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.

Publication year 2011

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Economics, Politics & Government

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

Thinking, Fast and Slow (2011), written by Nobel Laureate Daniel Kahneman, examines how people exercise judgment and make decisions. It draws from Kahneman’s long career—particularly his collaboration with fellow psychologist Amos Tversky beginning in 1969—identifying the mechanisms, biases, and perspectives that constitute human decision-making. Its 38 chapters provide detailed information affecting disciplines ranging from mathematics to law. The book was named one of the best books of 2011 by The New York Times and The... Read Thinking, Fast and Slow Summary

Publication year 2014

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Economics, Community, Truth & Lies

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

Think Like a Freak is a nonfiction book published in 2014 by Steven D. Levitt, a professor of economics at the University of Chicago, and Stephen J. Dubner, a journalist based in New York City. It is a follow-up to the authors’ successful books Freakonomics (2005) and SuperFreakonomics (2009), and ties in with their blog and podcast, which can be found at freakonomics.com. A fourth book in the series, When to Rob a Bank, was... Read Think Like a Freak Summary

Publication year 2020

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Religion & Spirituality, Forgiveness, Love, Perseverance, Order & Chaos, Truth & Lies

Tags Self-Improvement, Philosophy, Psychology, Health, Religion & Spirituality, Psychology, Philosophy, Mental Illness

Publication year 2009

Genre Essay / Speech, Nonfiction

Themes Religion & Spirituality, Self Discovery, Education, Fate

Tags Philosophy, American Literature, Self-Improvement, Psychology, Psychology, Philosophy, Religion & Spirituality

Publication year 1905

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Sexual Identity, Gender Identity, Childhood & Youth

Tags Psychology, Science & Nature, Psychology, Philosophy, Classic Fiction, Love & Sexuality, Philosophy

Sigmund Freud’s Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality was first published in 1905. Freud expanded it several times in later editions, and it reached its final form in 1924. The book occupies a major place in Freud’s body of work, but it was controversial when it first appeared. Freud pointedly blurs the line between perversions and normal sexual behaviors, and he develops a radically new and surprising theory of human sexuality—in particular, of childhood... Read Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality Summary

Publication year 1938

Genre Essay / Speech, Nonfiction

Tags The Bloomsbury Group, Women`s Studies, British Literature, Gender & Feminism, World History, Philosophy, Philosophy, Classic Fiction, Politics & Government

Three Guineas is a book-length essay structured as a letter from Virginia Woolf to an unnamed correspondent who has asked her for help with his efforts to “prevent war” (3). Three years after receiving the letter, and amidst the rise of fascism across Europe, Woolf has finally decided to respond. As a pacifist, she feels compelled to find a way to prevent another World War, though she is perturbed by the correspondent’s ideas, which ignore... Read Three Guineas Summary

Publication year 1883

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Religion & Spirituality, Fate, Order & Chaos, Trust & Doubt, Power & Greed, Good & Evil, Truth & Lies, Guilt, Fear, Perseverance, Conflict, Hope

Tags Philosophy, Religion & Spirituality, World History, Psychology, Psychology, Philosophy, Classic Fiction

Thus Spoke Zarathustra: A Book for All and None is a work of fiction written by the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. Published between 1883 and 1885, the allegorical novel also known as Thus Spake Zarathustra is a collection of speeches by a character named Zarathustra to the villagers of The Motley Cow. Nietzsche uses many literary devices such as personification, allegory, and allusion. The philosophical points referenced in Thus Spoke Zarathustra include the death of... Read Thus Spoke Zarathustra Summary

Publication year 2016

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Tags Sociology, Anthropology, Anthropology, Military & War, World History, Psychology, Psychology, Philosophy, Philosophy, Politics & Government

Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging is a 2016 non-fiction book by Sebastian Junger. This guide is based on the 2016 first-edition hardback published in New York by Twelve/Hachette Book Group. Junger is a journalist, essayist, filmmaker, and best-selling author whose writing about dangerous work and the people who perform it has been credited with stimulating the “adventure non-fiction” genre. His first book, Perfect Storm: A True Story About Men Against the Sea, about six fishermen... Read Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging Summary

Publication year 1997

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Death

Tags Philosophy, Philosophy, Modern Classic Fiction, Inspirational, Biography, Self-Improvement, Classic Fiction

First published in 1997, Tuesday’s with Morrie: An Old Man, A Young Man, and Life’s Greatest Lesson, is a nonfiction memoir that describes author Mitch Albom’s visits to a beloved college professor who is dying of Lou Gehrig’s disease, and the lessons he learns there. The book became a New York Times #1 bestseller and remained on the list for nearly four years, selling 15 million copies in 45 languages. It also became an Emmy-winning... Read Tuesday's with Morrie Summary

Publication year 2015

Genre Graphic Novel/Book, Nonfiction

Themes Education, Order & Chaos, Community

Tags Philosophy, Science & Nature, Psychology, Psychology, Philosophy, Arts & Culture

Unflattening began as the first comic-form dissertation at Columbia University, where Nick Sousanis completed a doctorate in education in 2014. It was published by Harvard University Press in 2015 and functions as an argument for visual thinking in teaching and learning. In 2016 the book received the further accolade of the American Publishers Award for Professional and Scholarly Excellence.In a Paris Review interview with Timothy Hodler, Sousanis cited Scott McCloud’s 1993 Understanding Comics as a... Read Unflattening Summary

Publication year 2005

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Community

Tags Science & Nature, Anthropology, Anthropology, Social Science, Sociology, Psychology, Psychology, Philosophy, Philosophy, Arts & Culture, Politics & Government

Us and Them: Understanding Your Tribal Mind is a 2005 nonfiction book by David Berreby about how humans divide and categorize themselves. The psychological text explains human nature and the neuroscience of human groupings like races, ethnicities, classes, and nationalities. Berreby also discusses the positive and negative effects of human-kind groupings and offers advice on how to better act on human-kind beliefs.Plot SummaryBerreby begins by explaining the concept of human kinds—a number of people that... Read Us and Them Summary

Publication year 1861

Genre Essay / Speech, Nonfiction

Tags Philosophy, Education, Education, Business & Economics, World History, Philosophy, Classic Fiction, Politics & Government

“Utilitarianism” is a philosophical essay written by English philosopher John Stuart Mill in 1863. In this long essay, Mill seeks to provide a definition for the moral philosophy of utilitarianism, which was originally developed by the philosopher Jeremy Bentham. As a philosophy, utilitarianism argues that a desire for happiness lies at the heart of all moral considerations. Mill’s essay expanded on the philosophical ideas initially proposed by Bentham and specifically sought to respond to common... Read Utilitarianism Summary

Publication year 1516

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Politics & Government, Economics, Justice

Tags Satirical Literature, Philosophy, Politics & Government

Originally published in 1516, Utopia is a short work of political and social satire. It was written by Sir Thomas More, an English attorney and the Lord High Chancellor in the court of King Henry VIII. Famously, More was executed in 1535 for refusing to publicly support Henry’s break from the Catholic Church.Utopia describes an ideal island nation from which the novel receives its name. More combines various elements from philosophical dialogues (such as Plato’s... Read Utopia Summary