Version 1.2 Draft under construction!

/lit/ PROJECT: GUIDE TO READING

WESTERN PHILOSOPHY, FROM THE
GREEKS TO NOW
Sections that DIVIDE will be in RED and bold
Purple is special section or something that requires a lot of attention and should be read carefully!
Green and bold is works/words not in English
>Meme arrows, italics and highlighted green are used for quoting
Blue text in bold are thinkers we cover in this guide, also blue text will be given when a thinker is first mentioned
T itles of works will be in italics when referred to in normal text

FOR NEWFAGS:
FOR NEWFAGS WANTING TO LEARN PHILOSOPHY, FIRST THINGS TO DO:
1.Read the preface and Introduction, understand what it’s for (pedagogy)
2.Spend 5 minutes SKIMMING through the actual reading manual (go to where it says THIS
IS WHERE THE GUIDE ACTUALLY STARTS ). You don’t need to understand or know
anything in the actual guide yet.
3. Gasp in horror at the amount of philosophical thought
4.Learn the history of philosophy and basic concepts using the books and links provided in
the introduction. MAKE SURE YOU REALLY DO LEARN IT!
5.Go back to THIS IS WHERE THE GUIDE ACTUALLY STARTS and start with the
Greeks!
6.After starting with the Greeks discuss on /lit/ to develop your own interests in the field of
philosophy for example Phil of Mind.

ON HELPING THE CONSTRUCTION OF THIS GUIDE USE SUGGESTION MODE TO MAKE SUGGESTIONS TOO!

PASSAGES OR USE THREAD! IF THEY ARE GOOD I WILL ADD IT!!!

If you have good knowledge on them please suggest large edits!!

If there are missing philosophers please scroll down to last pages of this
doc and add them

INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK

For index of contents
Preface
A clarification for the already-knowledgeable, newfags please read too!
This was a project I conjured up with some help of anons during development, a
comprehensive guide to Western Philosophy. The Preface aims to clarify to already
philosophically knowledgeable people on the purpose of this guide and the philosophically
uninitiated on the path of knowledge and wisdom. The guide is not a detailed explanation
of the Philosopher and their ideas (and definitely not a replacement) . Y ou get that by
reading them, for an overview of Philosophy check the Introduction but this is a
commentary/guide on what to texts to read, who to read, and Translations/Editions to
acquire.
Why make another guide? We already have tons!
They usually jumble the required reading order or present horrible/inferior translations like
this guide https://warosu.org/lit/thread/S6360534#p6360560 or miss important works of
philosophers. Even though the one above is better than most guides it misses critical people
like FUCKING HAS LACAN BUT NO FREUD or has horrible translations given!
Will this guide shut down philosoph y on /lit/ due to explaining everything?
This guide only contains a sentence or a really short paragraph on a philosopher, so no. I
actually hope this guide will enrich the already well established discussion into something
more coherent.

Who should read this guide?

The people I had in mind when writing those who wanted to study philosophy seriously . I do
not mean academically but as a very serious hobby at the very least. This guide is not for
hacks, pseudo-intellectuals or dilettantes who want to impress women or something of the
like.
Is this guide aimed to replace any real institutions of education?
NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO
How do I read this guide?:
It’s optimised in the best way to read for pedagogical purposes, no bullshit on “ but but it’s
not historical!!” Fuck off does this guide look like a chronological History of Western
Philosophy to you?
On bias
I am a Marxist and an atheist, my main interests in philosophy are Poststructuralism,
Structuralism, Critical Theory, Lacanian psychoanalysis, Schelling, Schopenhauer and
Philosophy of Music (so basically Aesthetics). Having admitted these possible vectors of bias
of course does not absolve me of any mistakes due to bias in this guide.
Since you are a Marxist will you cover Marx ?
Yes for a few reasons. First off I think it is fair to say /lit/ has a fair amount of Leftists (I mean
Leftists in general and not Marxists). Second of all, Marx has a very large influence on
Continental thinkers and /lit/ loves Continental thinkers (Also there are some Analytic
thinkers influenced by Marx too!). Three, if you're a right-winger or a liberal why not read it
to critique it? Four, One can just read Marx as an materialist critique of Hegel’s metaphysics
perhaps?
You missed XXX author! How dare you!
I will be covering philosophers who have had a large influence and not your obscure
favourite blogger. I will try to be unbiased as possible in my coverage and cover influential
philosophers regardless of my own personal opinion about them.
You missed X work of Y
I will cover the main works of philosophers and not something they wrote in an obscure
journal. I do not omit works due ignorance but due to this following reason, this guide will be
comprehensive but not overwhelming to an initiate.
On the cost of the books
Highly expensive books will only be opted optional and some cheaper alternatives of works
will be presented, if you read the whole canon properly it will not be cheap, when buying 2nd
hand pick ones with UNMARKED INTERIORS!
https://sites.google.com/site/themetalibrary/library-genesis
https://sites.google.com/site/themetalibrary/library-genesis
https://sites.google.com/site/themetalibrary/library-genesis
https://sites.google.com/site/themetalibrary/library-genesis
https://sites.google.com/site/themetalibrary/library-genesis
https://sites.google.com/site/themetalibrary/library-genesis
https://sites.google.com/site/themetalibrary/library-genesis
https://sites.google.com/site/themetalibrary/library-genesis
https://sites.google.com/site/themetalibrary/library-genesis
https://sites.google.com/site/themetalibrary/library-genesis
https://sites.google.com/site/themetalibrary/library-genesis
https://sites.google.com/site/themetalibrary/library-genesis
https://sites.google.com/site/themetalibrary/library-genesis
https://sites.google.com/site/themetalibrary/library-genesis
https://sites.google.com/site/themetalibrary/library-genesis
https://sites.google.com/site/themetalibrary/library-genesis
https://sites.google.com/site/themetalibrary/library-genesis
https://sites.google.com/site/themetalibrary/library-genesis
https://sites.google.com/site/themetalibrary/library-genesis
https://sites.google.com/site/themetalibrary/library-genesis
https://sites.google.com/site/themetalibrary/library-genesis
https://sites.google.com/site/themetalibrary/library-genesis
“Collected works” & “Essential works” editions vs multiple individual editions
I have chosen translations and scholarly support over cheaper collected works. “Collected
works editions and “Essential works” editions will usually only be presented if they have the
best support apparatus. It is also important to check the contents before buying collected
works just in case you don’t buy overlapping texts. You can check using Amazon preview
and Google books . .

Regarding on presenting editions of works in the original language:

I will deem if it’s necessary to also present editions of philosophers works in their original
language for further reading material.
Further note on translations:
I may point to editions in their original language for further reading, these aren’t exactly
necessary but serve the purpose of better understanding the text . I also pick literal
translations over loose ones. I am also aware as new editions of works come out this list may
become outdated, as of writing I provide the best and latest editions.

Introduction
Specifically for the newfags of philosophy, when you finish this you will have a good
grasp of the history Philosophy from the Greeks to Nietzsche at the very least and
early Analytic & Continental history.
What's Analytic and Continental philosophy mentioned in the preface?
To put it in simple words there was a rupture between two groups of philosophers who had
different views on methodology and what philosophy should be in the early 20th Century.
The break began with Gottlob Frege, G.E. Moore, Bertrand Russell and Ludwig
Wittgenstein on the Analytic side; Edmund Husserl and Martin Heidegger on the
Continental side.
https://philosophynow.org/issues/74/Analytic_versus_Continental_Philosophy
www.youtube.com/watch? v =xiISBhwxaY0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=us3Ke1tF9dU
Also check out the very last page of this guide.
Do I need to read everyone and everything on this list?
It is your decision on what to read, but there are philosophers that you will need to read
regardless if you like them or not to understand Western philosophy (like Kant). As you
develop certain philosophical interests you will find out what you want to read. For example I
developed an interest in Philosophy of Music and thus I will read Philosophy of Music.
How long will it take to read all of this? How do I read a philosophical text?
Years of course, I mean you really are a /lit/ patrician who’s willing to spend years reading
and also read for the virtue of reading right? With regards to how to read : read slowly, take
notes , and underline passages of interest.
Reading order
Reading order is very important. Putting it in very naive terms philosophers affirm,
negate or transform a previous philosopher’s ideas. You will not understand Aristotle
if you do not read Plato first for example.
THERES SO MUCH STUFF I'M BOGGED DOWN!
Stick to the stuff in the introduction okay? Later on you will find out your specific
interests may choose to specialise in a specific field of philosophy.

Where the fuck to buy all these books?

I mostly buy most of the books on Amazon but seriously just search the ISBN online. Or
download them off Russian sites like libgen. Also google PDFs.
Should I read the works in their original languages?
If you can fluently then yes you will benefit a lot, not necessary but highly recommended.

Should I ditch a thinker because I can’t read them in their original language?
No, this is where good scholarly translations come into play. Jokes on you if there's no
translation
Basic terminology
Philosophy has it's own terminology to precisely explicate ideas, concepts and so and
so on which you need to be familiar with, some basic terms are listed below.

Concentrate on the five fields of philosophy shown in yellow first and then check out
these words below. Use the resources below to find out the meaning.
Ignore the subsections on Logic for now unless you somehow feel confident
(Political Philosophy) Logos Empiricism Ar e te Rationalism Arche
(Socratic dialogue) Idealism Materialism Teleology Physis a-
priori a-posteriori being Nous subject Dialectic essence form

Encyclopedias, where you search stuff! :

Wikipedia of course
 But I wouldn't go to wikipedia first as it is not scholarly edited by professionals. Only good for
specific information like biographical information or something obscure.
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy , plato.stanford.edu
Online Encyclopedia edited and written by Academics, highly recommended.
Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy iep.utm.edu
Another highly recommended Encyclopedia, also edited and written by Academics.
Philosophy Basics philosophybasics.com
I included this one because of the laymen language used and explains topics much more
briefly, the other two wikis are a lot better though but here it is.
Lectures and talks on basics of philosophy:
Rick Roderick rickroderick.org
Some guy who was with the The Teaching Company, covers broad range of topics and
philosophers, he even reaches up to 20th century thinkers like Derrida !
Bryan Magee 's The great philosophers TV series (1987) *
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFF9E7ADD88FBA144
Bryan Magee in discussion with famous philosophers and scholars like Searle , Marcuse ,
Ayer etc in a 45 minute tv program about the history of Western Philosophy.
NOTE: The link above above includes some parts of the TV series Men of Ideas also hosted
by Bryan Magee but I am unable to find the full version of Men of Ideas online, anyways
heres the imdb pages:
imdb.com/title/tt1046679
imdb.com/title/tt1043128
Gregory B. Sadler lectures youtube.com/channel/UCEtxsMx4qsoitFwjBdLU_gA
Some professor decided to upload some of his lectures to youtube, haven't watched much of
his videos but his introductory videos are fine. There's even a lecture where he has a lecture
with freshmen where he explains the philosophical terms listed above.
Partially Examined life partiallyexaminedlife.com
A philosophy podcast that's not pleb at all (Keep reading to the purple text below for more
info)
Historyofphilosophy http://www.historyofphilosophy.net/
Focuses on lesser known philosophers, without any gaps.

Books on the History of Western Philosophy :

These books below does a sweeping of the history of philosophy, a good overview on what’s
happened in the history of philosophy. You don't have to read them all but merely pick one.
RECOMMENDED TO READ ONE BEFORE STARTING THE GREEKS! Don’t read
Bertrand Russell’s one, it’s biased.
Frederick Copleston 's History of Philosophy (1946–75)
A huge 11 volume covering from the presocratics to early Analytic/Continental philosophy,
note that the author is a Jesuit priest and may have some thomistic biases.
Bryan Magee 's The Story of Philosophy ISBN: 078947994X
Bryan Magee is at it again! This is a short 240 page book using laymen language! Enough
said.
Will Durant's The Story of Philosophy (1924 with a revised second edition released in
1933 and single volume Hardcover 1926)
The oldest (but not the worst!), although not a philosopher in the proper Will Durant has
written a comprehensive multi volume book from the Greeks to Nietzsche. He also has
written an 11 volume set on history "The Story of Civilization" with his wife Ariel
(Unfortunately they both died before getting past Napoleon). There are also audio recordings
floating around on the internet of both books.
A New History of Western Philosophy ISBN: 0199656495
Suggested by anon, a very new book by a well acclaimed scholar Anthony Kenny.

DEGENERATE “PEDAGOGUES” TO AVOID,

IMPORTANT SECTION FOR NEWFAGS:
List of youtube channels or websites and specific people to avoid
1 .Philosophy Tube (YT channel)
2. Wisecrack
3. InspiringPhilosophy
4.Alain De Botton and his popular YT channel and website “School of Life”
The reason being a very important one , the level of philosophic depth and seriousness
and real pedagogical potential of these listed would be commonly referred to as “pop
philosophy”. They talk about philosophy (specifically philosophers that would generate page
views) but water it down so much (to 5 minute videos) it’s not worth your time, you are
actually better off finding some obscure channel who doesn’t bow down to any superego
injunctions to make everything somewhat entertaining. The last two are just degenerate. Just
avoid any channel claiming that philosophy will make your life better because that’s what
these people and youtube channels sell pop philosophy as. Not saying philosophy couldn’t
improve your life but it’s a red flag you should be keen on the rare chance philosophy springs
up in the public discourse
ON THE EDITIONS/Translations TO BUY:
I shall begin by stating that there are many translations of the same work and it is KEY to
having the right translation , a horribly compiled edition or translation can have you
completely misunderstand a philosopher! Works in original languages are also cheaper to
buy.
On generic secondary literature series:
There are many generic philosophy series of secondary /lit/ such as books in the
Cambridge/Oxford/Blackwell/Routledge Companion series. Frankly these were probably
made to sell and the quality varies by what it’s topic is about. Only buy the ones which
contain essays by reputable scholars. This shall be reflected in this guide.
A good translation has:
1. Unabridged text
2. An introductory essay by the translator and editor
3. Footnotes and annotations explaining philosophical-historical background of text (so you
have a better understanding) and translation decisions explained (text explaining
translation decisions are very important!)
Publishers, a quick guide on commonly found publishers of philosophy
Like literature there are some good, okay and shit publishers:
Best (in no order):
Loeb Classical Library
Hackett
Oxford
Cambridge
SUNY Press (State University of New York)
Clarendon
Mid-top tier:
Other universities
Okay:
Dover
Shit:
Penguin
Reasoning:
Although expensive, Loeb is the top tier place for classical texts. The translations are quite
literal and scholarly and has the original language AND the english translation in the same
volume (Original on left page and translation on the right).
Hackett, Oxford, Cambridge and SUNY press are all specialist publishers belonging to major
higher education institutions and have done impressive editions of major philosophical
works. Editions of works compiled by these publishers are used in scholarly and academic
citations regularly.
DO NOT BUY PENGUIN TRANSLATIONS IF THERE ARE OTHER ONES!
This isn't some irrational hatred of Penguin but merely the fact that Penguin serves to
provide cheap editions of literature in general (not a specialist in philosophy). The publishers
mentioned above publish editions by scholars who have spent years and years gathering
and compiling information before publishing their work. So don't buy from Penguin unless
given so in this guide. Yes Penguin is that bad compared to the other publishers.
* Unfortunately this programme contains Peter Singer talking about Hege l and Marx , Peter Singer is an Ethicist and
no t a Hegelian or Marxist. I would skip this talk and find something else.

THIS IS WHERE THE GUIDE ACTUALLY

STARTS!
Ancient era, starting with the Greeks:
Starting with the greeks should be taken as a meme and at the same time seriously, the
Western philosophical tradition traces all the way back to the Ancient greeks so seriously
start with the greeks. NO EXCUSES! IN UNIVERSITY THEY START WITH THE GREEKS!
(Also please make sure you understand all the preliminary stuff before reading any further)

Space left intentionally blank

You have probably seen this around /lit/* a lot of the time but I would like to discuss this
picture below in order to explain some points on how this image is related to this guide and
to point out its shortcomings. Remember to follow the lines in the image and read in order!

For more information watch these lectures:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL023BCE51342439

PROBLEMS, on the image.

What to read in the Image
It is quite right to start off with learning the history and mythology of Ancient Greece so we
have that covered but I would argue that one only needs to read Mythology, The Iliad, The
Odyssey and The Histories before moving on to reading actual philosophic texts of The First
Philosophers: The Presocratics and the Sophists & the complete works of Plato and Aristotle
for the purpose of this guide (Philosophy) but I am not stating philosophers do not or
should not read other literature (In Continental philosophy at least there is a lot of literature
involved) . But I am imagining some hardcore Geeky Greeky Greek /lit/ patricians ready to
rail against me for this decision and I thus will only posit this as a meaningless suggestion .
But as a meaningless suggestion to only read these I shall give you only the relevant ISBNs
of this meaningless suggestion:
Mythology : 0446574759
The First Philosophers The Presocratics and the Sophists : 019953909X
Plato Complete Works : 0872203492
Complete Works of Aristotle Vol 1 : 069101650X
Complete Works of Aristotle Vol 2 : 0691016518
No one is stopping you from reading all of the books in the image!
Various other helpful items
1107686199
093522503X
0520040414
019823600X
0415251486
0521067480
0872203867
0521148855
Or anything by Leo Strauss, Seth Bernadete or Alan Bloom

There is also a fun biographical and philosophical text of Greek philosophers by Diogenes
Laertius The Lives of Eminent Philosophers published by Loeb** in two volumes. Also has a
nice treatise on Epicureanism in Book 10 of Volume 2.
Are they the right editions?
Regarding the editions on the presocratics, Plato and Aristotle they are the best editions for
the newcomer (especially Plato and Aristotle ). Both complete works are done by the best
scholars of Plato and Aristotle spanning thousands of pages and are definitely worth
price and have no replacements! The introductions of both Complete works is very
lengthy and explains in great detail. However if you even want to go into more in-depth into
either the Presocratics, Plato or Aristotle I recommend the following.
WARNING, TILL THE NEXT LINE OF PURPLE TEXT YOU SHOULD ONLY BOTHER
WITH LATER ON OR IF YOU'RE A HARDCORE GREEK FAN. IT IS ADVISED FOR
NEWFAGS YOU SKIP THIS! TO SKIP PLEASE GO TO THE NEXT LINE OF PURPLE
TEXT.
Various translations and commentaries of presocratic texts:
Due to the fragmented nature of the texts it is very good to get the right translation and
commentary of the presocratics. An translation and commentary series I recommend is the
Phoenix Presocratics series which covers Anaxagoras , Xenophanes , Heraclitus ,
Parmenides and Democritus .

Also here’s some Misc stuff

Heraclitus commentaries ISBN:
0761833676
1589880706
978-0521286459
0940262983
Superior Parmenides book
1930972679
2Scholarly4you two volume Presocratics alternative (seriously scholarly)
0521608422
Scholarly Editions of Plato and Aristotle
These really aren’t needed but I thought I chuck this in for the hardcore Greek fans of /lit/,
Loeb Classics has Greek Editions of Plato and Aristotle (With english translations on the
right-hand pages). These editions are expensive and really this is not essential reading(I
myself do not have these!).
The real Socrates ?
Little is known there are surviving non-Platonic Socratic dialogues from Xenophon a soldier
and historian which are compiled by Loeb : 067499695X
START READING HERE AGAIN
REGARDING THE READING OF THE PRESOCRATICS FOR BEGINNERS
You may not understand the presocratics fully the first time you read them and neither do
you need to. Understanding the presocratics is a retroactive process in whereby as you read
more and more later philosophers you understand more about the Presocratics in retrospect.
The main reason to start off with the presocratics is to understand that Socrates changed
the Philosophic discourse from talk about the ἀρχή (Arche) and φύσις (Physis) to ἀρετή
(Arete). Various Philosophers deal (a prominent example would be Heidegger ) with the
presocratics later on in the history of Western Philosophy.

READING PLATO AND ARISTOTLE MORE

IN DEPTH!
Plato is divided into an early, middle and late period. Ordering of the texts within
these periods is constantly debated by scholars as it is sometimes not very clear in
the text . (There are exceptions)
Early dialogue is very easy and a great way for beginners to learn philosophy. One
should start with the Trial of Socrates .
Euthyphro>Apology>Crito>Phaedo
Of course some may switch Euthyphro and Apology around for pedagogical purposes, but this arrangement is a preferential
chronological one of mine.
I found this excellent archived post****
>Start with the Apology; it's the key to the rest of the dialogues, and almost all of them make
some reference to some aspect of the Apology. Keep in mind that it's a work of philosophy,
and not a historic account, and you'll be good to go.
After that, it's really up to you, since there a couple of ways to order those dialogues:
1) By *seeming* difficulty: Apology, Euthyphro, Crito, the Symposium, Phaedo, Republic,
Parmenides. This is helpful if you're really just looking to dip into Plato to see what's there.
2) "Developmental" order: (roughly the same order as above). This might be an indication of
what order the dialogues were written, though there's really no good way to say whether
Plato's thought really actually develops according to the three basic periods some scholars
say his basic approaches would fit within; Republic and Phaedo both have different accounts
of the soul but are both "Middle" period dialogues; no dialogue contains exactly the same
views concerning the Forms, regardless of period; Socrates almost always uses question-
and-answer modes at some point or another, regardless of whether one is to take him as
Plato's strict mouthpiece.
3) "Dramatic" dating: Parmenides, Republic, Symposium, Euthyphro, Apology, Crito,
Phaedo. This approach would be the most rewarding for a philosophy student who's already
read these dialogues before, and wants to see how Plato wants to present Socrates as a
whole to us. Very hard to read in this order, but one gets to see relations that would
otherwise be missed.
Some other dialogues that might go well with those would be:
Theaetetus, Sophist, Statesman (all of which relate to Parmenides and the four dialogues
that take place around Socrates' trial and execution).
Gorgias and Phaedrus: Both deal with rhetoric, but the Gorgias is connected to the Republic
by the concern with Justice, and the Phaedrus to the Symposium by the concern with Love.
Cratylus: Relates to the Euthyphro and the dialogues at the end of Socrates' life in general.
It's about language, and it's one of Plato's funniest dialogues.
Maybe Timaeus as well, which alludes to the Republic. Other than that, the rest are great
from a certain philosophic perspective, but maybe not so essential to someone who'd just
like familiarity.

One should also advise:

One should not read dialogues that are of doubtful authenticity, the exception being for fun.
Read Meno before the Republic.
The Underrated dialogue Laws should be read after the Republic.
Timaeus should be read especially, very important in understanding Platonic cosmology and
introduces the Platonic demiurge.
Aristotle
The ordering of Aristotle is much simpler as there are few texts in the Corpus
Aristotellicum.
In regards to what Aristotle thought about Aesthetics one should read On Poetry.
For Ethics and Political theory one should read Ethics & Politics.
For his Metaphysics & Logic one should read The Organon, Physics, On the Soul &
Metaphysics.
For his work on Rhetoric check out Rhetoric.
One should go Ethics>Politics>On Poetry>The Organon>Physics>On the
Soul>Metaphysics>Rhetoric, from his easier works to his harder works.
Regarding the Organon, it is THE foundational text in Logic and should without a
doubt be read . It comprises of (in order):
Categories
On Interpretation
Prior Analytics
Posterior Analytics
Topics
Sophistical Refutations
Reading these dry texts on Logic may be difficult and boring but it is necessary. Just read it
slowly.
Also watch this video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=McdM1zQfiv8

Missing Philosophers from above image:

If you want to learn about the Ancient’s take on Ethics or Materialism keep reading
this or if not skip to Medieval Philosophy
The start with the greeks image is missing Epicureanism and Stoicism. here’s their works

Epicurus ******:
Read these two in the following order, also knowing Democritus would help with explaining
Epicurus’s Metaphysics.
The Essential Epicurus (Great Books in Philosophy) ISBN: 0879758104 - Most
extensive English translation of Epicurus fragments
On the Nature of Things ISBN : 9780674992009 - Nice Poem explaining Epicurean
philosophy ALTERNATE TRANSLATION: 0872205878
Also In volume 2 of the already mentioned Lives of Eminent Philosophers theres is a
Lengthy treatise on Epicurus 0674992040
Epicurea ISBN: 110801626X - most extensive compilation of text regarding Epicureanism
(Warning not in English! For people who truly want to achieve a state of ἀταραξία )

Stoics , read in following order:

Dialogues and essays ISBN : 0199552401 - or try 0226748421
The Discourses of Epictetus - The Handbook - Fragments ISBN:   0460873121 *******

Meditations ISBN 048629823X

*There is another image like this one except it is vastly inferior in the purpose of guiding someone new to the greeks. It can
be viewed here:
https://i.warosu.org/data/lit/img/0061/59/1424277756460.jpg
Unfortunately this image begins with three Penguin translations and pressures the follower into reading the
Republic only reading Plato’s Apology before hand. Next it jumps right into Aristotle’s difficult Metaphysics without
instructing the reader to AT LEAST read Aristotle’s Physics (After All Metaphysics literally means “After Physics”)
and Organon (Aristotle's work on Logic). Finally it omits all the other great works they wrote (like Parmenides , On
Poetry , Symposium etc) and paints both of the philosophers as mere Metaphysicians.
** hup.harvard.edu/collection.php?cpk=1031 They also have digital versions.
*****https://warosu.org/lit/thread/S6363200
******Texts can also be found Online http://www.epicurus.info/
******* There is also an Loeb edition of Epictetus work for patricians

SECTION ON PLATONISM AFTER PLATO

I have added this section for people interested in this esoteric part of philosophy,
Neoplatonism has a immense influence on Christianity, Western Mysticism, Gnosticism and
Medieval philosophy. If you are not interested in Neoplatonism skip this section. Here I highly
recommend Loeb over any other edition as these texts are obscure! Note that this part of the
guide is especially expensive
Note that you should of read Aristotle.

Reading Neoplatonism: Non-discursive Thinking in the Texts of Plotinus, Proclus, and

Damascius : 0521039428
Neoplatonism (Hackett Classics) ISBN: 0872202879
Neoplatonism (Ancient Philosophies) ISBN: 0520258606

Your choice...
Plutarch
A middle Platonist, unfortunately like with other ancient figures we don’t have too much of his
extant work, what we have of his philosophical work is Moralia. One can buy the Loeb
Edition in 10 volumes or 1481079883

Plotinus
Secondary literature

Nature, Contemplation, and the One ISBN: 094391454X

There are a lot of Plotinus introductions and this is the best one (because I said so)
Plotinus the Platonist: A Comparative Account of Plato and Plotinus' Metaphysics
ISBN: 1472575210
Literally the only book on this very important topic, suck a dick.
Also https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWZrpIHt9H2JRVWNGrsm8o7UsP36NutlM

The "Enneads" of Plotinus: A Commentary, Volume 1 ISBN: 069115421X

THE BEST COMMENTARY EVER ON THE ENNEADS FULL STOP. Unfortunately only
volume one has been published at the time of writing
http://ndpr.nd.edu/news/55679-he-enneads-of-plotinus-a-commentary-volume-1/

Enneads

Plotinus: The Enneads (LP Classic Reprint Series) ISBN: 0943914558

One can buy this older but cheaper and more poetic translation or the Loeb edition. I highly
recommend the Loeb edition as A.H Armstrong gives a far superior scholarly translation with
lots of notes. Avoid the degenerate abridged Penguin edition.
Proclus

Proclus: An Introduction ISBN: 0521761484

Literally the only introduction available, suck a dick.

Proclus Works (READ IN ORDER!!!)

At the time of writing Proclus commentary on Republic was still untranslated.
Note that there is not much scholarly work done on Proclus, most translations are done by
Thomas Taylor (first guy to translate the complete works of Aristotle and of Plato) which are
good but old.

The Elements of Theology: A Revised Text with Translation, Introduction, and

Commentary (Clarendon Paperbacks) ISBN: 0198140975

A summa of Proclus Neoplatonism, read read read first!

Free older translation http://www.esotericarchives.com/proclus/metaelem.htm

https://archive.org/details/ProclusOnTheTheologyOfPlato-ElectronicEdition
This work On The Theology of Plato should be read alongside Proclus commentaries on
Parmenides and Timaeus below, print ISBN 1898910073
http://meuser.awardspace.com/NeoPlatonics/33700322-Proclus-Commentary-on-the-
Timaeus-of-Plato-all-five-books.pdf
Again Thomas Taylor, print ISBN: 1475067232
Note that there is a newer translation by Cambridge but it’s really expensive. (buy from
Amazon, it’s cheaper!)
http://www.cambridge.org/us/search?
iFeelLucky=false&currentTheme=Academic_v1&query=Proclus%3A+Commentary+on+Plato
%27s+Timaeus

https://mega.co.nz/#!P1VEVbyZ!0cWBjAOkNVEHzNoICR74dh5vedfOQxlGAwtd5v6y6YQ
I’ve uploaded the Parmenides commentary for you guys, print ISBN 0691020892
Further Reading on Proclus
https://mega.co.nz/#!61tzXbpJ!KgBaGUyxXw7X6JkPHKKVTHsWUie22VC2kbYAFlYexgY
Proclus commentary on Cratylus

Proclus: A Commentary on the First Book of Euclid's Elements ISBN: 0691020906

Basically Neoplatonic philosophy of Mathematics, free older translation below

http://www.platonic-philosophy.org/files/Proclus%20-%20On%20Euclid's%20Elements%20(1%20of%202).pdf

One can also browse here for free translations on other Neoplatonic works

http://www.platonic-philosophy.org/library_topic.html
Kebab (Middle Eastern) Philosophy
Since no one on /lit/ is really knowledgeable in this section (not usually known outside of
specialists) not much will be here but I was lucky enough to get a reply by “Medieval anon”
on this

Medieval Anon here. Most of the great Islamic Philosophers are included in the Bosely and
Tweedale compilation I mentioned (ISBN: 1551117150 ) . I know a bit about them, though I
have not read Al-Farabi.
Al-Farabi
Avicenna-The Book of Healing
Averroes- The Incoherence of the Incoherence.
Al-Ghazali- The Incoherence of the Philosophers.
For more mystical thought
Sohrevardi- The Book of Radiance.
Medieval Anon here. A few things to add.
1. Medieval Philosophy: An historical and philosophical introduction, by John Marenbon is a
fantastic overview of the period. I'm going through it at the moment and I am learning allot.
2. For Farabi, given Marenbon's take on him I would suggest the " Attainment of Happiness".
But myself suggest you investigate this section if you hate/love Aristotle as this is very much
centered on Aristotle’s Logic and Metaphysics (Though there is a little bit of Neoplatonism).

Medieval Philosophy lite:

For most people you should just read just ST Augustine and ST Aquinas, but you can look
below for an expanded Medieval reading list. Yes you have to read this even if you're an
Atheist. No Fedora tipping!
ST Augustine
ST Augustine is most famous for his two works, Confessions and City of God but he also
wrote works such as On the Trinity and On the free Choice Of The Will . Loeb also has
scholarly versions of ST Augustine.

The Confessions, Revised (The Works of Saint Augustine: A Translation for the 21st
Century, Vol. 1) ISBN: 1565481542
Confessions (Oxford World's Classics) ISBN: 0199537828

Both are excellent translations of Confessions, take your pick.

Augustine: The City of God against the Pagans (Cambridge Texts in the History of
Political Thought) ISBN: 0521468434

Don’t buy the much more popular one by Marcus Dods, Christfags don’t know that
Cambridge publishing exists. The Marcus Dods translation is over 100 years old.

ST Aquinas
Aquinas (A Beginner's Guide) ISBN: 1851686908
By Thomist/Christian Analytic Philosopher Edward Feser

Aquinas's Shorter Summa: Saint Thomas's Own Concise Version of His Summa
Theologica ISBN: 1928832431
Title says all, a concise version of the Summa written by Aquinas himself. The book’s original
name is The Compendium of Theology (editor renamed it). Older free translation here
https://archive.org/details/CompendiumOfTheologyAquinasSt.Thomas3506
If you are willing to read the whole thing because you are a diehard Catholic or
whatever buy one with a good Critical Apparatus. If you look at Amazon reviews check
the one star reviews first.
Expanded Medieval list.
Want more Medieval Phil? HERE!
Early Medieval Philosophy
Augustine
Boethius
Pre-Aristotelian revival
Anselm
Abelard
Aristotelian revival
Aquinas
Duns Scotus
Early Empiricism and Post- The Condemnations of 1277
William of Ockham
John Buridan
Why study this period in depth? Well Medieval anon gives an answer!
14th century Scholastics like Ockham and Buridan were incredibly important for starting up empiricism and breaking away
from the old Aristotelian way, and the reconciliation of rationality and faith were seriously challenged by them. The
foundations of modern science starts here as well with figures like Roger Grosseteste, this period is unfortunately very
obscure to most people. But the major intellectual shift and the birth of science already began at this point, and often
thinkers like Galileo were applying allot of what was first sketched out here.
Yes, it's also more important than it is given credit for [regarding obscurity]. Malebranche and Leibniz both carried on allot of
Medieval ideas, whether it be Malebranche's divine illuminationism or Leibniz' belief in the necessity of substances of some
sort, the whole rationalist side of the early modern period were not so far away from Medieval Philosophers like Thomas
and Scotus, and the empiricists were not so far away from Ockham and Buridan.

Hell Descartes' "cogito ergo sum" was stolen from an inference made by Augustine in his "dubito ergo sum" argument
against the skeptics, and that argument is usually cited as one of the pillars of the early modern period.
Funny story, when Descartes was confronted about ripping off Augustine ( he went to a Jesuit school, no was going to buy
that he never read Augustine) he simply claimed that once one had thought of an idea that it was then their idea, so really
he only shared the idea with Augustine. Suarez too was very important for the early moderns and he was a Scholastic. So
for the sake of having good historical background for the Early Modern period, knowledge of Medieval Philosophy and the
rise of skepticism in the Renaissance is quite vital in my opinion. Along with that modern Analytic philosophy has the same
focus on formal logic and language that Medieval Philosophy did,and many currently utilized concepts in Analytic
Philosophy are Medieval in origin, such as Dun Scotus' Haecceity and Abelard's De Re and De Dicto distinction.

The obvious one for Boethius is The Consolation of Philosophy, where he discusses fatalism/free will in a Theological
context.

For Anselm his best known works are the Monologion and the Proslogion. In the later comes the Ontological Proof of God's
existence.

For Abelard "Ethics" also known as "Know Yourself" and "The Letters of Abelard and Heloise." would be a nice supplement.
Heloise, was secretly betrothed to Abelard until they were discovered and Heloise' uncle hired a gang of thugs to castrate
Abelard, she was perhaps the first great female Philosopher and it shows in her letters to Abelard."The Glosses of Peter
Abailard on Porphyry" has good discussion of Abelard's account of why Universals are only linguistic devices.

For John Duns Scotus The Ordinatio is considered his most important work, but for something shorter Tractatus de Primo
Principio (Treatise on the First Principle) would be best.
For Ockham and Buridan I'll have to get back to you, since I always study them in a fragmented manner. Anything who
doesn't like Scotus ought to check out Ockham's critique of the Ordinatio.

One suggestion I would have for texts is that people buy " Basic Issues in Medieval Philosophy" 2nd edition, by Bosley and
Tweedale. I has selections from most of the really important topics in the period, and has sections of Aristotle necessary to
understand them. Most importantly it has a large index that clarifies all the period specific terminology at work, and there is
quite a bit in Medieval Philosophy. I don't see anyone having a good understanding of Medieval texts without understanding
what is meant by "Instants of Nature", " Divided and Composite senses" or " Perfection" and Aristotelian terminology like
"act vs potency" " The four causes" and ect, 12 pages of the book covers terminology and they make note in the texts when
you should be going back and looking for a definition of the terms. This book also includes strong background pieces for
every included issue that are very accessible.

http://www.amazon.com/Basic-Issues-Medieval-Philosophy-Interactive/dp/1551117150/ref=sr_1_1?
ie=UTF8&qid=1429127291&sr=8-1&keywords=Issues+In+Medieval+Philosophy

Expanded Western Medieval list, Western Christian

Mysticism edition:
Want to read 2mystical4you texts? Negative Theology? Want to read texts that inspire
Gnosis? Read this! Note that these aren’t a complete list of Christian mystics but a selection
(I have for example skipped Hermes Trismegistus and have not dealt with Eastern Orthodox
Mysticism) as these thinkers have influences on later philosophers like Heidegger, Schelling
and Hegel This section is basically the Continental equivalent of the above section (though
notably Deleuze & Guattari borrow Haecceity from Duns Scotus) . Note that one should be
well versed in Plotinus and Proclus (Neoplatonism) before attempting to study this section.
A leading scholar in this field is Bernard McGinn. Belo w I shall list some of his books but you
should check him out yourself.

The Foundations of Mysticism: Origins to the Fifth Century (The Presence of God: A
History of Western Christian Mysticism, Vol. 1)
This book explains the the origins of Christian Mysticism and deals with it’s Neoplatonic,
Hermetic and Jewish influences. Part of a larger series by a leading scholar this is a great

place to start!

https://arcaneknowledgeofthedeep.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/unknowngod.pdf
Toptier book on early Negative Theology (What god is not) which covers exactly what we are
covering in this section, print ISBN 1620328623
Pseudo-Dionysius
The guy who snuck Neoplatonism into Christianity basically. 1 sentence simplification!

Theophany: The Neoplatonic Philosophy of Dionysius the Areopagite (Suny Series in

Ancient Greek Philosophy) ISBN: 0791471128
Secondary lit explaining the Neoplatonic background of Dionysius and how he used it,
especially Plotinus and Proclus.

Pseudo-Dionysius: The Complete Works (Classics of Western Spirituality) ISBN:

0809128381
There is a classical older translation here, for a older free translation here.
https://archive.org/details/theworksofdionys00dionuoft
Eriugena
> More particularly we would shortly deal with the chief representatives of this philosophy. Scholastic
philosophy is considered to begin with John Scotus Erigena who flourished about the year 860, and
who must not be confused with the Duns Scotus of a later date. We do not quite know whether he
belonged to Ireland or to Scotland, for Scotus points to Scotland, and Erigena to Ireland. With him
true philosophy first begins, and his philosophy in the main coincides with the idealism of the Neo-
Platonists. - Hegel, Lectures on History of Philosophy Part 2
According to Hegel it is this obscure Neoplatonist scholastic that real (Modern?) philosophy
begins (not Descartes). Could it be true?
The Philosophy of John Scottus Eriugena: A Study of Idealism in the Middle Ages
ISBN: 0521892821
>Moran, himself a Professional Philosopher, explains Eriugena's system and influences in
good detail, and was one of the reasons I decided to study Philosophy. - Anon
This nice little book discusses Erigena and his philosophy also with his influence on later
philosophers (like Hegel and Schelling)

Periphyseon on the Division of Nature ISBN: 1610976304

Unfortunately this is abridged (it’s still 406 pages long and better than nothing). The
unabridged one ( 0884021734 ) is out of print, gotta wait for a Dublin Advanced Institute
edition.

Meister Eckhart
With such a cool name what could go wrong from reading him? Some philosophers like
John D. Caputo argue that Heidegger’s Gelassenheit was influenced by Eckhart . But read

regardless of the previous sentence if you like this section.

The Mystical Thought of Meister Eckhart: The Man from Whom God Hid Nothing ISBN:
0824519965
Wandering Joy: Meister Eckhart's Mystical Philosophy ISBN: 0970109717
Expect dry Academic prose (which I like) , especially the one one on the right. Great books
though.

The Complete Mystical Works of Meister Eckhart ISBN: 0824525175

There are a lot of abridged editions because christfags who read this kind of text complain
about “needing just a dose” They are illiterate and don’t want to read . But anyways this
complete edition has a nice introduction by McGinn.

EARLY MODERN PHILOSOPHY, THE

THREE EMPIRICISTS AND RATIONALISTS:
On the order of reading:
No matter what you do you should read Descartes first, the order goes like this:
Rationalists: Descartes>Spinoza>Leibniz
Empiricists: Locke>Berkeley>Hume

Descartes
Quick secondary /lit/
Introductions
0192854097
0521007666
Commentaries/Monographs
0199226970
0415672767
Continental Philosophy leaning /lit/ (Challenging!)
1587311763
0226505448
0823227553

Three Volume edition of Descartes including Correspondence

Vol 1. ISBN : 052128807X

Vol 2. ISBN : 0521288088
Vol 3. ISBN : 0521423503

Also have this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tfk4aDm95R

Spinoza
Quick secondary /lit/
Avoid Rebecca Goldstein, her books are probably popular /lit/
Introductions:
9780691020372
0521544793
0415283302
Commentaries/Monographs
0915145839
0674330374
0195394054
1107636922
0226776883
0674665953 (Classic! But of of print, just download it off genlib)
Continental Philosophy leaning /lit/:

0872862186
0942299507
1859847013
0816636702
0719066476
1844672050
Spinoza Complete Works ISBN : 0872206203
Only edition of the complete works of Spinoza in english, enough said.

The Collected Works of Spinoza

0691072221
069116763X
Volume II out in 2016
HAVE THIS TOO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNFTN5IBny 0

Leibniz*
Quick secondary /lit/
Introductions
0415283388
0192876201
Commentaries/Monographs
0415171148
0199693099
Philosophical Essays (Hackett Classics) ISBN : 0872200620
G.W. Leibniz ’s Monadology an Edition for Students ISBN : 0822954494
A bit tricker considering Leibniz wrote philosophical passages in scattered places of his
corpus (which is huge), the editions below have one overlapping translation (Monadology)
but recommended anyways as reading different translations is very helpful. Read Discourses

first and Monadology last.

Locke
Quick secondary /lit/
Continental Philosophy leaning /lit/:
1781681341
This is written in english so Penguin can be used (But use the Clarendon over it!)
An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (Clarendon Edition of the Works of John
Locke) ISBN: 0198245955
An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (Turd Classics) ISBN: 0140434828

Berkeley :

Berkeley: Philosophical Writings (Cambridge Texts in the History of Philosophy) ISBN:

0521707625

Hume
Introductions
0415283345
0415163196
Commentaries/Monographs
1403915075
A Treatise of Human Nature (Oxford Philosophical Texts) ISBN: 0198751729
Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding and Concerning the Principles of Morals
(Clarendon Press) ISBN: 0198245351
Read the Treatise before the Enquiry and heres a bonus video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsJlsrXQfzI
Honorable mentions of other Philosophers of this time:
Malebranche
If you like Descartes and theology ( Theodicy ) you should read this guy. Also
occasionalism.
Blaise Pascal
If you like more theology you should read this guy. Commonly known for “Pascal’s Wager”.
Francis Bacon
Wrote The Novum Organum which rejected Aristotelian teleology and laid the foundations for
the modern scientific method. Most likely a good read if you become interested in Philosophy
of Science.
Montaigne
Major Renaissance Skeptic and Humanist known for popularizing the essay as a literary
genre.
Giordano Bruno
*Deleuze has a book on leibniz as well but has a horrible translation

EARLY POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY:

Covering Important texts in early Political Philosophy across
the political spectrum. You should read a text regardless of
your own political position, for one has to know the enemy!
Start off with Hobbes!
Machiavelli
Political Realism
Today Machiavelli is mostly remembered for writing The Prince and being an “ Machiavellian
”, unknown to idiots Machiavelli also authored other works which illuminate his real thought
(he was a hardcore republican you know). Some good secondary /lit/ on this thinker would
be by Mansfield, Viroli and Strauss.

The Essential Writings of Machiavelli (Modern Library Classics) ISBN: 0812974239

Note that this book only has extracts from some of his other works (though this edition is
good as it has previously untranslated works), unabridged editions of his other works shall be
given here. Note that the edition above has The Prince unabridged.
Discourses on Livy (Oxford World's Classics) ISBN: 9780199555550

Art of War (Chicago Press) ISBN: 0226500462

Florentine Histories (Princeton University) ISBN: 0691008639

Or check out Albert Gilbert's three volume set if you're a patrician.

Hobbes
Conservative Philosophy
Very important text due to it’s influence, read read read!!!
Leviathan: With selected variants from the Latin edition of 1668 (Hackett Classics)
ISBN: 0872201775
There’s also a Cambridge edition of this but supposedly that edition has poor scholarly
notes. (Don’t buy the Penguin edition either.) Best thing about this edition is it’s MODERN
english! You should also read this before reading any political philosophy below.
ALSO I LOVE SONGS https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eejsB6PbaAk

Locke
Libertarian philosophy
Locke Two Treatises of Government (Cambridge Texts in the History of Political
Thought) ISBN: 0521357306
I’ve decided to put Locke’s political theory here because it fits better in relation to Hobbes ’s
Leviathan ; this edition is chosen because it contains the first and second treatise. Also
another song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kItXvJLnTtk (This one isn’t as good
though)

Rousseau
Romantic/Revolutionary Philosophy
Rousseau: The Basic Political Writings 2nd edition (Hackett) ISBN: 1603846735
Emile: Or On Education (translated by Alan Bloom) ISBN: 0465019315
Warning: Don’t buy the first edition of Hackett as the second edition has more content.
This collection contains the famous essay “On the social contract” and many more.

Montesquieu
Liberal Philosophy

The Spirit of the Laws (Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought) ISBN:

0521369746

Lays the foundations for what we call the separation of church and state.

Persian Letters: With Related Texts (Hackett Classics) ISBN: 1624661807

A critique of society in the form of a fictional novel.

Voltaire
Anti-Catholic, Anti-Monotheistic***
Candide (A Norton Critical Edition) ISBN: 0393960587
Voltaire's Satirical masterpiece. From the church to Leibniz he attacks without mercy.
Note that Voltaire is not an Atheist but a Deist.

Subsection on writings regarding (French) revolution:

These texts are on the French revolution, they should be read in this order below (one can
switch Maistre and Paine around). It’s also good if you have read Rousseau and maybe

Voltaire as well.

Price
Radical/Republican Philosophy
Price Political Writings ISBN: 0521409691

Burke
Conservative/Traditionalist Philosophy
Note: A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful is a
work on Aesthetics not political philosophy , I had nowhere else to put it and I felt I could not

leave it out.

A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful
(Oxford World's Classics) ISBN: 0199537887
Reflections on the Revolution in France ISBN: 0199539022

A reactionary essay on why the revolution was a horrible thing.

Paine

Revolutionary Philosophy
Rights of Man, Common Sense, and Other Political Writings (Oxford World's Classics)
ISBN: 019953800X
Read Right’s of Man after his other earlier works, one should also compare this text to
Edmund Burke's Reflections on the Revolution in France.

Joseph de Maistre
Conservative/Traditionalist Philosophy
Considerations on France (Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought) ISBN:
0521466288
With an introduction by well known conservative philosopher Isaiah Berlin, this is a defence
of monarchy after the French revolution.
[END SUBSECTION]

Tocqueville
L iberal philosophy
Democracy in America: In Two Volumes (Liberty Fund) ISBN: 0865978409
You are absolutely retarded if you don’t get this edition if you are going to read Tocqueville,
comprehensive two volume edition for cheap. EXTENSIVE SCHOLARSHIP for 20 bucks! (at
the time of writing)

Introduction on Utilitarianism:
Short waypoint to founding Utilitarianism thought, if you love Peter Singer and
Consequentialist ethics read these books!

Bentham
An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation (Dover Philosophical
Classics) ISBN: 0486454525
Read first, influenced J.S. Mill who further developed his Consequentialist theory into
Utilitarianism, among other things Bentham is recognised as the first animal rights activist.

Mill

The Utilitarianism (Hackett Classics) ISBN: 087220605X

Mill’s development of Consequentialist theory into an proper ethical system, must read for

Utilitarians .
J. S. Mill : 'On Liberty' and Other Writings ISBN: 0521379172
Utilitarianism and liberal philosophy applied to political thought, a classic in the history of
political theory.

GERMAN IDEALISM:
To understand German Idealism one must go and read Kant > Fichte > Schelling >
Hegel
I have mentioned the importance of translations a couple of times already, German Idealism
and beyond is where translation matters even MORE (PENGUIN IS STRICTLY BANNED
HERE!) . The list of books in this part shall be comprehensive for a serious understanding
of Kant, Fichte, Schelling and Hegel .
Each of the German Idealists is related to another in some shape or form (they all relate
back to Kant) and thus it is important to understand the previous before moving on to gain a
networked knowledge base, to help with this I have also included secondary literature that
deal with introducing the thinker. I don’t think these are necessary to buy aside from Kant’s
one, because this guide should be structured enough to read primary works right off the bat .
For example , I think you would not need a book on introducing early Schelling since you
have read Fichte and Kant, but none the less I have included introductions for people who
want them. Regarding an Hegel introduction please go to his part of Secondary Literature .
Regarding the ordering of these works they are ordered in a pedagogical fashion and thus
not ordered chronologically.
Books shown shall include overviews of the period, dictionaries & commentaries of the
Idealists and multiple alternative editions of works. In regards to editions I will present each
work with their original German title (if necessary), then the English title and ISBN, a short
sentence/paragraph and reason for choosing the edition.

Introductory works:

German Philosophy 1760-1860: The Legacy of Idealism ISBN: 0521663814

>In the second half of the eighteenth century, German philosophy dominated European
philosophy, changing the way Europeans and people all over the world conceived of
themselves and thought about nature, religion, human history, politics, and the structure of
the human mind. In this rich and wide-ranging book, Terry Pinkard interweaves the story of
"Germany"--changing during this period from a loose collection of principalities into a newly-
emerged nation with a distinctive culture--with an examination of the currents and
complexities of its developing philosophical thought. He examines the dominant influence of
Kant , with his revolutionary emphasis on "self-determination," and traces this influence
through the development of romanticism and idealism to the critiques of post-Kantian
thinkers such as Schopenhauer and Kierkegaard .
Covers the whole Period and even Schopenhauer and Kierkegaard’s relation to German
Idealism in a tight 390 page book.
German Idealism The Struggle against Subjectivism, 1781-1801 ISBN: 0674027175

A fucking whooping 752 page book on early German Idealism (1781-1801, before Hegel
published his Phenomenology and when he was a nobody). Highly recommended because it
reminds us that Kant, Fichte and Schelling aren’t just stepping stones to Hegel .
On which one to read: Both duhh, this is the patrician and /lit/erate board after all right?

Kant
Transcendental Idealism
Before reading Immanuel Kant it is important that you understood the Rationalists and
Empiricists, this is highly important. Secondly it is helpful to read various secondary literature
which supplement your reading of Kant’s writings.

Secondary writings:

Kant's Critical Philosophy The Doctrine of the Faculties ISBN: 0816614369

We have Deleuze again, just 104 pages.

> Provides a short introduction to Kant , emphasizing Kant's own view of his philosophy.
Deleuze offers an overview of the whole of Kant 's "critical philosophy".
Deleuze is picked because this is a easy way to get acquainted with Deleuze’s more
complex writings (if you want to do Continental Phil), the book itself is also short, covers the
three Critiques systematically and I don’t think you want to read another 700 page book. But
if you do want to read another long book I suggest a book by either Guyer, Allison,
Smith or Heinrich.

A Kant Dictionary ISBN: 0631175350

Self-Explanatory really, explains Kantian terminology and concepts. Highly recommended!

Kant ’s works (Read in order !!!)

PURE REASON
Deals with Kant ’s Metaphysics, Epistemology and Logic
Lectures on Logic
The Cambridge Edition of the Works of Immanuel Kant ISBN: 0521546915
Dover ISBN: 0486256502
A very underrated thing to do is read Kant ’s Lectures on Logic like one reads Aristotle’s
Organon before reading his Physics and Metaphysics (By the way you should read
Categories again, you will need it for CPR.), this series of lectures are basically a textbook
guide on Kant ’s Transcendental Logic in CPR.
Cambridge Edition has Lectures Blomberg Logic (1770s) ; the Vienna Logic supplemented
by the recently discovered Hechsel Logic (1780s) ; and the Dohna-Wundlacken Logic
(1790s) . Also included is a new translation of the Jäsche Logic , compiled at Kant's request
from his lectures and published in 1800. It is a whooping 732 pages just on Logic. The
Dover edition (Which I have) is a much slimmer edition (under 200) pages and only contains
the 1800 lectures, it has a lengthy translator's introduction and is almost has notes on every
page so it’s not a bad edition if you don’t want to go through 700 pages. The Cambridge
Edition is clearly superior except in price.
( Prolegomena zu einer jeden künftigen Metaphysik, die als

Wissenschaft wird auftreten können)

Prolegomena to Any Future Metaphysics (Hackett) ISBN : 0872205932
This is basically a training wheel for Kant ’s most influential work, and likely one of the most
influential works of continental philosophy. His project in the Prolegomena is to clarify the
transcendental aesthetic and investigate whether metaphysics can really be possible as a
science. Kant says that David Hume’s Enquiry woke him “From his dogmatic slumbers” and
thus led him to write this.
This edition c heaper than the Cambridge edition and has the letter to Marcus Herz.

BEFORE READING CRITIQUE OF PURE REASON WATCH

THIS: :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzpL_5CI0WQ

Guyer Pluhar Smith

( Kritik der reinen Vernunft )
Critique of Pure Reason
Guyer translation ISBN: 0521657296
Pluhar translation ISBN: 0872202577
Smith translation ISBN: 0230013384
No doubt Kant ’s greatest contribution to philosophy, not too much is needed to say about
the importance of this text. Take your pick on the Translation, all three are used in Academia
(Smith translation is an good ole classic) but Ideally it would be wise to buy one (or two)
of these english & the original German if you can afford it (and a dictionary, see Kant in
German below) and do a triple way comparison ! If you are planning to buy Kant's other
works from Cambridge Edition of Kant for further reading (see the endnotes) buy the Guyer
version for consistency.
You might of noticed something here, no Penguin edition. Thats right, this is the perfect place
to say fuck Penguin, for such a critical piece of Philosophical work this would be the worst
place to use a Penguin edition. Penguin are just jews who reprinted an expired copyright
translation! NO PENGUIN!!!

PRACTICAL REASON
Deals with Kant ’s Ethics and Political Philosophy

( Grundlegung zur Metaphysik der Sitten)

Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals

Cambridge Texts in the History of Philosophy ISBN: 1107401062

Hackett Classics ISBN: 087220166X

Sort of like like Prolegomena for Practical Reasoning, definitely read first.
Reasoning: The translator of the Cambridge edition ( Mary Gregor ) has also translated
many other superb works of Kant, it is also more literal than the Hackett translation. Though
the Hackett edition includes “ On a Supposed Right to Lie because of Philanthropic
Concerns ” and is cheaper .

Kant Political Writings (Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought) ISBN:
0521398371

Contains well known Political writings such as Beantwortung der Frage: Was ist
Aufklärung? ( Answering the Question: What Is Enlightenment?), Die Metaphysik der
Sitten (The Metaphysics of Morals) & much more.
The c ompilation of above mentioned texts in an unabridged cheap book AND MORE! There
are also no other overlapping texts so it fits well in regards to other books in this Practical
Reason section.

( Kritik der praktischen Vernunft)

Critique of Practical Reason

Kant Critique of Practical Reason (Cambridge Texts in the History of Philosophy) ISBN:
1107467055

Critique of Practical Reason (Hackett Classics) ISBN: 0872206173

Kant’s magnum opus on moral ethics and a foundational text on deontological ethics. Kant
explores the moral imperative of a person, universality of ethical act and the hypothetical
kingdom of ends.
Make sure you buy the revised Cambridge edition instead of the old one*, both translations
are great with Pluhar and Gregor respectively. I also placed this last despite the fact that
some of the works in the books above dealing with morality were published after this work
due to the fact that this is the hardest one.

JUDGEMENTAL REASON
Deals with Kant ’s Aesthetics

(Kritik der Urteilskraft)

Critique of Judgment
Critique of Judgment (Hackett Classics) ISBN : 0872200256
Critique of the Power of Judgment (The Cambridge Edition of the Works of Immanuel
Kant) ISBN : 0521348927
Another foundational text by Kant, where he explores how aesthetic judgement is formed,
the sublime and teleological judgement.
Seeing a pattern here? Cambridge and Hackett are the best publishers, there are Oxford and
Dover editions but don’t bother with those.
FURTHER READING OF KANT:
The Cambridge Edition of the Works of Immanuel Kant**
Most Complete edition of Kant ’s work in English which also includes alternate translations of some of the works above and
translations of lesser known works.
Kant in German
If you want to study Kant extensively (and seriously) you will have to read him German.There is Immanuel Kant:
Werke: Akademie-Textausgabe which can be found on German Amazon. There is also the Meiner Verlag (Meiner
Publisher) & Suhrkamp Verlag (Suhrkamp Publisher) editions. These are ridiculously huge Multi-Volume sets.

*Old unrevised edition is 0521599628

** http://www.cambridge.org/au/academic/subjects/philosophy/philosophy-texts/series/cambridge-edition-works-immanuel-
kant

On Analytic philosophy and its relation to

Fichte, Schelling and Hegel
Since Analytic usually philosophy has a rather negative to absolute outright dismissal of these thinkers as “total hacks,
charlatans and masters of obfuscation” (though there has been a recent interest in Hegel) I have decided to steer the
guide to a much more continental side for a moment since I would think it would benefit the majority of readers who would
bother reading these three thinkers as Continental philosophy has given much much more support in reading these
philosophers .

Idealism sucks balls! - Bertrand Russell

Protip: Skip everything below till Schopenhauer if you're doing Analytic philosophy unless you happen to like
something like the Pittsburgh Hegelians or pragmatists like Richard Rorty.

Fichte
Subjective Idealism
Teacher of Schopenhauer and the first step away from Kant, Fichte posits the
subjective Ego ( Ich , the “ I ”) at the center of his thought.
Also in regards to who publishes english translations of Fichte and Schelling they are a bit neglected in english so there’s
usually only one translation. Though if were ever to be alternate translations, translations by Fichte scholar Breazeale are

recommended for Fichte.

Secondary writings:
Fichte's Transcendental Philosophy: The Original Duplicity of Intelligence and Will
(Modern European Philosophy) ISBN: 0521892732

Since Fichtean scholarship is not popular, this is the only introduction to Fichte.
Fichte's Work (Read in order!!!)

Fichte: Early Philosophical Writings ISBN: 080148121X

The Vocation of Man (Hackett Classics) ISBN: 0872202399
Introductions to the Wissenschaftslehre and Other Writings (1797-1800) (Hackett
Classics) ISBN: 0872202399
These are all preppers for later work, the Introductions to the Wissenschaftslehre and Other
Writings is probably the most important out of these three to pay extra attention to.
Fichte Foundations of Transcendental Philosophy (Wissenschaftslehre) nova

methodo (1796-99) ISBN: 0801481384

The Science of Knowledge With the First and Second Introductions (Texts in German
Philosophy) ISBN: 0521270502
Fichte’s most famous and widely read works where he fully explicates his philosophy of
Subjective Idealism (the absolute “ I ”) and the doctrines of Wissenschaftslehre . Some of
his most complex and mature writings can be found here.

Fichte: Foundations of Natural Right ISBN: 0521575915

Fichte: The System of Ethics ISBN: 0521577675

Here his political and ethical theory, Fichte in a array of complex ideas discusses the
meaning of freedom in relation to positing the realisation of self-consciousness is the
communicative act of the external other.

FURTHER READING of Fichte:

I have not read any myself but I think a good suggestion would be Fichte scholar Daniel Breazeale’s essays. He’s

really the only Fichte scholar out there too, good luck!

The Science Of Knowing J.g. Fichte's 1804 Lectures On The Wissenschaftslehre (Suny Series in Contemporary

Continental Philosophy) ISBN: 0791464504

A very very recent translation (2005), further sets forth his Wissenschaftslehre .
Many ideas we associate with Schopenhauer are found here so read if you're an Schopenhauer fan!

FICHTE in German:
Taken from Stanford wiki

Johann Gottlieb Fichte's nachgelassene Werke , 3 vols., ed. I. H. Fichte (Bonn: Adolph-Marcus, 1834-35).

Johann Gottlieb Fichte's sämmtliche Werke , 8 vols., ed. I. H. Fichte (Berlin: Veit, 1845–46). [Taken together, these 11 volumes,
edited by Fichte's son, constituted the first attempt at a complete edition of his works and are still widely cited and reprinted,
most recently by de Gruyter, under the title Fichte's Werke .]

J. G. Fichte: Gesamtausgabe der Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften , ed. Erich Fuchs, Reinhard Lauth, Hans Jacobs, and
Hans Gliwitzky (Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt: Frommann, 1964-2012) 42 vols. [Organized into four separate series—writings
published by Fichte, unpublished writings, correspondence, and student lecture transcripts—this monumental critical edition
supersedes all earlier editions.]

Schelling
Naturphilosophie , Identitätsphilosophie, Positive
Philosophie
It’s hard to present just a modest amount of books to represent the former roommate
of Hegel turned rival’s philosophy as his philosophy changed constantly over the
span of his life.
The majority of translations are quite recent and most of them are published only by SUNY due to neglect.

Secondary Writings:

Schelling and Modern European Philosophy an Introduction ISBN: 0415103479

> This is a book written for advanced undergraduate students of philosophy by an author
who, at the time, was Professor of European Philosophy at Anglia Polytechnic University in
Cambridge. Bowie here gives a detailed account of the ideas of a German philosopher
whose work tends to get overlooked as it was produced between that of the much more
influential philosophers, Kant and Hegel .

Schelling’s Work (Read in order!!!)

Early Schelling
Schelling’s Naturphilosophie (Natural Philosophy) is to be found here
The Philosophical Rupture between Fichte and Schelling: Selected Texts and
Correspondence (1800-1802) (Suny Series in Contemporary Continental Philosophy)

ISBN: 1438440189
> This volume brings together the letters the two philosophers exchanged between 1800 and
1802 and the texts that each penned with the other in mind. “The book presents an
unparalleled opportunity to observe an important set of Fichte's and Schelling’s philosophical
exchanges and has the potential to affect one’s understanding of post-Kantian philosophy in
a lasting way … This well-conceived and carefully edited volume shines a bright light on a
crucial and formative time in the lives of both Fichte and Schelling
This book is placed here to draw lines of Fichte’s and Schelling’s Philosophy before delving
into Schelling’s work proper.

Ideas for a Philosophy of Nature (Texts in German Philosophy) ISBN: 0521357330

System of Transcendental Idealism ISBN: 0813914582

Here Schelling develops ideas on Naturphilosophie which will culminate in his First Outline
of a System of the Philosophy of Nature, here Schelling is an anti-Newtonian and instead
incorporates an neoplatonic view of nature .In the System of Transcendental Idealism
Schelling goes back to Fichtean terminology (which he later abandons). He endeavours to
explain the emergence of the thinking subject from nature in terms of an ‘absolute I’ coming
retrospectively to know itself in a ‘history of self-consciousness’ that forms the material of the
system. The System of Transcendental Idealism recounts the history of which the
transcendental subject is the result.

First Outline of a System of the Philosophy of Nature ISBN: 0813914582

Schelling’s culmination and full exposition of his Naturphilosophie .

The Philosophy of Art ISBN: 0816616841

In the Philosophy of Art Schelling sets out an ordered system on theory of art based on
German Idealism. Here he deals with various forms of art including music, painting,
sculpture, narrative, poetry and ends with tragedy. For Schelling the Genius and his works of

art are the conscious and the unconscious being "=" in one.
Middle Schelling
Schelling’s Identitätsphilosophie & Weltalter

Philosophy and Religion ISBN: 0882145932

> An important early work of the German idealist philosopher F.W.J. Schelling. Philosophy
and Religion (1804) is considered a precursor to his major work on freedom, his
Philosophical Inquiries into the Nature of Human Freedom (1809). In Philosophy and
Religion, Schelling raises the question of how philosophy can come to terms with the failure
of approaching the highest principle of being, the Absolute (or God).
Unfortunately the real starting point of Schelling’s Identitätsphilosophie has not been
translated ( System der Naturphilosophie insbesondere) and thus here with this book we
start with Schelling’s Identitätsphilosophie .

Philosophical Investigations into the Essence of Human Freedom (Suny Series in

Contemporary Continental Philosophy) ISBN: 0791468747

T his work deals with the conception of freedom (Also Kantian radical evil) and has
influences from the theosophist Jakob Böhme (Böhme also influences Hegel and others, you
should google this). Celebrated by Zizek as his best work and also drawn the ire of
Heidegger!
The Abyss of Freedom/Ages of the World (The Body, In Theory: Histories of
Cultural Materialism) ISBN: 0472066528
The Ages of the World: (Fragment) from the Handwritten Remains, Third Version (C.
1815) (Suny Series in Contemporary Continental Philosophy) ISBN: 079144418X
These two are translations of Schelling’s unfinished work Weltalter , a short but very
complex and important work to understanding Schelling. The SUNY translation contains a
1815 version of the work while the other one contains the 1813 one with an essay by Zizek
(Lacan required to fully understand this Zizekian essay!)

Late Schelling

Positive Philosophie
If one is to read late Schelling it be done after Hegel! Here one finds a very different
Schelling who became a reactionary and converted to Catholicism.

On the History of Modern Philosophy (Texts in German Philosophy) ISBN:

052140861X
>On the History of Modern Philosophy is a key transitional text in the history of European
philosophy. In it F.W.J. Schelling surveys philosophy from Descartes to German Idealism and
shows why the Idealist project is ultimately doomed to failure. Schelling's work traces the
path of philosophy from Descartes through Spinoza, Leibniz, Kant, Fichte, Jacobi, to Hegel
and Schelling's own work. The extensive critiques of Hegel prefigure many of the arguments
to be found in Feuerbach, Kierkegaard, Marx, Nietzsche, Heidegger, and Derrida.

FURTHER READING of Schelling

The Grounding of Positive Philosophy The Berlin Lectures (Suny Series in Contemporary Continental Philosophy)
ISBN: 0791471306
Lectures in Berlin (1842) are in part a critique of Hegel which grounds Schelling’s philosophy as existential “Positive
Philosophy” and these series of lectures were interestingly attended by Kierkegaard, Engels , Feuerbach , Marx , and
Bakunin .

Philosophies of Nature after Schelling ISBN: 1847064329

For big Schelling fans this is a very very very very good work on Schelling in relation to today’s contemporary
philosophy and is also a small window to today ’ s cutting edge discourse in Continental Philosophy but it’s some advanced
shit so just be careful! The reason I put this here is because there not many books on Schelling and a Schelling fan having
difficulty with this book can pick it back up later when we move to Iain Hamilton Grant and Speculative Realism.

The New Schelling ISBN:

Iain Hamilton Grant joins   Alberto Toscano, J ürgen Habermas , Slavoj Zizek and others in connecting Schelling to other
thinkers like Marx, Nietzsche , Freud, Sartre , Deleuze, and Lacan. Of course we have not covered these thinkers yet
but I had nowhere else to put this!

Or anything by Jason M. Wirth

Hegel
Absolute Idealism
Before going any further I suggest revising Aristotle's Organon again and re-read Heraclitus.
If you haven’t read Heraclitus please go back and check out Heraclitus. This section on
Hegel will be very long, if you are thinking “but but I just want one book to understand
everything Hegel said!!!” go fuck off and no we aren’t going to start with
Phänomenologie des Geistes, that’s the worst thing to do.

Secondary literature:
Of course you may ask, will Zizek be here due to his meme status? Not exactly as here I
have included only books which require no advanced knowledge of later thinkers, for
example Zizek’s reading of Hegel requires advanced knowledge of later thinkers like Lacan
and Marx which we have not gotten into yet. Same for other Hegelians like Fredric
Jameson , I have included his “ The Hegel Variations: On the Phenomenology of Spirit ” but
not his “ Valences of the Dialectic ” which refers to Lukács, Heidegger, Sartre, Derrida, and
Althusser and more . You will see Zizek ’s and Jameson ’s other works in their own
sections but for now you can have Zizek in the form of him explaining the Hegelian
dialectic in the form of a joke: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmJVsaxoQSw
There will also be no “General introductions for dumbasses” or “companion” books in the
secondary literature section. Why? Because there's already 1000 pages of introducing
German Idealism already (You should of read both introductions). If you want to know
Hegel’s relation to the earlier German Idealists for example you read Hegel himself (this
example will be presented in more detail in Hegel’s works ) .
But if you must use a layman's guide use this one 0521003873 . DO NOT PICK PETER
SINGER’s one ( 019280197X ) ! Yes I do hate Peter Singer for being a stupid liberal who
unknowingly shills for neo-liberal capitalism (This is not the right place to explain why) but
this is not the reason in relation to Hegel. Peter Singer is an Analytic Philosopher whose
work deals with Ethics and NOT HEGEL, he also makes the very common mistake of
reducing Hegel’s dialectic to Thesis-Antithesis-Synthesis triad, a very grave mistake!
Reading secondary literature should read prior, alongside or after the corresponding primary
work (depends on the works), for example a commentary on Hegel’s logic should be read in
conjunction to Hegel’s works on Logic.

Where the secondary literature listing actually starts:

Hegelian Dictionaries:
0631175334
http://www.london.ac.uk/fileadmin/documents/students/philosophy/ba_course_materials/ba_
19thc_hegel_glossary_01.pdf
http://files.meetup.com/1730494/Hegel.Dictionary.pdf
Introduction to the Reading of Hegel Lectures on the Phenomenology of Spirit ISBN :

0801492033
http://parrhesiajournal.org/parrhesia20/parrhesia20_kojeve.pdf
Genesis and Structure of Hegel's "Phenomenology of Spirit" ISBN: 0810105942
There are two classical texts on Hegel that everyone should have when reading Hegel
(which also should be read and bought first before any other secondary literature
below!) , Jean Hyppolite ’s Genesis and Structure of Hegel's "Phenomenology of Spirit"
and Alexandre Kojeve ’s Introduction to the Reading of Hegel: Lectures on the
Phenomenology of Spirit . As the titles say these are readings on Hegel ’s Phänomenologie
des Geistes
These two texts had a huge impact on how Hegel was dealt with in 20th century Continental
Philosophy and influenced many philosophers like Derrida, Foucault and Deleuze etc.
Alexandre Kojeve and Jean Hyppolite make the two opposing camps of Hegelians. Kojeve
had a Humanist and Hyppolite basically had a proto postmodern reading of Hegel .
Pour les francophones:
The english translation of Kojeve's work is actually abridged, here's the French: 2070295281
Here's Hyppolite in French and contemporary Continental philosopher Alain Badiou’s dealings with him:
ISBN: 2700700090
https://vimeo.com/60266579
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10CFy0la5XA
Quick note on online lectures:
There are online lectures mainly on Hegel’s Phenomenology, I don’t know which ones are good or bad either and a actual
professor lecturing you in class is much better anyways.

More secondary literature (Holy fuck this part is long right?):

Above was the BARE conservative minimum on secondary literature! To truly understand
Hegel more reading is required! There are tons and tons of Hegel interpretations and
commentaries out there, here I really suggest you should find one right for you for yourself!
If I claim that the following books are the best books on Hegel someone no matter what will
cry out against me due to the sheer amount of scholarship done on Hegel, so take the
following really as my subjective opinion and explore the Hegel scholarship for yourself!!
Sorry if I miss any of your favourite works on Hegel.
BUY MULTIPLE WORKS ON HEGEL FOR DIFFERENT VIEWS! THERE IS NO ONE-SIZE
FITS ALL!
The secondary literature in the following divisions are not ordered in anyway (for example best on top or alphabetically)
I’m too poor! I spent my money on buying the two classical commentaries already and other things!
You don’t have to buy ALL of these (seriously if you aren’t that interested in Hegel just buy 1 or none) but buy kindle
versions or second hand? Just remember though some kindle versions are absolute trash and buy second hand with
CLEAN insides so you can rape the value of the copy yourself with your own highlighting, notes and underlining. My
sympathies with your budget.
Works on Hegel’s Phenomenology:

The Hegel Variations: On the Phenomenology of Spirit ISBN: 1844676161

A very recent publication and interpretation of Hegel (2010), useful for understanding today’s
academic Hegel. It is a mere 144 pages but do not be fooled as it is dense! The Marxist
literary and political theorist Fredric Jameson gives a more fluid and open interpretation of
Hegel’s system than opposed to a traditionally closed one and for the more meme inclined
this book is Zizek approved! (Zizek himself also gives a more open interpretation of Hegel
and is friends with Jameson).
Hegel's Ladder (Vol 1 & 2) ISBN: 0872202801

Lo and behold! An approx 1500 page commentary in TWO VOLUMES! This fuckhuge
commentary is supposedly 30 years of scholarship in the actualisation by H.S. Harris and is
a word by word, sentence by sentence analysis of JUST the Phenomenology of Spirit! It’s
also really expensive. Must have for budding Hegelian wizards! Note: No cover art, this
scholarship is too serious for that!

In the Spirit of Hegel ISBN: 0195036506

>In this book, Solomon captures the bold and exhilarating spirit, presenting the
Phenomenology as a thoroughly personal as well as philosophical work. He begins with a
historical introduction, which lays the groundwork for a section-by-section analysis of the
Phenomenology .
A good r eplacement for cucks who don’t want to read Hegel’s Ladder (not saying this book

isn’t good in itself!).

Hegel on Self-Consciousness: Desire and Death in the Phenomenology of Spirit

(Princeton Monographs in Philosophy) ISBN: 0691163413
Probably the easiest due to the page count (a mere 120) but not the least complex! As the
title says the famed American Hegelian scholar Robert B. Pippin offers an interpretation
and focus on Hegel’s passages on self-consciousness, for Hegel "self-consciousness is
desire itself".

Hegel's Phenomenology: The Sociality of Reason ISBN: 052156834X

Pinkard d evelops an independent philosophical account of the general theory of knowledge,

culture, and history contained in Phenomenology. The book reconstructs Hegel's theoretical
philosophy and shows its connection to ethical and political theory.
Work on Hegel’s Science of Logic:

The Opening of Hegel's Logic: From Being to Infinity (History of Philosophy Series)
ISBN: 1557532575

> Hegel’s Logic has fewer commentaries than his other works but is just a crucial and this
book not only introduces Hegel’s Science of Logic it also deals with contemporaries of Hegel
or near contemporaries ( Schelling , Trendelenburg , Kierkegaard ) and moving all the way
through modern times ( Derrida , Pippin etc). The reader gets both an introduction to
Hegel's logic and an introduction to the historical debates surrounding the interpretation of
Hegel's thought and logic.

An Introduction to Hegel's Logic (Hackett Classics) ISBN: 0872204243

I’m going to play the counterfactual game here, this oddball is a introduction of Hegel’s logic
in a mere 152 pages from an philosopher who makes references to Analytic philosophers
when explaining Hegel’s Logic. For more info on Analytics dealing with Hegel check
out the “Pittsburgh Hegelians”.

The Idea of Hegel's "Science of Logic" ISBN: 022606588X

> Rosen has no interest in soft-pedaling Hegel's apparent theological claims, as many recent
promoters of a "non-metaphysical" or essentially Kantian Hegel have wanted to do. Rosen
takes Hegel's statements about "God" at face value, not as referring to God as commonly
understood, but as referring to something that deserves the eminence traditionally assigned
to God.Rosen does this because he agrees with Hegel that modern thought and modern life
in general are in deep trouble, and require what may seem to be pretty drastic measures to
save them. We are constantly threatened by "the nihilism of multiple and mutually exclusive
partial views, perspectives, interpretations, or opinions about human life" (72). This amounts
to "chaos." To overcome it, we must find "intelligibility" in the world and our experience. The
effort of western philosophy since Anaxagoras and Socrates has been precisely to find such
intelligibility, and Hegel, as Rosen interprets him, aims to continue and consummate this
effort.Rosen agrees with Hegel that the major effort of Immanuel Kant to this same end was
unsuccessful, inasmuch as Kant located intelligibility not in the world as such, but only in the
categories by which the transcendental subject thinks the world. Hegel's aim is to find
intelligibility in the world or in being as such, and thus to bridge the gulf between subject and
object which Kant had failed to bridge.

Hegel ’s works (Read in Order!!!)

The Hegel starters kit!

Early Theological Writings (Works in Continental Philosophy) ISBN: 0812210220

Hegel Faith and Knowledge ISBN: 088706826X

The Difference Between Fichte's and Schelling's System of Philosophy ISBN:
0887068278
Lectures on Logic ISBN: 0253351677
These neglected collection of short works are excellent training wheels for Hegel’s most well
known and very very difficult works Phänomenologie des Geistes, Wissenschaft der
Logik & Grundlinien der Philosophie des Rechts. Early Theological Writings illuminate
Hegel’s later conception of God and the Absolute while both Faith and Knowledge & T he
Difference Between Fichte's and Schelling's System of Philosophy give an account of
Hegel’s relation to the earlier German Idealists in HIS OWN WORDS and thus this is
BETTER than any commentator can give on this subject!!! In the former Hegel gives his
critique of Kant and commentary of Fichte and Schelling in the latter. Lectures on Logic are a
compilation on the Berlin lectures regarding logic, easy to read in lecture format this will help
to illuminate Hegel’s dialectical thinking. READ THIS STUFF AND PHIL. OF HISTORY

FIRST!

Philosophy of history
The Philosophy of History (Dover Philosophical Classics) ISBN: 0486437558
Lectures on the Philosophy of World History (Cambridge Studies in the History and
Theory of Politics ISBN: 0521281458
Hegel lectures on his Philosophy of history but unfortunately there have not been full
translations of these lectures, for more Hegel lectures on Philosophy of History scroll down to
OUP lectures in FURTHER READING ON HEGEL division . Also please note these two
books shown here contain different materials which are meant to supplement each other so
buy both (unless you buy the OUP lectures edition)! For more info read this
http://ndpr.nd.edu/news/27787-lectures-on-the-philosophy-of-world-history-vol-i-manuscripts-
of-the-introduction-and-the-lectures-of-1822-3/
This is what an ordinary Encyclopedia turns into when it’s
touched by Hegel ’s wizardry !
( Enzyklopädie der philosophischen Wissenschaften im Grundrisse)
The Encyclopedia of Philosophical Sciences
The Encyclopaedia Logic: Part I of the Encyclopaedia of the Philosophical Sciences
with the Zusätze (Hackett Classics) ISBN: 0872200701
Hegel's Philosophy of Nature: Encyclopaedia of the Philosophical Sciences (1830),
Part II (Hegel's Encyclopedia of the Philosophical Sciences) ISBN: 0199272670

Hegel: Philosophy of Mind: A revised version of the Wallace and Miller translation
ISBN: 0199593027
Basically a textbook Hegel wrote outlining his mature works so this would the next logical
place to read. The Encyclopedia is split up into three parts; Logic, Philosophy of Nature and
Philosophy of Mind (Not to be confused with Phänomenologie des Geistes ) each outlining
critical points of Hegel’s philosophy. The translations presented (sequentially) are Hackett (
Zusätze are notes taken by Hegel’s students) , Oxford and a revised Oxford edition. On
alternate translations there is an Cambridge translation of part one (9780521829144) but I
opted for Hackett due to it being an established edition (Being conservative here!), BUT
from an academic reviewing site here’s a different opinion:
https://ndpr.nd.edu/news/24778-encyclopedia-of-the-philosophical-sciences-in-basic-outline-part-i-science-of-logic/

There is only one translation of Part 2 and with in regards to Part 3 the 2010 revised edition
of the old Oxford edition by Michael Inwood is superb and should not be replaced with
anything else!

NO MORE TRAINING WHEELS HERE!

Hegel’s Phenomenology of Spirit ISBN: 0198245971

The Phenomenology of Mind (Philosophical Classics) 0486432513
Draft of Terry Pinkard’s translation link:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/21288399/Phenomenology%20translation%20English%20German.pdf
(Phänomenologie des Geistes )
Phenomenology of Spirit (Mind)
If you somehow don’t know already, geist is also translated as “Mind” and the Hegelian dialectic is NOT Thesis-
Antithesis-Synthesis seriously holy fuck! Don’t get this wrong! This was made up by a guy named Heinrich Moritz
Chalyb äus who is rightly ignored today for his horrible interpretation.

Hegel’s legendary work! When one advises to read slowly word by word it really does matter
here! This text is absolutely crucial to understanding Hegel and must must must read for
Continental philosophy! If one could ever properly sum up this text in one phrase it would
be “The Rational alone is Real”. There are two classic translations, Miller and Baille. Both are
useful (Miller is very very much preferred). Regarding Hardback versions of these
translations from 3rd party publishers they can be found here 1616405562 and here
8120814738 but I cannot comment on their quality as I do not have them so proceed with
care! The Terry Pinkard translation is a new one under construction but available online for
free and will be published in the Cambridge Hegel Translations (Which is also under
construction at the time of writing) Since this is such a hard book to read I suggest you read
this using all three translations with reference to the original German!

( Wissenschaft der Logik)

Science of Logic

Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel The Science of Logic (Cambridge Hegel Translations)
ISBN: 1107499631
Hegel's Science of Logic : 1573922803

In America I hear they like to ignore this work despite it being just as important as
Phenomenology. On the translation here I will refer to an article below

https://ndpr.nd.edu/news/24722-the-science-of-logic/

The review recommends the new Giovanni over the old one but for the purposes of
university courses and the more conservative I have presented the Miller one as well due to
it being a well accepted translation, the new Giovanni was only published on the February
12th, 2015.

(Grundlinien der Philosophie des Rechts)

Elements of the Philosophy of Right (Law)

Hegel Elements of the Philosophy of Right (Cambridge Texts in the History of Political
Thought) ISBN: 0521348889

Hegel’s exquisite political thought here, here Hegel shares his thoughts with the Prussian
Monarchy and Hegel’s ideal state which influenced thinkers ranging from the far left to the far
right!

Lectures on the Philosophy of Spirit 1827-8

You are probably surprised this is here (only translated in 2007). This is another Berlin
lecture where Hegel covers “subjective spirit” in part 3 of the encyclopaedia sciences and
this book has new information on material associated with the Phänomenologie des
Geistes , including the notorious 'struggle for recognition' in chapter 4 and thus this is
crucial to understand Hegel. For more info look at OUP Hegel lectures below.

FURTHER READING ON HEGEL

WARNING: READING THESE WILL TURN YOU INTO AN HEGELIAN WIZARD ADDICTED TO COCAINE (LIKE
ZIZEK).

The Young Hegel Studies in the Relations between Dialectics and Economics ISBN: 0262620332
If you want a Hegel that's “Hegel the Marxist before Marx” and “Hegel the critical theorist” here it is! Here the founder of
Western Marxism Georg Lukács presents Hegel not as a Hegelian as we know but as someone who preceded Marx’s
materialism.

Hegel's Idealism: The Satisfactions of Self-Consciousness

If you want something more Metaphysical here it is! Pippin presents Hegel as >neither as a pre-critical metaphysician nor as
a social theorist, but as a critical philosopher whose disagreements with Kant, especially on the issue of intuitions, enrich
the idealist arguments against empiricism, realism, and naturalism. In the face of the dismissal of absolute idealism as
either unintelligible or implausible, Pippin explains and defends an original account of the philosophical basis for Hegel's
claims about the historical and social nature of self-consciousness and of knowledge itself.

The OUP Hegel lectures http://ukcatalogue.oup.com/category/academic/series/philosophy/hegel.do

Warning: For Hegelian wizards only!

If you have money and want to become a true Hegelian wizard then have these series of
Berlin lectures! These lectures are really really really recently translated and some volumes
in this series contain the only English translations of Hegel’s lectures! Translations include
pic-related, the only english translation of the 1827-8 Philosophy of spirit lectures which
contains lectures on “Subjective Spirit” in Part 3 of the Encyclopaedia Science!
At the time of writing a translation of Hegel’s Philosophy of World History 1822-1823
Lectures in full with probably more to come! If you want more Hegel on Philosophy of World
History here it is! Another goodie is this series contains new translations of Lectures on
History of Philosophy where Hegel starts from the ancients to himself, if you want what Hegel
thought of the History of Philosophy why not buy the words of the man himself? As of the
time of writing there are 11 Volumes in this series each contain ing unique material!

NOTE: If you buy Hegel's Aesthetics: Lectures on Fine Art, Vol. I & 2 don’t buy the Hegel: Lectures on the
Philosophy of Art The Hotho Transcript of 1823 Berlin Lectures which is in this series!

Hegel's Aesthetics: Lectures on Fine Art, Vol. I ISBN: 0198238169

Hegel's Aesthetics: Lectures on Fine Art, Vol. II ISBN: 9780198238171

Basically a compilation lectures Hegel had in his last decade of his life (Berlin Period) in two volumes translated by T.M
Knox, this is the only indepth edition on Hegel’s Aesthetics available (at time of writing), all other editions are turd and don’t
include the same amount of material as this one. The only downside is that it is expensive (at the time of writing a cheaper
copy than amazon can be found from the publisher Oxford’s online store). These Lectures have more pages than
Hegel: Lectures on the Philosophy of Art The Hotho Transcript of 1823 Berlin Lectures in the OUP series above.
I ntroductory Lectures on Aesthetics (Penguin Classics) ISBN: 014043335X

Too poor for the Lectures above? Penguin has Hegel Introductory lectures on Aesthetics for a few dollars in the single digit!

I really suggest the lectures above though!

After the Beautiful: Hegel and the Philosophy of Pictorial Modernism ISBN: 022607949X
>In his Berlin lectures on fine art, Hegel argued that art involves a unique form of aesthetic intelligibility—the expression of a
distinct collective self-understanding that develops through historical time. Hegel’s approach to art has been influential in a
number of different contexts, but in a twist of historical irony Hegel would die just before the most radical artistic revolution in
history: modernism. In After the Beautiful, Robert B. Pippin, looking at modernist paintings by artists such as Édouard Manet
and Paul Cézanne through Hegel’s lens, does what Hegel never had the chance to do.
Once again Pippin is presented! This book is a perfect companion to the T.M Knox editions above!

Hegel and the Hermetic Tradition ISBN: 0801474507

The Heterodox Hegel ISBN: 079142006X

These two books claim that Hegel (Also other Romantic figures of this time) were influenced
by the 2mystical4you that includes Baader, Böhme, Bruno which stretches all the way back
to early Neoplatonism and Gnosticism.
Anatomy of Misremembering: Von Balthasar’s Response to Philosophical Modernity.

Volume 1 Hegel ISBN: 0824525620

> This compelling work is the most comprehensive and sophisticated account to date of the
relationship between Hans Urs von Balthasar—a Swiss theologian and Catholic priest—and
the German philosopher Georg Hegel. While underscoring the depth and breadth of
Balthasar’s engagement with the philosopher, author Cyril O’Regan argues that Balthasar is
the most concertedly anti-Hegelian theologian of the 20th century. For him, it is essential to
engage Hegel because of his corrections of sclerotic forms of premodern Christian thought,
but even more importantly to resist and correct his systematic thought, which represents a
comprehensive misremembering of the Christian thought, practices, and forms of life. An
important and original work, this book addresses a topic that puts the possibility of an
authentic postmodern theology at stake.
Recommended for more reading on Hegel’s theology, again by based Regan.
Hegel in German (also check Stanford):
Again there are two editions of Hegel from Meiner & Suhrkamp Verlag
Suhrkamp Verlag: A whooping 20 volume edition, this is the standard edition used in academia.
3518097180
Note: It seems that it’s cheaper on amazon than on their Publisher website!

Meiner Verlag: Smaller 6 volume edition

3787327606

Again I’m really sorry if I missed a favourite work on Hegel of yours!!

FURTHER READINGS ON GERMAN IDEALISM

Jakob Böhme (Jacob Boehme)

German Theosophist who wrote lots of mystical writings and influenced Schelling, Hegel and
Schopenhauer. You can read and learn about him here for free. Or buy better translations on
Amazon or whatever. If you read the stuff in Expanded Western Medieval list, Western
Christian Mysticism edition you will have a better understanding than someone else that
has not as Boehme is very much in the line of Gnostic and mystical thought.
http://www.jacobboehmeonline.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93TrDJv8-_I
Also some secondary /lit/. Note that your getting into some pretty heretical mystical shit here.

The Later Philosophy of Schelling: The Influence of Boehme on the Works of 1809-
1815 ISBN: 0838717551
Title says all really, pretty rare book on a such a specific topic, not recommended unless
you're really interested. I guess if you really really liked Philosophical Investigations into the
Essence of Human Freedom and Ages of the World (mainly the usage of Grund / Ungrund
but also other things ) try and find a cheap copy as it seems to be out of print.

Science, Meaning, & Evolution: The Cosmology of Jacob Boehme ISBN: 0930407202
When I first saw this book I was surprised it was written by a theoretical physicist considering
we live in Scientific dogmatist times. Title says all.

Gnostic Apocalypse: Jacob Boehme's Haunted Narrative ISBN: 0791450228

Gnostic Return in Modernity ISBN: 0791450228

Again from Cyril O'Regan we get more 2mystical4you. Seriously though all of this Boehme
stuff above is pretty specific.
More Further readings:

Mythology, Madness, and Laughter: Subjectivity in German Idealism ISBN:

1441191054
It would help if you're familiar with Zizek’s theoretical work on German Idealism in some way,
whether it would be in books, articles or his jokes, I am not too sure on this TBH as I have
not read it at the time of writing this and thus not sure if Zizek uses Lacan here as one should
read Lacan before seriously reading Zizek’s theoretical work (when he mentions Lacan). It
would also help if you happen to be familiar with Markus Gabriel work too!
German Romantic Poetry
Thats right! One must at least mention in passing the influence Schlegel, Goethe, Novalis,
Hölderlin and Schiller! Their Influence includes Schopenhauer, Schelling, Fichte, Hegel,
Nietzsche, Freud and Heidegger. Here’s a quick list on various good books on the German
Romantics (secondary lit):
0521001110
0804727392
0791459489
0791470849
0674019806
0674055160
067402737X

Lebensphilosophie
(Schopenhauer, Nietzsche and Kierkegaard)
Schopenhauer
Behold! The great anti-Hegelian! (Interestingly he was influenced by Meister Eckhart)
> At first Fichte and Schelling shine as the heroes of this epoch; to be followed by the man
who is quite unworthy even of them, and greatly their inferior in point of talent --- I mean the
stupid and clumsy charlatan Hegel.
Schopenhauer had influences from Kant, Fichte and Schelling (Schopenhauer even briefly
attended Fichte’s lectures in 1812).
Secondary literature
Jokes on Schopie, compared to Hegel there is little philosophical secondary literature. But
unlike Hegel, Schopenhauer influenced many artists, scientists and writers including Wagner,
Tolstoy, Santayana, Mann, Borges,Einstein and Schrödinger . One should fully appreciate

Schopenhauer by reading the non-philosophers who he influenced.

Wagner:
I will depart from what is usually done in this section by presenting you Wagner’s Der Ring
Des Nibelungen on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/MrYuriFerro/videos

The Philosophy of Schopenhauer ISBN: 0198237227

I bet you didn’t expect to see Bryan Magee again did you? If you are going to buy a book on
Schopenhauer it’s gotta be this one. Magee gives a balance between an explanation of his
life and his Philosophy.
Schopenhauer and the Wild Years of Philosophy ISBN: 0674792769

This one is biographical compared to the one above but a very detailed biography.

Schopie’s works (Read in order!!!):

On the Fourfold Root of the Principle of Sufficient Reason

ISBN: 9780521872713

One does not start with World Will and Representation but this work, Schopenhauer’s
dissertation. Ideas including “The world as representation” develop here first! The edition I
have presented is an expensive but very new and very good edition of
Schopenhauer’s work, remember this edition comes from Cambridge who also have
done scholarly accepted translations of Hegel and Kant. Why these translations? The
old translations done by E.J Payne were okay but E.J Payne was NOT a philosopher or a
scholar but merely a enthusiast of Schopie! It ’s time for the new translations to take reign!
The World as Will and Representation Vol 1 ISBN: 9781107414778

Now you read this! You should check out the appendix for a critique of Kant.

The World as Will and Representation Vol 2 ASIN: B00700YVIU

At the time of writing volume 2 has not being translated so we will have to stick to the old
translation
Further reading of Schopenhauer:

The Two Fundamental Problems of Ethics ISBN: 9781107414747

> Arthur Schopenhauer's The Two Fundamental Problems of Ethics (1841) consists of two
groundbreaking essays: 'On the Freedom of the Will' and 'On the Basis of Morals'. The
essays make original contributions to ethics and display Schopenhauer's erudition, prose-
style and flair for philosophical controversy, as well as philosophical views that contrast
sharply with the positions of both Kant and Nietzsche. Written accessibly, they do not
presuppose the intricate metaphysics which Schopenhauer constructs elsewhere.
I guess you can impress your non-philosophical friends (wow what a great feat!) with this
book as it doesn’t need require any previous knowledge of Kant or Schopenhauer.
Parerga and Paralipomena ISBN: 9780521871389
> Described by Schopenhauer himself as 'incomparably more popular than everything up till
now', the Parerga is a miscellany of essays addressing themes that complement his work
The World as Will and Representation, along with more divergent, speculative pieces.
At the time of writing this is the last published edition from cambridge, if you want more good
Schopenhauer translations you will have to wait.

P.S On Amazon it’s much cheaper than on the official cambridge website.
Since these translations may be rather expensive I have presented older but free online translations (which are absolutely
trash and without scholarly support) for the disenfranchised.
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/3648

ON EVERYTHING BELOW:
There is no ordering below unless mentioned, you can read Kierkegaard before Nietzsche or
whatever
Neo-Kantians and British Idealists
Not widely read today (I myself have not), just saying no one is stopping you from reading
them. This is just here to remind you

Nietzsche
Ignore everything you know about Nietzsche from pop culture (le god is dead XD) and
actually read this guy (and before Nietzsche read Schopenhauer). Also there is no excuse
for not buying the fucking WALTER KAUFMANN translations! You have no excuse not
to buy Kaufmann translations as they are cheap and all other translations are trash
(besides Hollingdale)!
Though I did find an amusing post on warosu regarding Kaufmann.

This is what happens when nazi shills try to do philosophy.

Secondary literature:

Nietzsche: Philosopher, Psychologist, Antichrist ISBN: 0691019835

Again Kaufmann is the authority on Nietzsche scholarship, no excuses like that cuckhold

above! Also have this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7M-cmNdiFuI

Nietzsche: A Philosophical Biography ISBN: 0393323803

Another excellent biography by the author of Schopenhauer and the Wild Years of
Philosophy , Rüdiger Safranski .

Nietzsche (Arguments of the Philosophers) 0415090717

This book and the two below have a bit more philosophical depth and thus if you don’t want
a biography you should buy these books. Schacht is a leading Nietzsche scholar and thus
you're in good hands.

Nietzsche and Philosophy (Columbia Classics in Philosophy) 0231138776

Deleuze again but this time focuses on Nietzsche’s will to power and eternal recurrence.
Again a great book for Nietzscheans and a would-be Deleuzian.

Nietzsche's Teaching: An Interpretation of "Thus Spoke Zarathustra" ISBN:

0300044305

Title says all really, a interpretation of Nietzsche’s most famous work Lampert a respected
Scholar.

Nietzsche's works:
I shall do something a bit different here, please scroll all the
way down below Nietzsche’s works for the reading order.
Untimely Meditations (Cambridge Texts in the History of Philosophy) ISBN:
0521585848

Kaufmann did not translate this work but Hollingdales work is still fine. Starting point for

Nietzsche newbies.

The Gay Science: With a Prelude in Rhymes and an Appendix of Songs ISBN:
0394719859
Sing along with your friends with this book of Nietzschean rhymes and songs!

The Portable Nietzsche (Portable Library) ISBN: 014015 0625

> The Portable Nietzsche includes Kaufmann’s definitive translations of the complete and
unabridged texts of Nietzsche’s four major works: Twilight of the Idols, The Antichrist,
Nietzsche Contra Wagner and Thus Spoke Zarathustra.
Basic Writings of Nietzsche (Modern Library Classics) ISBN: 0679783393

.> Basic Writings of Nietzsche gathers the complete texts of five of Nietzsche’s most
important works, from his first book to his last: The Birth of Tragedy, Beyond Good and Evil,
On the Genealogy of Morals, The Case of Wagner, and Ecce Homo .
Human, All Too Human: A Book for Free Spirits, Revised Edition ISBN: 0803283687

No Kaufmann translations on this one either. It’s either this translation or Hollingdale
0521567041

Reading order:
Untimely Meditations
Human, All Too Human: A Book for Free Spirits
The Gay Science
The Birth of Tragedy
Beyond Good and Evil
Genealogy of Morals
Thus Spoke Zarathustra
The Case of Wagner
The Twilight of the Idols
The Antichrist
Ecce Homo
Nietzsche Contra Wagner
No no no you don’t read Thus Spoke Zarathustra first, reading Nietzsche is pretty
straightforward as it’s mostly chronological. For starting Nietzsche one should always remind
themselves of Nietzsche’s connection with Schopenhauer, a good way to do that is read

“Schopenhauer as Educator” in Untimely Meditations .

Further readings on Nietzsche:

The Will to Power ISBN: 0394704371
Based Kaufmann in collaboration with R. J. Hollingdale translate’s Nietzsche ’ s posthumous
work. Life affirmation at it’s purest!
Nietzsche’s Philosophy: The Film.
A FILM?” you may ask, “WHY A FILM?”. This film is not for pleb consumerist moviegoers
who like to watch the new superhero film but for connoisseurs of film as an art form . This
film has no “action” and the film itself is taken in a mere 36 long shots so it will definitely be
“boring” and “uninteresting” for the less artistically intelligent (I really tried to sound not elitist
here but seriously this film is not for plebs but real Nietzscheans) . The film is an Hungarian
film directed by Béla Tarr who has also made other great films such as Damnation and
Satantango . And no, there is no one playing Nietzsche in this film (but that’s actually
partially why the film is so good, it does not need a Nietzsche to be a Nietzschean film).
Seriously though just look on IMDB and Wikipedia I’ve spoon fed you enough info.
Remember when pirating to not use fucking YIFY torrents! They are the equivalent of
Penguin Books.

For subtitles go to opensubtitles.org

At the request of some tripfag if one thinks art films are too “boring” and want some “action”
one should watch Blade Runner. It’s a great Sci-Fi film so you should watch it regardless if
you like Nietzsche or not!

Nietzsche’ Music
Did you know Nietzsche was a self-taught musician and composed music?
Unfortunately his music is rather esoteric and the recordings on CDs are hard to come by
(overpriced) so here’s Nietzsche’s music for free:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBO1B3Wf4mk

Kierkegaard
First off, BUY THE HONG TRANSLATIONS! They beat Penguin anyday. Before reading
Kierkegaard one should be aware of Hegel’s and Schelling’s influence (remember that
Kierkegaard attended late Schelling’s lectures) so read them first. Also read the Bible.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uYO0vsI6UM

To any fedora Atheists who love Sam Harris who refuse to read Kierkegaard fuck you and read him. A real Atheist can into
theology.

Secondary literature:
Søren Kierkegaard: A Biography ISBN: 0691127883
A whooping 800+ page biography on Kierkegaard, no more secondary literature after this!

Kierkegaard’s works (Read in order!!!):

Either/Or Part 1 & 2 ISBN: 0691020418 & 0691020426
Despite writing earlier works Kierkegaard regards this work as his starting point of
authorship, these early works outline what Kierkegaard is about quite nicely!

Fear and Trembling/Repetition ISBN: 0691020264

In Fear and Trembling Kierkegaard discusses the story of Abraham and the Anxiety
present. In Repetition under the name Constantine Constantius playfully explores love and
happiness, the passage of time and the importance of the passage of time. Here is a Hubert
Dreyfus lecture on Fear and Trembling.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKIWraaouu4

Works of Love ISBN: 069105916 0

This work deals with love (duh!) , the Christian conception of agape ( ἀγάπη ) love in
contrast with erotic love ( ἔρως ) or preferential love ( φιλία ) given to friends and family.

The Sickness Unto Death ISBN: 0691020280

Dealing mainly with despair, Kierkegaard relates this to the concept of the original sin, the fall
of man. Here’s a Dreyfus lecture on this work
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLzCsOAVlOZwO6WGMfb7Dofv9WvFE0Oau

Philosophical Fragments/Johannes Climacus ISBN: 0691020361

Written under the name Johannes Climacus this book is probably Kierkegaard’s most anti-
Hegelian moment.
Further readings on Kierkegaard:
One should also take a look at the rest of the Hong translations for example
Concluding Unscientific Postscript to Philosophical Fragments, Volume 1 & 2 ISBN:
0691020817
0691020825
The Sequel to Philosophical Fragments these two books continue the attack on Hegel!

Bergson
Henri Bergson
On the placement of Bergson here note that Bergson is today more engaged by Continental
philosophers (like Deleuze) but one must remember.
S o Bergson belongs here with Whitehead, though if you don’t want to read Bergson before
Whitehead whatever. Recommended to read Bergson if you like Deleuze or vitalism.

Process Philosophy
Whitehead
Probably the last philosopher both (some) Continentals and (some) Analytics like, happened
to write Principia Mathematica with Bertrand Russell but his ideas are also discussed by
Continentals like Judith Butler (on one occasion), Graham Harman and Bruno Latour today.
There are also contemporary strict Whiteheadian philosophers like Nicholas Rescher but I for
one do not know anything about these people.

0226752933
Sociology lite
I will just have the three sociologists who are widely accepted as the founders of sociology,
this isnt a sociology guide but a Philosophy guide. In regards who to read first take your pick.
If you're an idiot asking why sociologists are on this guide well Sociology has influenced

philosophers like Lukacs, Bourdieu, Habermas etc

Supplemental readings:

Capitalism and Modern Social Theory An Analysis of the Writings of Marx, Durkheim
and Max Weber ISBN: 0521097851

Based Anthony Giddens (who is a very reputable sociologist himself) published this book
which has become a classic in teaching Sociology. Giddens gives not a textbook explanation
but a fully fledged commentary and analysis.

Max Weber
Max Weber is widely considered one of the founders of sociology (along with Marx and
Durkheim)
Besides his works on economy, society and government, Weber wrote a lot on the sociology

of religion.

Secondary Literature:

Max Weber's Comparative-Historical Sociology ISBN: 0226423034

Kalberg is one of the best Weber scholars and has written this book as a companion to The
Protestant Ethic. Read after Weber’s works.

Weber’s Works (READ IN ORDER!!!):

Economy and Society An Outline of Interpretive Sociology ISBN: 0520035003

Here Weber outlines his Weberian terminology and ideas (conceptual apparatuses) for the
general public and thus is a great introduction to Weber. Note that this is in 2 volumes due
to it’s massive size so make sure you receive two volumes when you buy it!
The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism ISBN: 0199747253
Probably the most influential book in sociology, enough said.
Note that there are like a bajillion different editions and translations on this work, I have
chosen the edition above because it is translated and edited by Kalberg (it also happens to
be the most recent translation). Again avoid the Penguin edition.

Durkheim

Emile Durkheim: His Life and Work: A Historical and Critical Study ISBN: 0804712832
The Elementary Forms of Religious Life ISBN: 0029079373
Don’t get the Oxford translation of this seminal work, it’s actually abridged!

Quick Metaphilosophy
There is a lot of bantz when one claims that the Continental/Analytic distinction is/is not
nominalist or merely sociological/geopolitical and there is/is not any methodological
distinction between “Analytic” and “Continental” Philosophy. For example some “Analytic”
philosophers claim there is no “Continental Philosophy” because the parts of what comprise
said Philosophy (Phenomenology, Existentialism, Structuralism etc) are “quite distinct” one
cannot lump them all under the name “Continental Philosophy”. Meta-philosophical books
from both the Continental and Analytic sides are below. Divide Is real.
0192853597
0521694264
0674644735
0631214143
0748624716
0773538089
Don’t be fooled by the title of the book by Simon Critchley, It really is not a introduction but a
sneaky Meta-philosophical book (but it also explains the history of Continental Philosophy
starting from Kant). Also mind Pippin’s book as it is undecipherable (Hegelian, jokes!) .
https://philosophynow.org/issues/74/Analytic_versus_Continental_Philosophy
www.youtube.com/watch? v =xiISBhwxaY0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=us3Ke1tF9dU

Marxism:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1g6XaOX8RldHRg_JradONkS99oE6uC5dc9EuyOa5rips/edit?usp=sharing

Continental Philosophy:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fBYpm4MHyKM-
80sTzQaBiYLI0vJKkE80h2b10JR5cwg/edit

Analytic Philosophy:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YrXfvjz4NCyLlob9bo_N9fpoYB-
saCTbLoGP5TctJTs/edit

Moved to their own google docs for file size reasons

Marxist non-philosophers will go under the Marxism section but Marxist philosophers (like Zizek) will go to their respective
Continental/Analytic place.
I have placed Phil. of Science right under Analytic Philosophy as Phil. of Science is almost completely dominated by the
Analytic tradition, BUT there are some exceptions such as Canguilhem and Bachelard.

The concept of the political.

Then Theory of the Constitution.
Then Political Theology.

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (hegel)