Recommendations based on Ludwig Wittgenstein: The Duty of Geniusby Ray Monk

* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans

  1. Philosophical Investigations

    by Ludwig Wittgenstein
    Wittgenstein's exploration of language and meaning, challenging traditional philosophical concepts and proposing new ways of understanding language games.

    Philosophical Investigations, ( German : Philosophische Untersuchungen ) is a work by the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein . The book was published posthumously in 1953. Wittgenstein discusses ... (Wikipedia)

  2. Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus

    by Ludwig Wittgenstein
    A philosophical treatise on language, logic, and the limits of human understanding.

    Perhaps the most important work of philosophy written in the twentieth century, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus was the only philosophical work that Ludwig Wittgenstein published during his life. ... (Goodreads)

  3. Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals

    by Immanuel Kant
    Examination of the foundations of moral philosophy, focusing on the nature of moral obligation.

    Immanuel Kant's Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals ranks alongside Plato's Republic and Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics as one of the most profound and influential works in moral philosophy ever ... (Goodreads)

  4. An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding

    by David Hume
    Analysis of the nature of human understanding, challenging existing philosophical and religious beliefs.

    An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, is a book by the Scottish empiricist philosopher David Hume , published in English in 1748. , It was a revision of an earlier effort, Hume's A Treatise of ... (Wikipedia)

  5. Ethics

    by Baruch Spinoza
    Exploration of morality and the laws of nature, framed in a rationalist argument.

    Published shortly after his death, the Ethics is undoubtedly Spinoza's greatest work - an elegant, fully cohesive cosmology derived from first principles, providing a coherent picture of reality, and ... (Goodreads)

  6. Utilitarianism

    by John Stuart Mill
    Exploration of the moral theory of utilitarianism, evaluating the role of pleasure in decision-making.

    This expanded edition of John Stuart Mill's Utilitarianism includes the text of his 1868 speech to the British House of Commons defending the use of capital punishment in cases of aggravated murder. ... (Goodreads)

  7. A Treatise of Human Nature

    by David Hume
    Exploration of the nature of human understanding, and how it affects moral judgement.

    A Treatise of Human Nature (1739-40), David Hume's comprehensive attempt to base philosophy on a new, observationally grounded study of human nature, is one of the most important texts in Western ... (Goodreads)

  8. The Republic

    by Plato
    A philosophical discourse on justice, examining morality, politics, and virtue.

    Presented in the form of a dialogue between Socrates and three different interlocutors, this classic text is an enquiry into the notion of a perfect community and the ideal individual within it. ... (Goodreads)

  9. Five Dialogues: Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, Meno, Phaedo

    by Plato
    Classic dialogues exploring the nature of morality, justice, knowledge, and death.

    The second edition of Five Dialogues presents G. M. A. Grube's distinguished translations, as revised by John Cooper for Plato, Complete Works (Hacket, 1997). Cooper has also contributed a number of ... (Goodreads)

  10. Meditations on First Philosophy

    by René Descartes
    Reflection on the nature of reality and human knowledge.

    Descartes's Meditations on First Philosophy , the fundamental and originating work of the modern era in Western philosophy, is presented here in Donald Cress's completely revised edition of his ... (Goodreads)

  11. Plato: Complete Works

    by Plato
    Collection of ancient Greek philosopher Plato's dialogues, discussing morality, knowledge and truth.

    Outstanding translations by leading contemporary scholars–many commissioned especially for this volume--are presented here in the first single edition to include the entire surviving corpus of works ... (Barnes & Noble)

  12. Phenomenology of Spirit

    by Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
    An exploration of the relationship between mind and world, and the nature of knowledge.

    Perhaps one of the most revolutionary works of philosophy ever presented, The Phenomenology of Spirit is Hegel's 1807 work that is in numerous ways extraordinary. It begins with a Preface, created ... (Goodreads)

  13. Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid

    by Douglas R. Hofstadter
    A complex exploration of logic, mathematics and art, exploring their relationships and interconnections.

    Douglas Hofstadter's book is concerned directly with the nature of “maps” or links between formal systems. However, according to Hofstadter, the formal system that underlies all mental activity ... (Goodreads)

  14. Leviathan

    by Thomas Hobbes
    Philosophical exploration of the nature of power and justice in a state of nature.

    'The life of man, solitary, poore, nasty, brutish, and short' Written during the chaos of the English Civil War, Thomas Hobbes' Leviathan asks how, in a world of violence and horror, can we stop ... (Goodreads)

  15. On Liberty

    by John Stuart Mill
    Exploration of freedom of thought and expression, and the importance of individual rights.

    Alternate cover edition of ISBN 9780140432077 Published in 1859, John Stuart Mill's On Liberty presented one of the most eloquent defenses of individual freedom in nineteenth-century social and ... (Goodreads)

  16. Critique of Practical Reason

    by Immanuel Kant
    Kant's examination of the nature of practical reason and its role in guiding human action towards moral ends.

    This seminal text in the history of moral philosophy elaborates the basic themes of Kant's moral theory, gives the most complete statement of his highly original theory of freedom of the will, and ... (Goodreads)

  17. A Theory of Justice

    by John Rawls
    Analysis of principles of justice and moral equality, rooted in a framework of fairness and rationality.

    Since it appeared in 1971, John Rawls's A Theory of Justice has become a classic. The author has now revised the original edition to clear up a number of difficulties he and others have found in the ... (Goodreads)

  18. The Consolation of Philosophy

    by Boethius
    A philosophical journey of self-reflection, exploring the true nature of happiness and existential purpose.

    Boethius was an eminent public figure under the Gothic emperor Theodoric, and an exceptional Greek scholar. When he became involved in a conspiracy and was imprisoned in Pavia, it was to the Greek ... (Goodreads)

  19. The Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time, and the Texture of Reality

    by Brian Greene
    An exploration of space and time in the physical world, looking at the fundamental laws of the universe.

    From Brian Greene, one of the world’s leading physicists and author the Pulitzer Prize finalist The Elegant Universe , comes a grand tour of the universe that makes us look at reality in a completely ... (Goodreads)

  20. Memories, Dreams, Reflections

    by C.G. Jung
    Autobiography of renowned psychoanalyst Carl Jung, reflecting on his life and work.

    In the spring of 1957, when he was eighty-one years old, C. G. Jung undertook the telling of his life story. At regular intervals he had conversations with his colleague and friend Aniela Jaffé, and ... (Goodreads)

  21. Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media

    by Edward S. Herman
    Critique of mass media and its role in shaping public opinion.

    In this pathbreaking work, Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky show that, contrary to the usual image of the news media as cantankerous, obstinate, and ubiquitous in their search for truth and defense ... (Goodreads)

  22. Logicomix: An Epic Search for Truth

    by Apostolos Doxiadis
    A historical exploration of the development of logical thinking, from ancient Greece to the 20th century.

    Set between the late 19th century and the present day, the graphic novel Logicomix is based on the story of the so-called "foundational quest" in mathematics. Logicomix intertwines the philosophical ... (Wikipedia)

  23. Politics

    by Aristotle
    Analysis of the structure and nature of governments and the pursuit of justice.

    What is the relationship of the individual to the state? What is the ideal state, and how can it bring about the most desirable life for its citizens? What sort of education should it provide? What ... (Goodreads)

  24. Second Treatise of Government

    by John Locke
    A philosophical inquiry into the nature of government and the rights of citizens.

    The central principles of what today is broadly known as political liberalism were made current in large part by Locke's Second Treatise of Government (1690). The principles of individual liberty, ... (Goodreads)

  25. Capital: A Critique of Political Economy, Volume 1

    by Karl Marx
    Analysis of capitalism, exploring its economic and social systems.

    Capital , one of Marx's major and most influential works, was the product of thirty years close study of the capitalist mode of production in England, the most advanced industrial society of his day. ... (Goodreads)

  26. Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen

    by Christopher McDougall
    A thrilling exploration of the Tarahumara tribe and their superhuman running abilities.

    Full of incredible characters, amazing athletic achievements, cutting-edge science, and, most of all, pure inspiration, Born to Run is an epic adventure that began with one simple question: Why does ... (Goodreads)

  27. A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again: Essays and Arguments

    by David Foster Wallace
    Collection of essays and arguments, exploring the absurdities of contemporary culture.

    In this exuberantly praised book — a collection of seven pieces on subjects ranging from television to tennis, from the Illinois State Fair to the films of David Lynch, from postmodern literary ... (Goodreads)

  28. The Path to Power

    by Robert A. Caro
    The first volume of a biography of Lyndon B. Johnson, tracing his early life and political career in Texas.

    The Years of Lyndon Johnson is the political biography of our time. No president—no era of American politics—has been so intensively and sharply examined at a time when so many prime witnesses to ... (Goodreads)

  29. On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction

    by William Zinsser
    Comprehensive guide to writing nonfiction, covering craft, style, and technique.

    On Writing Well has been praised for its sound advice, its clarity and the warmth of its style. It is a book for everybody who wants to learn how to write or who needs to do some writing to get ... (Goodreads)

  30. Capital in the Twenty-First Century

    by Thomas Piketty
    An economic analysis of wealth and inequality in the modern era.

    What are the grand dynamics that drive the accumulation and distribution of capital? Questions about the long-term evolution of inequality, the concentration of wealth, and the prospects for economic ... (Goodreads)