reading lists

Philosophy: An Introduction

A starting point for anyone interested in philosophy, particularly aimed at students thinking about reading Philosophy at university.

 
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What does it all mean?
by thomas nagel

One of the best things about this book is that it doesn't drop a single name. There are no philosophers mentioned here, just philosophical ideas: free will, justice, ethics, death, other minds, language, and the meaning of life. A great introduction to the subject.

 
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Philosophy: a very short introduction
by Edward Craig

Craig introduces first-timers to some of the core issues in Philosophy through discussion of specific texts. So Plato's Crito introduces us to ethics, Hume's Of Miracles sets of a discussion about knowledge, and an ancient Buddhist dialogue between a monk named Nagasena and a visiting Greek king provides a starting point for thinking about identity and the self.

 
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Reality: a very short introduction
by Jan westerhoff

I absolutely love this book. Westerhoff is an Oxford philosopher who works mainly on philosophers who upset our usual understanding of reality, such as Wittgenstein and Nagarjuna. In this slim tome, he manages to undermine many of the certainties we might have about the reality of physical matter, persons and selves, and even time through an entertaining and insightful excursion through neuroscience, literature, pop culture, quantum physics, and a wide range of philosophical traditions. Highly recommended.

 
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justice: What's the right thing to do?
by Michael Sandel

An accessible introduction to moral and political philosophy in the west, covering all the main bases: Kant, the utilitarians, Aristotle, Rawls, and the relationship between morality and markets.
 

 
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Conscious
by Annaka Harris

There’s a fundamental difference, we might think, between me and my coffee cup. I have all sorts of experiences – emotions, sensations, memories, desires and so on – while my coffee cup (I presume) doesn’t feel anything at all. I’m conscious. It’s not. I don’t think my coffee cup gets lonely when I leave it in the cupboard. But what is it that makes that difference? Why am I conscious and the coffee cup isn’t? And how can I be sure that you are conscious? Could robots ever become conscious? Harris’s beautifully written guide to these mysteries and more is an excellent primer on the key questions of philosophy of mind.

 
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Buddhism as philosophy: an introduction
by mark siderits

'Philosophy', as understood by most schools and universities in the UK, can still be a pretty parochial discipline that remains uninterested in intellectual traditions that emerged in places other than Europe, North America, and Australasia. Siderits' book provides an excellent window into just one of these neglected traditions: Buddhism. He covers a range of philosophical topics, including ethics, ontology, and epistemology, and shows how the insights of Buddhist philosophers can challenge or complement the conclusions of their counterparts in the west.

 
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Free will
by Sam harris

The subject of free will is one that plenty of my students seem to find fascinating and no one does a better job of explaining the conceptual problems with free will - at least as it is usually understood - than Sam Harris. Harris makes it absolutely clear that jettisoning our belief in free will need not lead to fatalistic attitudes or a lack of moral responsibility. In fact, quite the opposite is true since it allows us to be more understanding of our mistakes and those of others.