What is the good life? What is justice? Do we have free will? Does it matter? From ancient classics like Plato's Allegory of the Cave to modern standards like John Rawls's A Theory of Justice, the texts in this collection explore ideas and questions at the root of the human condition.
Publication year 1999
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Society: Class, Society: Economics, Society: Politics & Government
Tags Education, Education, Social Science, Business / Economics, Sociology, History: World, Philosophy, Philosophy, Indian Literature, Politics / Government
Publication year 1999
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Identity: Language, Self Discovery
Tags Business / Economics, Self Help, Psychology, Relationships, Philosophy, Leadership/Organization/Management, Psychology
Publication year 1994
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Win & Lose, Society: War, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict
Tags History: U.S., Military / War, History: World, Philosophy, Philosophy, Politics / Government
Diplomacy (1994) is a book by the scholar and diplomat Henry Kissinger. After leaving the government in 1977, Kissinger wrote a series of memoirs such as White House Years (1979) and Years of Upheaval (1982). Diplomacy was the first of what would be many books offering a broader view of international affairs and US foreign policy. It has lessons for policymakers but is also accessible to general readers. The book received many positive reviews for... Read Diplomacy Summary
Publication year 1975
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Society: Politics & Government, Society: Class
Tags Philosophy, Incarceration, History: World, Sociology, Psychology, French Literature, Education, Education, Psychology, Philosophy, Classic Fiction, Politics / Government
Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison by Michel Foucault is a socio-political study of how power manifests in the Western penal system throughout history. Considered to be Foucault’s masterpiece, Discipline and Punish traces the history of how punishment and control were applied in Western society and how penal systems evolved to match changes in social sensibilities. Michel Foucault was a French historical philosopher and literary critic in the 20th century. Foucault’s work has... Read Discipline And Punish Summary
Publication year 1955
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Society: Colonialism
Tags Philosophy, Afro-Caribbean Literature, Colonialism / Postcolonialism, Race / Racism, Philosophy, Sociology, History: World, Politics / Government
Discourse on Colonialism is an essay written originally in French by Aimé Césaire and published in 1950. This seminal work by Césaire opens with a thesis that Europe currently suffers from two problems. The first problem is the state of the proletariat and colonialism and the second is its moral hypocrisy. Throughout the essay, Césaire elaborates on this thesis by identifying the proletariat as the colonized laborer and the bourgeois as the European academic, scholar... Read Discourse on Colonialism Summary
Publication year 1637
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Tags Philosophy, French Literature, Education, Education, Science / Nature, History: World, Philosophy, Classic Fiction, Religion / Spirituality
French philosopher Rene Descartes’s Discourse on Method and Meditations on First Philosophy constitute two halves of a single unified project. The former was first published in 1637, while the latter was first published in 1641. The full title of Discourse on Method is Discourse on the Method of Rightly Conducting One's Reason and of Seeking Truth in the Sciences. The full title of Mediations on First Philosophy is Meditations on First Philosophy in which the... Read Discourse on Method Summary
Publication year 1755
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Society: Politics & Government, Society: Class, Values/Ideas: Science & Technology
Tags Philosophy, Politics / Government, Sociology, Age of Enlightenment, Education, Education, History: World, French Literature, Philosophy, Classic Fiction
“Discourse on the Origin and Foundations of Inequality Among Men,” often known as the “Discourse on Inequality” or the “Second Discourse,” is an essay by the Swiss philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau published in 1765. This summary is based on The First and Second Discourses, edited and translated by Roger D. Masters and Judith R. Masters, and published by St. Martin’s Press in 1964.SummaryRousseau wrote the essay in response to a prize announced by the Academy of... Read Discourse on the Origin of Inequality Summary
Publication year 1957
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Natural World: Space & The Universe, Values/Ideas: Science & Technology
Tags Science / Nature, Gender / Feminism, Politics / Government, Social Justice, Women's Studies (Nonfiction), History: World, Philosophy, Philosophy, Classic Fiction, Biography
Publication year 1838
Genre Essay / Speech, Nonfiction
Themes Natural World: Environment, Values/Ideas: Beauty, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality
Tags Philosophy, Transcendentalism, Religion / Spirituality, American Literature, Philosophy, Classic Fiction
Publication year 1605
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Life/Time: Aging, Relationships: Friendship
Tags Classic Fiction, Mental Illness, Class, Philosophy, Politics / Government, Renaissance, Religion / Spirituality, Satire
Don Quixote is a novel in two parts by Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes published between 1605 and 1615. The novel portrays the life of a middle-aged Spanish man who decides to become a knight, just like the characters in the works of fiction he loves. Considered to be a foundational work of Western literature and one of the first modern novels, Don Quixote is one of the most translated books of all time. It... Read Don Quixote Summary
Publication year 2023
Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction
Tags Gender / Feminism, Sociology, History: World, Psychology, Psychology, Philosophy, Philosophy, Politics / Government, Biography
Publication year 2009
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Natural World: Environment
Tags Food, Philosophy, Animals, Health / Medicine, Science / Nature, Philosophy
Eating Animals is a nonfiction book written by Jonathan Safran Foer and published originally in 2009. Foer is an accomplished novelist, and Eating Animals is his first foray into long-form nonfiction writing. The book fits into a genre of criticism of the food industry, specifically factory farming and animal welfare. Eating Animals is a New York Times bestseller, though it met with mixed reviews regarding both the content and style of Foer’s writing. In 2018... Read Eating Animals Summary
Publication year 1843
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Society: Economics, Society: Class, Society: Politics & Government
Tags Business / Economics, Philosophy, Politics / Government, History: World, Education, Education, Sociology, Philosophy, Classic Fiction
Publication year 2016
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Fame, Values/Ideas: Win & Lose, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance
Tags Self Help, Philosophy, Business / Economics, Leadership/Organization/Management
Publication year 1963
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Memory
Tags History: World, WWII / World War II, Military / War, Psychology, Psychology, Philosophy, Philosophy, Classic Fiction, Politics / Government
Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil is a nonfiction book by political theorist Hannah Arendt, originally published in 1963. In 1961, Arendt went to Jerusalem to cover the trial of Adolf Eichmann for The New Yorker, an assignment she gave herself because “she felt she simply had to attend the trial; she owed it to herself as a social critic, displaced person, witness, and survivor” (xi). Eichmann, a Nazi facilitator of... Read Eichmann in Jerusalem Summary
Publication year 1992
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Art, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Life/Time: The Future, Life/Time: The Past, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Natural World: Space & The Universe, Values/Ideas: Fate, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Values/Ideas: Science & Technology, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies
Tags Historical Fiction, Philosophy, Science / Nature
Einstein’s Dreams (1993) by Alan Lightman is a best-selling novel that explores the intersection of art and science, and the nature of time. The novel imagines the dreams of a fictionalized version of Albert Einstein to explain various theories about time, leading up to Einstein’s 1905 theory of special relativity, which he formed while working as a patent clerk and starting a family in Berne, Switzerland.Each chapter of the novel features a dream that exemplifies... Read Einstein's Dreams Summary
Publication year 2003
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Identity: Sexuality, Society: Immigration, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance
Tags Romance, Philosophy, Love / Sexuality, Relationships, Religion / Spirituality, Modern Classic Fiction, Drama / Tragedy, Philosophy
Publication year 2017
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Natural World: Environment, Values/Ideas: Art, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Equality
Tags Politics / Government, Self Help, Gender / Feminism, Philosophy, Leadership/Organization/Management, Social Justice, Philosophy, Religion / Spirituality
Publication year 1763
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Society: Education
Tags Philosophy, Education, French Literature
Published in 1762, Emile, or On Education, by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, launched a revolution in thinking about how society should educate and rear children. Its main tenets—that children must learn in accordance with their developing minds, and that society impedes and corrupts their growth—became rallying cries for educators in France and elsewhere. The book’s assertion that children should not be taught religious doctrine caused an uproar. Along with Rousseau’s political treatise, The Social Contract (also published... Read Emile: On Education Summary
Publication year 2009
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Fame, Society: Community
Tags Sociology, Education, Education, American Literature, History: World, Psychology, Psychology, Philosophy, Philosophy, Arts / Culture, Politics / Government
Empire of Illusion: The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle is a non-fiction book written by Chris Hedges, published in 2009. This work of cultural criticism focuses on the effects of mass media and popular culture on American society, politics, and economics. Since its publication, Empire of Illusion has been marketed as a work which predicted the forces that ultimately gave rise to the election of Donald Trump in 2016. Author Chris Hedges... Read Empire Of Illusion Summary