Why am I here? How can I live a good life? What does it mean to have a mind and be a person? Since the days of antiquity, philosophers have puzzled over fundamental questions like these that sit at the very heart of our lived experience and interactions with the world. Solving these problems is not merely about increasing our knowledge of the world, to fill up academic textbooks and sit on library shelves, but to impart wisdom to aid us as we navigate through life's uncertainties and its profoundest mysteries.
November marks the anniversary of UNESCO's commitment to celebrate World Philosophy Day, an occasion to consider the impact of philosophy and big ideas around the world and across cultures. What's more, it's an opportunity to reflect on the intellectual challenges that are confronting humanity today, whether that be environmental damage, rising political tensions and a renewed nationalist fervour, or calculated attempts to undermine respect in truth.
In 2017, we spoke to a number of leading philosophers to ask them why philosophy matters and what it has meant to them in their personal and professional lives (which you can read here, alongside a poem by Kwame Anthony Appiah). This year, we have tried to do something special, asking experts across the discipline to put together a list of their recommended philosophy books that everyone should read.
By no means exhaustive, and with some notable exceptions that did not make it in our experts' final selections (we're looking at you Heidegger and Kierkegaard), we hope this list will offer something to both those new to philosophy and seasoned readers of the subject. It urges to be read and enjoyed in the spirit it was intended: a colourfully-curated guide through the history of ideas by philosophers who want to share their passion with the world.
—David Maclean
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