Philosophy

  • The Society of the Spectacle by Guy Debord

    Debord’s central argument is that the “spectacle” goes well beyond what most of us picture when we hear that word — the Super Bowl, the Olympics, a presidential election. He argues that any representation of the world that turns people into passive spectators qualifies.

  • Discourses by Epictetus

    I picked up The Discourses by Epictetus from Standard Ebooks, then ended up buying the print Penguin edition as well. Stoic philosophy has had waves of popularity over the years, and I love that the most recent wave has brought a blossoming of new translations, resources, and accessible texts.

  • The Myth of Sisyphus & Other Essays by Albert Camus

    The Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays by Albert Camus is one of those books I’ve read a couple of times and finally just decided to own. I picked up the Vintage Books edition specifically because it includes bonus essays — particularly “Summer in Algiers” — that I think represent some of Camus’s best work.

  • The First Man by Albert Camus

    The First Man is the manuscript that was found at Albert Camus’s side after his death in a car accident in 1960. It sat unpublished for decades — held back by his estate, his daughter and granddaughter — before finally being released to the public.

  • American Philosophy: A Love Story by John Kaag

    I picked up American Philosophy, A Love Story after reading Kaag’s earlier book Hiking with Nietzsche and coming across several of his essays in The Atlantic. John Kaag is, in my opinion, one of the most talented working writers who also happens to be an actual practicing professor of philosophy. That combination — the rigor of the academic and the accessibility of a great essayist — makes him worth following closely.

  • Hiking with Nietzsche by John Kaag

    I picked up Hiking with Nietzsche after reading John Kaag’s book on American philosophy. He’s a fabulous writer who uses personal anecdotes to weave deeper, more modern, and more personal connections to big philosophical ideas.

  • Basic Writings of John Stuart Mill by John Stuart Mill

    The Basic Writings of John Stuart Mill is a Modern Library compendium of Mill’s most famous works—On Liberty, The Subjugation of Women, Utilitarianism, and more. I bought it years ago for a college philosophy class and ended up keeping it, not because I reference it constantly, but because rereading essays like On Liberty reminded me of something important.