Philosophy, Logic, & Ethics

What is the good life? What is justice? Do we have free will? Does it matter? From ancient classics like Plato's Allegory of the Cave to modern standards like John Rawls's A Theory of Justice, the texts in this collection explore ideas and questions at the root of the human condition.

12 Rules for Life

by Jordan B. Peterson

Publication year 2018

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Love, Mental Health, Truth & Lies

Tags Self-Improvement, Inspirational, Psychology, Parenting, Sociology, American Literature, Science & Nature, Psychology, Philosophy, Philosophy, Religion & Spirituality, Politics & Government

12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos (2018) is Jordan B. Peterson’s second book. Peterson’s self-help book seeks to provide practical and virtuous rules to live by for a wide audience and general readership. The book streamlines, simplifies, and reimagines some of the more traditionally academic topics of Peterson’s first book, Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief. Each non-fiction work aims to explain human history and human nature according to universal frameworks. 12... Read 12 Rules for Life Summary

21 Lessons for the 21st Century

by Yuval Noah Harari

Publication year 2018

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Globalization, Community

Tags Science & Nature, Sociology, World History, Psychology, Psychology, Philosophy, Philosophy, Self-Improvement, Politics & Government

21 Lessons for the 21st Century (2018) is historian, philosopher, and acclaimed author Yuval Noah Harari’s in-depth look at the current global affairs and the immediate future of humankind. To Harari, the merging of biotechnology and artificial intelligence potentially represents the end of history with some humans becoming godlike. Despite the ramification of this situation on all of humanity, most people are distracted by irrelevant information and do not realize the debate that is occurring... Read 21 Lessons for the 21st Century Summary

A Brief History Of Time

by Stephen Hawking

Publication year 1988

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Space, Science & Technology, Future

Tags Science & Nature, World History, Philosophy, Philosophy, Classic Fiction

First published in 1988, A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes by British physicist Stephen Hawking is a general-audience science book that describes the basic principles of the universe as scientists have come to know them. From the beginning of everything to the fate of the cosmos—with black holes, wormholes, and time arrows in between—the book describes in non-technical language how the universe works. The 2009 edition contains a forward... Read A Brief History Of Time Summary

After Virtue

by Alasdair MacIntyre

Publication year 1981

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Good & Evil, Community, Self Discovery, Order & Chaos

Tags Philosophy, Postmodernism, Religion & Spirituality, Arts & Culture, World History, Philosophy, Classic Fiction, Politics & Government

An influential work of moral philosophy, After Virtue (1981) by the Scottish-born philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre takes a bleak view of the state of modern moral dialogue, viewing it as suffering from a lack of rational thought and an inability to resolve disagreements. By looking at older forms of moral discourse, such as Aristotle’s moral framework, and comparing them to the modern version, he generally finds the modern moral framework to be lacking and suggests fixes... Read After Virtue Summary

A Grief Observed

by C. S. Lewis

Publication year 1961

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Tags Religion & Spirituality, Christian, Philosophy, Philosophy, Biography, Classic Fiction

Clive Staples Lewis (1888-1963), known as C.S. Lewis, was a British writer and academic renowned for his works on Christianity and best remembered today as the author of the children’s book series The Chronicles of Narnia, which famously includes the novels The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1950) and Prince Caspian (1951), among others. He graduated from Oxford University and taught there until 1954 when he became Chair of Medieval and Renaissance Literature at... Read A Grief Observed Summary

All about Love

by bell hooks

Publication year 2000

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Love, Equality, Safety & Danger, Sexual Identity

Tags Gender & Feminism, Philosophy, Psychology, Love & Sexuality, Philosophy, Sociology, Psychology, Relationships, Self-Improvement, Religion & Spirituality

... Read All about Love Summary

Allegory Of The Cave

by Plato

Publication year -1

Genre Essay / Speech, Nonfiction

Tags Philosophy, Ancient Greece, Education, Education, World History, Philosophy, Classic Fiction, Politics & Government

Plato’s Republic takes the form of a series of dialogues between the first-person narrator (Socrates, Plato's teacher) and various real-life figures. “The Allegory of the Cave,” perhaps the most well-known section of The Republic, takes place as a conversation between Socrates and Plato’s brother, Glaucon. In this section, Socrates attempts to illustrate a point about how one can gain knowledge and wisdom and “perceive [...] the Essential Form of Goodness” (paragraph 31, line 10), via... Read Allegory Of The Cave Summary

All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten

by Robert Fulghum

Publication year 1986

Genre Essay Collection, Nonfiction

Themes Childhood & Youth, Death, Community

Tags Self-Improvement, Education, Education, Psychology, Psychology, Philosophy, Humor, Philosophy, Inspirational

In his compilation of essays, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, Robert Fulghum studies the simplicity embedded in everyday experiences. First published in 1989, this collection captivated a global audience, becoming a cultural touchstone as a #1 New York Times bestseller and selling over 7 million copies. Fulghum draws from his life experiences to craft this collection of essays. This collection, which falls within the self-help, motivational, and personal transformation genres... Read All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten Summary

Alone Together

by Sherry Turkle

Publication year 2011

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Community

Tags Sociology, Science & Nature, Philosophy, Philosophy, Relationships, Psychology, Psychology, Internet & Social Media, Arts & Culture

Sherry Turkle’s Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other, originally published in 2011, is a work of nonfiction that explores technology’s effect on how humans interact with one another. The book is split into two halves: the first deals with human interactions with sociable robots and the second with the networked connections of social media and virtual worlds.In the 1970s, Turkle meets ELIZA, a computer program that “engaged in... Read Alone Together Summary