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An Overview of Philosophy

The purpose of this philosophy article is to create a guide to important philosophical ideas spanning time, ideas, and peoples. It is both an introductory and advanced page for persons interested in any of the ideas of philosophy, and while at the moment it may be missing a couple of features, it is up to those fluent in these philosophical books to insert and revise information as the need may arise.

Also, a kind anon went off on their own with the same goal as this article and is creating this:

ttps://web.archive.org/web/20220927072710/https://docs.google.com/document/u/1/d/1y8_RRaZW5X3xwztjZ4p0XeRplqebYwpmuNNpaN_TkgM/pub[1] /lit/ Philosophy Project

Like this article it is under construction. Compare both for your benefit.

Classic Philosophy[]

Pre-Socratic Thought[]

Title Author* Year** Pages Description Book Cover
The Art and Thought of Heraclitus Charles H. Kahn ~500BCE 372
Early Greek Philosophy Johnathan Barnes ~700BCE - ~300BCE 336
Empedocles: The Extant Fragments M.R. Wright ~450BCE 372
The Greek Sophists John Dillon ~400s BCE 464
Parmenides of Elea David Gallop ~500BCE 144
The Pythagorean Sourcebook and Library Kenneth Guthrie ~500sBCE 362
Xenophanes of Colophon: Fragments James Lesher ~540 - ~480BCE 272



Socratic Thought[]

Title Author* Year Pages Description Book Cover
The Trial of Socrates I.F. Stone ~399BCE 304
The Clouds Aristophanes ~423BCE 212



Platonic Thought[]

Title Author* Year** Pages Description Book Cover
Plato Constance Meinwald 2009 256
Plato and the Socratic Dialogue Charles H. Kahn 1998 456 jjj
Plato on Knowledge and Forms Gail Fine 2003 464

Plato's Complete Works

Plato ~400BCE - ~348BCE 1808 Complete collection of all of Plato's works from Crito to The Laws. Anyone interested in acquiring all of Plato's works should either get this or check out Project Gutenberg's page on him.


Aristotelian Thought[]

Title Author Year Pages Description Book Cover
Aristotle Christopher Shields 2007 472
From Aristotle to Augustine David Furley 2003 480
Aristotle on Nature and Living Things Allan Gotthelf 1985 410
Aristotle Complete Works Jonathan Barnes 2009 5369

Cynicism[]

Title Author Year Pages Description Book Cover
The Cynics: The Cynic Movement in Antiquity and Its Legacy R. Bracht Branham 2000 465
Diogenes of Sinope: A Study of Greek Cynicism Farrand Sayre 1938 139



Epicureanism[]

Title Author Year Pages Description Book Cover
The Cambridge Companion to Epicureanism James Warren 2009 356
The Essential Epicurus Epicurus ~300BCE 101
The Nature of Things Lucretius 50 BCE 336



Stoicism[]

Title Author Year Pages Description Book Cover
Letters from a Stoic Seneca ~65AD 254
Epictetus - Discourses and Selected Writings Epictetus ~101AD 304
Meditations Marcus Aurelius ~175AD 108


Skepticism[]

Title Author Year Pages Description Book Cover
The Greek Skeptics: From Pyrrho to Sextus Norman Maccoll 1868 58 Can be found on Google Books here.
The Outlines of Pyrrhonism Sextus Empiricus ~200AD 283


Neoplatonism []

Title Author Year Pages Description Book Cover
Neoplatonism R.T. Wallis 1995 212
Neoplatonism and Gnosticism R.T. Wallis 1992 548
The Neoplatonists John Gregory 1998 208

Plotinus[]

Title Author Year Pages Description Book Cover
The Enneads Plotinus 250AD 484



Christian and Medieval Philosophies[]

Gnostic Christianity[]

Title Author Year Pages Description Book Cover
Ancient Gnosticism: Traditions and Literature Birger A. Pearson 2007 362
The Nag Hammadi Library ~300AD 549
Gnosticism and Christianity in Roman and Coptic Egypt Birger A. Pearson 2004 320



St. Augustine[]

Title Author Year Pages Description Book Cover
St. Augustine of Hippo Peter Brown 2000 576
On Christian Doctrine St. Augustine ~400AD 158
Confessions St. Augustine ~398AD 352
City of God St. Augustine ~436AD 804



On Tertullian[]

Title Author Year Pages Description Book Cover
Tertullian: A Historical and Literary Study Timothy David Barnes 1985 340



Scholasticism[]

Title Author Year Pages Description Book Cover
Scholasticism Josef Pieper 2001 192
Philosophy in the Middle Ages Arthur Hyman 1978 724
The Cambridge History of Later Medieval Philosophy Norman Kretzmann 1988 1056
A History of Jewish Philosophies in the Middle Ages Colette Sirat 1990 485
The Aristotle Adventure Burgess Laughlin 1995 243
Aristotle's Children Richard E. Rubenstein 2004 384



St. Anselm[]

Title Author Year Pages Description Book Cover
Saint Anselm: A Portrait in a Landscape R.W. Southern 1992 524
Monologion and Proslogion St. Anselm ~1078 192


Thomas Aquinas[]

Title Author Year Pages Description Book Cover
The Christian Philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas Etienne Gilson 1994 502
St. Thomas Aquinas Ralph McInerny 1989 197
Guide to Thomas Aquinas Josef Pieper 1991 181
The Summa Theologica Thomas Aquinas 1273 3020
Summa Contra Gentiles Thomas Aquinas 1265 721
Selected Writings Thomas Aquinas 1270s 450



William of Ockham[]

Title Author Year Pages Description Book Cover
Philosophical Writings Ockham ~1323 167
The Cambridge Companion to Ockham Paul Vincent Spade 1999 440



Erasmus[]

Title Author Year Pages Description Book Cover
Desiderius Erasmus: The Praise of Folly and Other Writings Erasmus 1511 352



Martin Luther[]

Title Author Year Pages Description Book Cover
Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther Roland Herbert Bainton 1950 441
Concerning Christian Liberty Martin Luther 1520s 42
The Bondage of the Will Martin Luther 1525 264
On The Jews and Their Lies Martin Luther 1543 70



Calvinism[]

Title Author Year Pages Description Book Cover
Institutes of the Christian Religion John Calvin 1536 1059
The History and Character of Calvinism J.T. McNeill 1967 480
Institutes of Elenctic Theology Francis Turretin 1685 2311

Modern Philosophy[]

General[]

Title Author Year Pages Description Book Cover
The Cambridge History of Renaissance Philosophy C.B. Schmitt 1991 922
The Cambridge Companion to Renaissance Philosophy James Hankins 2007 452
Renaissance Thought and the Arts Paul Oskar Kristeller 1980 248
Enlightening the World Philipp Blom 2005 416
Diderot: A Critical Biography P.N. Furbank 2008 550
France in the Enlightenment Daniel Roche 2000 736
The Copernican Revolution Thomas S. Kuhn 1992 320


Rationalism[]

Title Author Year Pages Description Book Cover
The Courtier and the Heretic Matthew Stewart 2007 352
Philosophers at War Alfred Rupert Hall 2002 356
The Renaissance and 17th Century Rationalism G.H.R. Parkinson 2003 480


Descartes[]

Title Author Year Pages Description Book Cover
Receptions of Descartes Tad M. Schmaltz 2005 272
Meditations on First Philosophy Rene Descartes 1641 110
Discourse on Method Rene Descartes 1637 44


Baruch Spinoza[]

Title Author Year Pages Description Book Cover
Spinoza Michael Della Rocca 2008 360
Ethics Spinoza 1677 208
Tractatus Theologico Spinoza 1670 315


Leibniz[]

Title Author Year Pages Description Book Cover
Leibniz Nicholas Jolley 2005 272
The Monadology Leibniz 1714 34
Theodicy: Essays on the Goodness of God Leibniz 1710 294
Candide Voltaire 1759 176


Empiricism[]

Title Author Year Pages Description Book Cover
British Philosophy and the Age of Enlightenment Stuart Brown 2003 440
British Empiricism & American Pragmatism Robert Roth 1993 205


John Locke[]

Title Author Year Pages Description Book Cover
Locke E.J. Lowe 2005 240
An Essay Concerning Human Understanding John Locke 1690 212
A Letter Concerning Toleration John Locke 1689 64
Two Treatises of Government John Locke 1689 174


David Hume[]

Title Author Year Pages Description Book Cover
A Progress of Sentiments Annette C. Baier 1991 352
Death & Character: Further Reflection on Hume Annette C. Baier 2008 304
Hume's Problem: Induction and the Justification of Belief Colin Howson 2003 272
An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding David Hume 1748 96
An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals David Hume 1751 96
Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion David Hume 1776 338


George Berkeley[]

Title Author Year Pages Description Book Cover
George Berkeley: Idealism and the Man David Berman 1996 248
Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge George Berkeley 1710 80
The Three Dialogues Between Hylas and Philonous George Berkeley 1713 98


Overview of Political Philosophy[]

Title Author Year Pages Description Book Cover
A History of Political Thought: From the Middle Ages to the Renaissance Janet Coleman 2000 320
Enlightenment Political Thought and Non-Western Societies Frederick G. Whelan 2009 242


Machiavelli[]

Title Author Year Pages Description Book Cover
Thoughts on Machiavelli Leo Strauss 1995 348
The Prince Machiavelli 1513 166
Discourses on Livy Machiavelli 1517 448


Hobbes[]

Title Author Year Pages Descriprion Book Cover
Hobbes: A Biography A.P. Martinich 2007 424
The Logic of Leviathan Gauthier 2001 217
Reason and Rhetoric in the Philosophy of Hobbes Quentin Skinner 1997 496
Leviathan Thomas Hobbes 2009 576


Milton[]

Title Author Year Pages Description Book Cover
How Milton Works Stanley Eugene Fish 2003 640
Areopagitica John Milton 1644 32
Paradise Lost John Milton 1667 512


Rousseau[]

Title Author Year Pages Description Book Cover
On the Social Contract Jean-Jacques Rousseau 1762 108
The Confessions Jean-Jacques Rousseau 1769 608
Discourse on the Arts and Sciences Jean-Jacques Rousseau 1750 126
Emile, or On Education Jean-Jacques Rousseau 1762 464
Discourse on the Origin of Inequality among Men Jean-Jacques Rousseau 1754 92
Essay on the Origin of Lanugages and Writings Related to Music Jean-Jacques Rousseau 1781 658



Adam Smith[]

Title Author Year Pages Description Book Cover
The Wealth of Nations Adam Smith 1776 482
The Theory of Moral Sentiments Adam Smith 1759 196


David Ricardo[]

Title Author Year Pages Description Book Cover
The Principles of Political Economy and Taxation David Ricardo 1817 498


Malthus[]

Title Author Year Pages Description Book Cover
An Essay on the Principle of Population Thomas Malthus 1798 208



John Stuart Mill[]

Title Author Year Pages Description Book Cover
Utilitarianism John Stuart Mill 1861 64
On Liberty John Stuart Mill 1859 106
Principles of Political Economy John Stuart Mill 1848 512



Hegel[]

Title Author Year Pages Description Book Cover
The Young Hegelians: An Anthology Lawrence S. Stepelevich 1997 429
Hegel Charles Taylor 1977 596
The Cambridge Companion to Hegel Frederick C. Beiser 1993 530
Hegel: A Very Short Introduction Peter Singer 2001 152
On Art, Religion, and the History of Philosophy Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel 1825 324
Lectures on the Philosophy of World History Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel 1837 292
Phenomenology of Spirit Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel 1807 595



Proudhon[]

Title Author Year Pages Description Book Cover
What is Property? P.J. Proudhon 1840 368


Karl Marx[]

Title Author Year Pages Description Book Cover
Karl Marx: A Life Francis Wheen 2001 448
Reading Capital Politically Harry Cleaver 2000 192
Essays on Marx' Theory of Value Isaac I. Rubin 2007 280
Le Marxisme de Marx Raymond Aron 2002 832
Das Kapital Karl Marx 1867 372 Note: Most Accessible version is Capital: An Abridged Version by David McLellan
Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844 Karl Marx 1844 208
Communist Manifesto Karl Marx 1848 70
Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right Karl Marx 1843 224
The German Ideology Karl Marx 1845 575
The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Napoleon Karl Marx 1852 175


Darwin[]

Title Author Year Pages Description Book Cover
The Discovery of Evolution David Young 2007 352
Darwin's Dangerous Idea: Evolution and the Meanings of Life Daniel C. Dennett 1996 586
Darwin's Ghost Steve Jones 2001 377
Evolution's Rainbow Joan Roughgarden 2009 488
Evidence and Evolution: The Logic Behind the Science Elliot Sober 2008 412
Unto Others: The Evolution and Psychology of Unselfish Behavior Elliot Sober 1999 416
Macachiavellion Intelligence: How Rhesus Macacques and Humans have Conquered the World Dario Maestripieri 2007 192
In Search of Human Nature Carl N. Degler 1992 416
Voyage of the Beagle Charles Darwin 1839 216
The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection Charles Darwin 1859 512
The Descent of Man Charles Darwin 1871 528



Scientific Revolution[]

The Rise[]

Title Author Year Pages Description Book Cover
The Beginnings of Western Science David C. Lindberg 1992 480
The Rise of Magic in Early Medieval Europe Valerie I. J. Flint 1994 472
Magic in the Middle Ages Richard Kieckhefer 2000 236
Giordano Bruno and the Hermetic Tradition Francis A. Yates 1964 480
The Occult Philosophy in the Elizabethan Age Francis A. Yates 1979 264
Magic, Mystery, and Science: The Occult in Western Civilization Danny Ethus Burton 2003 390
The Scientific Revolution Steven Shapin 1998 232
Leviathan and the Air Pump Steven Shapin 1985 456
Never Pure Steven Shapin 2010 568
The Emergence of a Scientific Culture Stephen Gaukroger 2006 576
The Cambridge History of Science Volume 3: Early Modern Science Katharine Park 2002 894
The Cambridge History of Science Volume 4: The Eighteenth Century Roy Porter 2003 942
The Fabric of the Heavens Stephen Toulmin 1999 294
The Architecture of Matter Stephen Toulmin 1982 404
The Discovery of Time Stephen Toulmin 1982 280
The Mind of God and the Works of Man Edward Craig 1997 368


Bacon[]

Title Author Year Pages Description Book Cover
The New Organon Francis Bacon 1620 234
Essays Francis Bacon 1597 224


Pascal[]

Title Author Year Pages Description Book Cover
The Fearful Sphere of Pascal Jorge Luis Borges 1962 4 The essay can be found here.
Pensées Blaise Pacal 1669 216

Kant[]

Title Author Year Pages Description Book Cover
The Invention of Autonomy J.B. Schneewind 1997 650
Kant Paul Guyer 2006 456
Knowledge, Reason, and Taste Paul Guyer 2008 288
Prolegomena to Any Future Metaphysics Immanuel Kant 1783 160
Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals Immanuel Kant 1785 110
Answering the Question: What is Enlightenment? Immanuel Kant 1784 144
Critique of Practical Reason Immanuel Kant 1788 168
Critique of Pure Reason Immanuel Kant 1781 784
Critique of Judgement Immanuel Kant 1790 222


German Idealism[]

Overview[]

Title Author Year Pages Description Book Cover
German Idealism: The Struggle Against Subjectivism Frederick Beiser 2008 752
German Philosophy 1760-1860: The Legacy of Idealism Terry Pinkard 2002 392
German Idealist Philosophy Various Various 368


Fichte[]

Title Author Year Pages Description Book Cover
Foundations of Natural Right Johann Gottliebe Fichte 1797 380


Friedrich Schleiermacher[]

Title Author Year Pages Description Book Cover
Friedrich Schleiermacher (The Making of Modern Theology) Friedrich Schleiermacher 1991 282
Hermeneutics and Criticism, and other Writings Friedrich Schleiermacher 1838 328

Pessimism[]

Title Author Year Pages Description Book Cover
The Conspiracy Against the Human Race Thomas Ligotti 2010 246


Schelling[]

Title Author Year Pages Description Book Cover
Philosophical Investigations into the Essence of Human Freedom Friedrich Schelling 1809 183


Schopenhauer[]

Title Author Year Pages Description Book Cover
Essays and Aphorisms Arthur Schopenhauer ~1851 240
On the Basis of Morality Arthur Schopenhauer 1840 226
The World as Will and Representation Arthur Schopenhauer 1844 1259


Feuerbach[]

Title Author Year Pages Description Book Cover
The Essence of Christianity Ludwig Feuerbach 1841 363

Early Existentialism[]

Kierkegaard[]

Title Author Year Pages Description Book Cover
Kierkegaard: The Indirect Communication Roger Poole 1993 340
Fear and Trembling Søren Kierkegaard 1843 108
Repetition Søren Kierkegaard 1843 ~100
The Sickness Unto Death Søren Kierkegaard 1849 192
The Concept of Anxiety Søren Kierkegaard 1844 294
Either/Or Søren Kierkegaard 1843 800+

Dostoyevsky[]

Title Author Year Pages Description Book Cover
Crime and Punishment Fyodor Dostoyevsky 1865 671
Notes from the Underground Fyodor Dostoyevsky 1864 115
Brothers Karamazov Fyodor Dostoyevsky 1879 796

Nietzsche[]

Title Author Year Pages Description Book Cover
Nietzsche, Genealogy, History Michael Foucault 1977 14 The essay may be found here.
Nietzsche's New Darwinism John Richardson 2004 304
Nietzsche: The Man and his Philosophy R.J. Hollingdale 2001 288
The Affirmation of Life: Nietzsche on Overcoming Nihilism Bernard Reginster 2006 336
Nietzsche: Life as Literature Alexander Nehamas 1985 234 Critical study of Nietzsche's literary purview
On Truth and Lies in a Nonmoral Sense Friedrich Nietzsche 1873 26
The Anti-Christ Friedrich Nietzsche 1895 86
The Birth of Tragedy Friedrich Nietzsche 1872 160
The Gay Science Friedrich Nietzsche 1882 174
Beyond Good and Evil Friedrich Nietzsche 1886 140
On the Genealogy of Morals Friedrich Nietzsche 1887 176
Thus Spoke Zarathustra Friedrich Nietzsche 1885
Ecce Homo

Friedrich Nietzsche

1888 88 Auto-Biography

Hermeneutics and Early Linguistics[]

Ferdinand de Saussure[]

Wilhelm Dilthey[]

Erich Auerbach[]

Henry-Louis Bergson[]

Classical Pragmatism[]

Charles Sanders Pierce[]

William James[]

John Dewey[]

External Links[]

http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/presocratics/
http://www.heraclitusfragments.com
http://history.hanover.edu/texts/presoc
-Emp.htm = Emptedocle' fragments
-Xenophan.html = Xenophanes' Fragments
-Parmends.html = Parmenides Fragments

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