjects from archery and music to elegance, traveling, and the nature of good and evil.

An old woman explains to her grandson how a mere pencil can show him the path to happiness. Instructions on how to climb a mountain reveal the secret to making your dreams a reality. The story of Ghengis Khan and the Falcon teaches about the folly of anger and the art of friendship. A pianist performs as an example of fulfilling your destiny. The author learns three important lessons when he goes to the rescue of a man in the street. Paulo shows us how life has lessons for us in the greatest, smallest, and most unusual of experiences.

Like the Flowing River includes jewel-like fables, packed with meaning and retold in Coelho's inimitable style. Sharing his thoughts on spirituality, life, and ethics, Paulo touches you with his philosophy and invites you to go on an exciting journey of your own.

Hourglass

2017

by Dani Shapiro

Hourglass is an inquiry into how marriage is transformed by time--abraded, strengthened, shaped in miraculous and sometimes terrifying ways by accident and experience. With courage and relentless honesty, Dani Shapiro opens the door to her house, her marriage, and her heart, and invites us to witness her own marital reckoning--a reckoning in which she confronts both the life she dreamed of and the life she made, and struggles to reconcile the girl she was with the woman she has become.

Drawing on literature, poetry, philosophy, and theology, Shapiro writes gloriously of the joys and challenges of matrimonial life, in a luminous narrative that unfurls with urgent immediacy and sharp intelligence. Artful, intensely emotional work from one of our finest writers.

Utopia for Realists

2017

by Rutger Bregman

Universal basic income. A 15-hour workweek. Open borders. Does it sound too good to be true? One of Europe's leading young thinkers shows how we can build an ideal world today.

After working all day at jobs we often dislike, we buy things we don't need. Rutger Bregman, a Dutch historian, reminds us it needn't be this way—and in some places it isn't. Rutger Bregman's TED Talk about universal basic income seemed impossibly radical when he delivered it in 2014. A quarter of a million views later, the subject of that video is being seriously considered by leading economists and government leaders the world over. It's just one of the many utopian ideas that Bregman proves is possible today.

Utopia for Realists is one of those rare books that takes you by surprise and challenges what you think can happen. From a Canadian city that once completely eradicated poverty, to Richard Nixon's near implementation of a basic income for millions of Americans, Bregman takes us on a journey through history, and beyond the traditional left-right divides, as he champions ideas whose time have come.

Every progressive milestone of civilization—from the end of slavery to the beginning of democracy—was once considered a utopian fantasy. Bregman's book, both challenging and bracing, demonstrates that new utopian ideas, like the elimination of poverty and the creation of the fifteen-hour workweek, can become a reality in our lifetime. Being unrealistic and unreasonable can in fact make the impossible inevitable, and it is the only way to build the ideal world.

HUMANITY Understanding Reality and Inquiring Good

You belong to humanity, and you are nothing without humanity. If you don’t know humanity, then you know nothing about yourself and the society around you. Knowing nothing about yourself and your society leaves you questioning your purpose in life.

Discover yourself and society by reading “Humanity”. This book is crafted after delving into ancient, medieval, and modern philosophy to find answers about humans and what’s beneficial for humans in ideologies, politics, rules, laws, and resources.

By reading “Humanity”, you can understand yourself and human society, as this book is full of wisdom. It offers insights into the reality of human society and guides you in inquiring about what is good in human society.

If you care about yourself and the society around you, and wish to discover what is beneficial for you and for society, then this book could be your guide. It’s about the “Humanity” in us.

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