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.

Powers of Horror

by Julia Kristeva

Publication year 1980

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Literature, Fear, Hate & Anger, Art, Good & Evil

Tags Horror & Suspense, Literary Criticism, Psychology, Philosophy, Arts & Culture, Philosophy, Psychology, Gender & Feminism, French Literature

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Pragmatism

by William James

Publication year 1907

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Appearance & Reality, Order & Chaos, Religion & Spirituality

Tags Philosophy, Psychology, American Literature, Religion & Spirituality, Science & Nature, Psychology, Philosophy, Self-Improvement, Classic Fiction

Pragmatism: A New Name for Some Old Ways of Thinking (1907) is a philosophical work by the American philosopher and psychologist William James. It consists of eight lectures originally delivered at the Lowell Institute in Boston and at Columbia University in New York. James is closely associated with the philosophy of pragmatism, originally formulated by the American philosopher Charles Sanders Peirce, and this book is considered the major statement of the ideas and principles of... Read Pragmatism Summary

Praise Of Folly

by Desiderius Erasmus

Publication year 1511

Genre Essay / Speech, Nonfiction

Themes Religion & Spirituality, Marriage, Politics & Government

Tags Religion & Spirituality, Satirical Literature, Philosophy, Politics & Government, Relationships, Renaissance

Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam (c. 1466-1536) was one of the most influential Renaissance humanists, and his 1509 satire Praise of Folly has become his best-known and most popular work. Originally written in Latin, the book is presented as a long speech or “declamation” delivered by a personified Folly. Erasmus uses the character of Folly as a mouthpiece to criticize and to poke fun at the foibles of human nature in general as well as many... Read Praise Of Folly Summary

Preface to Lyrical Ballads

by William Wordsworth

Publication year 1800

Genre Essay / Speech, Nonfiction

Themes Environment, Art, Literature

Tags Arts & Culture, Romanticism, Education, Education, British Literature, Philosophy, Philosophy, Classic Fiction

“Preface to Lyrical Ballads” is an essay by the English Romantic poet William Wordsworth. In 1798 Wordsworth wrote, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, the poetry collection Lyrical Ballads. Believing that the poems were so novel in theme and style that they required some explanation, Wordsworth wrote a prefatory essay to accompany the second edition of the poems in 1800; he then expanded the essay for the third edition of 1802.The “Preface” is often considered a manifesto... Read Preface to Lyrical Ballads Summary

Presence

by Amy Cuddy

Publication year 2015

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Self Discovery, Power & Greed, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Fear, Language

Tags Psychology, Self-Improvement, Business & Economics, Leadership, Science & Nature, Psychology, Philosophy, Philosophy

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Principles

by Ray Dalio

Publication year 2011

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Economics, Teamwork, Power & Greed

Tags Business & Economics, Self-Improvement, Leadership, Philosophy, Philosophy, Biography

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Progress and Poverty

by Henry George

Publication year 1879

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Economics, Justice, Science & Technology, Equality

Tags Business & Economics, Philosophy, Politics & Government, Poverty, Social Justice, Urban Development, Sociology, World History, Philosophy, Classic Fiction

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Properties of Thirst

by Marianne Wiggins

Publication year 2022

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family, Grief, Memory, Perseverance, Nation, Justice, Politics & Government

Tags Historical Fiction, World War II, Arts & Culture, Civil Rights & Jim Crow South, Food, Grief & Death, US History, World History, Immigration & Refugeeism, Incarceration, Military & War, Philosophy, Politics & Government, Love & Sexuality, Relationships, Social Justice

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Protagoras

by Plato

Publication year 390

Genre Essay / Speech, Nonfiction

Themes Education, Truth & Lies, Politics & Government, Good & Evil

Tags Philosophy, Ancient Greece, Education, Education, Philosophy, World History, Classical Period, Classic Fiction

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Purity and Danger

by Mary Douglas

Publication year 1966

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Community, Safety & Danger

Tags Anthropology, Education, Education, Anthropology, Social Science, Sociology, World History, Psychology, Psychology, Philosophy, Philosophy, Religion & Spirituality

Originally published in 1966, Purity and Danger, by Mary Douglas, is a treatise on the concepts of purity and uncleanness in various societies and cultures. It is widely considered a classic in the field of cultural anthropology. Douglas (1921-2007), a British anthropologist with an interest in comparative religion, pursues the idea that dirt is abhorrent to us because it is “matter out of place.” She examines dietary rules, religious rituals, and social and sexual taboos... Read Purity and Danger Summary

Queen Mab

by Percy Bysshe Shelley

Publication year 1813

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Religion & Spirituality, Death, Place, Environment, Future, Politics & Government, Power & Greed, War

Tags Narrative Poem, Christian, Poetry: Dramatic Poem, Mythology, Fantasy, Philosophy, Politics & Government, Military & War, World History, Science & Nature, Religion & Spirituality, Grief & Death, Romanticism, British Literature, Health, Philosophy, Food, Classic Fiction

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Quit India

by Mahatma Gandhi

Publication year 1942

Genre Essay / Speech, Nonfiction

Themes War, Colonialism, Perseverance, Hope, Community, Power & Greed, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Justice

Tags Philosophy, Politics & Government, Asian History, World War II

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Reflections On The Revolution In France

by Edmund Burke

Publication year 1790

Genre Essay / Speech, Nonfiction

Themes Guilt

Tags European History, Education, Education, World History, French Literature, Philosophy, Philosophy, Classic Fiction, Politics & Government

Edmund Burke’s Reflections on the Revolution in France, first published in 1790, is written as a letter to a French friend of Burke’s family, Charles-Jean-François Depont, who requests Burke’s opinion of the French Revolution to date. Burke is a well-connected politician and political theorist of the late eighteenth century, though this tract would become his first significant work on the subject. In Reflections on the Revolution in France, Burke speaks at length on the development... Read Reflections On The Revolution In France Summary

Regarding the Pain of Others

by Susan Sontag

Publication year 2003

Genre Essay / Speech, Nonfiction

Themes Memory

Tags Sociology, Military & War, World History, Psychology, Psychology, Philosophy, Philosophy, Arts & Culture

Regarding the Pain of Others is a book-length essay by Susan Sontag published in 2003. Sontag initially addresses a question posed to writer and anti-war activist Virginia Woolf: “How in your opinion are we to prevent war?” but then, deducing that war is perennial, Sontag uses the remainder of her book to examine the relation between photography and feelings and ideas about war. She insists on discussing specific wars and specific photographers because each work... Read Regarding the Pain of Others Summary

Requiem for the American Dream

by Noam Chomsky

Publication year 2017

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Economics, Social Class, Politics & Government, Justice, Equality, Power & Greed, Education, Colonialism, Nation

Tags Business & Economics, Politics & Government, Philosophy, Social Justice, Civil Rights & Jim Crow South, Finance, US History, American Literature, Sociology, World History, Philosophy

Requiem for the American Dream: The 10 Principles of Concentration of Wealth & Power by linguist and political activist Noam Chomsky evaluates the rise of income inequality in the US over the last 40 years. It argues that the main consequence of neoliberalism, which has increased since the 1970s, is a dramatic concentration of wealth and power to the elite—at the expense of the lower and middle classes. Chomsky observes how rapid financialization since the... Read Requiem for the American Dream Summary