Recommendations based on Discourse on Methodby René Descartes

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  1. 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)

  2. Pensées

    by Blaise Pascal
    Reflections on faith, reason and the human condition, presenting a defense of Christianity.

    Blaise Pascal, the precociously brilliant contemporary of Descartes, was a gifted mathematician and physicist, but it is his unfinished apologia for the Christian religion upon which his reputation ... (Goodreads)

  3. 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)

  4. 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)

  5. 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)

  6. Phaedo

    by Plato
    Philosophical dialogue on the nature of death, the immortality of the soul, and the afterlife.

    The Phaedo is acknowledged to be one of Plato's masterpieces, showing him both as a philosopher and as a dramatist at the height of his powers. For its moving account of the execution of Socrates, ... (Goodreads)

  7. Meditations

    by Marcus Aurelius
    Reflections on Stoic philosophy, exploring the nature of existence and how to live life.

    Written in Greek by the only Roman emperor who was also a philosopher, without any intention of publication, the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius offer a remarkable series of challenging spiritual ... (Goodreads)

  8. Discourse on Method and Meditations on First Philosophy

    by René Descartes
    Philosophical treatise on the nature of knowledge and reality, examining the limits of human understanding.

    La figura de Descartes como filósofo no ha sido objeto de unánime interpretación. Sobre todo en la actualidad se juzga y pondera su obra. no menos que su personalidad, de manera diferente. Para ... (Goodreads)

  9. The Prince

    by Niccolò Machiavelli
    A timeless political treatise on the art of acquiring and maintaining power.

    Machiavelli needs to be looked at as he really was. Hence: Can Machiavelli, who makes the following observations, be Machiavellian as we understand the disparaging term? 1. So it is that to know the ... (Goodreads)

  10. 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)

  11. 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)

  12. 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)

  13. Critique of Pure Reason

    by Immanuel Kant
    Exploration of the limits of human reason and its limitations in understanding nature.

    'The purpose of this critique of pure speculative reason consists in the attempt to change the old procedure of metaphysics and to bring about a complete revolution', Kant's Critique of Pure Reason ... (Goodreads)

  14. Being and Nothingness

    by Jean-Paul Sartre
    Philosophical exploration of the nature of being and consciousness.

    Being & Nothingness is without doubt one of the most significant philosophical books of the 20th century. The central work by one of the century's most influential thinkers, it altered the course of ... (Goodreads)

  15. Beyond Good and Evil

    by Friedrich Nietzsche
    A philosophical exploration of morality and truth, challenging conventional morality and religious beliefs.

    Friedrich Nietzsche's Beyond Good and Evil is translated from the German by R.J. Hollingdale with an introduction by Michael Tanner in Penguin Classics. Beyond Good and Evil confirmed Nietzsche's ... (Goodreads)

  16. Existentialism is a Humanism

    by Jean-Paul Sartre
    A philosophical exploration of the human condition, and the implications of freedom and responsibility.

    It was to correct common misconceptions about his thought that Jean-Paul Sartre, the most dominent European intellectual of the post-World War II decades, accepted an invitation to speak on October ... (Goodreads)

  17. The Nicomachean Ethics

    by Aristotle
    An exploration of virtue and morality, providing guidance on how to live a good life.

    ‘One swallow does not make a summer; neither does one day. Similarly neither can one day, or a brief space of time, make a man blessed and happy’ In the Nicomachean Ethics , Aristotle sets out to ... (Goodreads)

  18. Being and Time

    by Martin Heidegger
    Exploration of the basic questions of existence, re-examining the fundamentals of philosophy.

    One of the most important philosophical works of our time, a work that has had tremendous influence on philosophy, literature, and psychology, and has literally changed the intellectual map of the ... (Goodreads)

  19. 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)

  20. On the Shortness of Life

    by Seneca
    Philosophical reflections on the importance of living life to its fullest potential.

    The Stoic writings of the philosopher Seneca offer powerful insights into the art of living, the importance of reason and morality, and continue to provide profound guidance to many through their ... (Goodreads)

  21. Two Treatises of Government

    by John Locke
    A philosophical exploration of the nature of government and its origin and purpose.

    This is a new revised version of Dr. Laslett's standard edition of Two Treatises. First published in 1960, and based on an analysis of the whole body of Locke's publications, writings, and papers. ... (Goodreads)

  22. Tao Te Ching

    by Lao Tzu
    A collection of wise sayings and reflections on the nature of existence.

    A lucid translation of the well-known Taoist classic by a leading scholar-now in a Shambhala Pocket Library edition. Written more than two thousand years ago, the Tao Teh Ching , or -The Classic of ... (Goodreads)

  23. The Communist Manifesto

    by Karl Marx
    A treatise on the fundamental principles of communism, and its role in society.

    A rousing call to arms whose influence is still felt today Originally published on the eve of the 1848 European revolutions, The Communist Manifesto is a condensed and incisive account of the ... (Goodreads)

  24. 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)

  25. Survival in Auschwitz

    by Primo Levi
    True story of a man's struggle to survive in a Nazi concentration camp.

    The true and harrowing account of Primo Levi’s experience at the German concentration camp of Auschwitz and his miraculous survival; hailed by The Times Literary Supplement as a “true work of art, ... (Goodreads)

  26. Democracy in America

    by Alexis de Tocqueville
    A study of the political and social structure of the United States and its implications.

    Democracy in America has had the singular honor of being even to this day the work that political commentators of every stripe refer to when they seek to draw large conclusions about the society of ... (Goodreads)

  27. Civil Disobedience

    by Henry David Thoreau
    Reflection on moral responsibility in the face of unjust laws.

    Resistance to Civil Government, called Civil Disobedience for short, is an essay by American transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau that was first published in 1849. In it, Thoreau argues that ... (Goodreads)

  28. The Birth of Tragedy

    by Friedrich Nietzsche
    A philosophical exploration of the nature of tragedy, and its role in the development of culture & civilization.

    A compelling argument for the necessity for art in life, Nietzsche's first book is fuelled by his enthusiasms for Greek tragedy, for the philosophy of Schopenhauer and for the music of Wagner, to ... (Goodreads)

  29. 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)