Philosophy

The Republic 《理想国》 Plato In this dialogue, Socrates and others ask what justice is, and end up constructing an ideal city, a theory of the soul, the allegory of the cave… Philosophy Classic Index 97

Tao Te Ching 《道德经》 Laozi A short, aphoristic text in eighty-one sections, it presents a way of life and of governance based on wu wei — non-coercive action — softness, and… Philosophy Classic Index 97

The Analects 《论语》 Confucius A collection of brief records of Confucius’ sayings and exchanges with disciples, centered on self-cultivation, ritual propriety, humane conduct… Philosophy Classic Index 97

Meditations 《沉思录》 Marcus Aurelius These are the private notes of a Roman emperor, written to himself and never intended for publication, working through Stoic principles of… Philosophy Classic Index 96

The Structure of Scientific Revolutions 《科学革命的结构》 Thomas Kuhn Kuhn argues that science does not accumulate linearly but cycles between “normal science” and revolution: a paradigm guides research until… Technology & Science Classic Index 95

Nicomachean Ethics 《尼各马可伦理学》 Aristotle Aristotle inquires into what makes a human life go well, developing the idea of happiness as activity in accordance with virtue, the doctrine of the… Philosophy Classic Index 95

Gödel, Escher, Bach 《哥德尔、艾舍尔、巴赫》 Douglas Hofstadter Hofstadter weaves formal systems, recursion, self-reference, and isomorphism around a single thread: how meaning emerges from meaningless symbol… Technology & Science Classic Index 94

Thus Spoke Zarathustra 《查拉图斯特拉如是说》 Friedrich Nietzsche This is a philosophical poem in which Zarathustra announces that God is dead, teaches the overman and the eternal return, and challenges readers to… Philosophy Classic Index 94

Leviathan 《利维坦》 Thomas Hobbes Starting from the thought experiment of a state of nature, Hobbes argues that without a common power, human equality and desire generate continuous… Society & Civilization Classic Index 94

Capital 《资本论》 Karl Marx Marx builds on the labour theory of value to develop concepts such as surplus value, capital accumulation, and commodity fetishism, in an attempt to… Economics Classic Index 93

On Liberty 《论自由》 John Stuart Mill Mill tries to draw a line: how far society may legitimately interfere with the individual. His harm principle holds that as long as others are not… Society & Civilization Classic Index 93

The Road to Serfdom 《通往奴役之路》 Friedrich Hayek Written during the Second World War, Hayek argues that once central planning becomes the primary means of allocating resources it progressively… Economics Classic Index 92

The Myth of Sisyphus 《西西弗神话》 Albert Camus Camus begins with a question that admits no evasion: whether life is worth living is the first problem philosophy must face. Refusing both the… Philosophy Classic Index 92

Letters from a Stoic 《道德书简》 Seneca Written as letters to his friend Lucilius, the essays of Seneca take up time, fear, wealth, death, and self-discipline one at a time. Rather than… Philosophy Classic Index 91

Understanding Media 《理解媒介》 Marshall McLuhan McLuhan advances a counterintuitive claim: the real effect of a medium lies not in the content it carries but in how it reshapes the ratios of human… Technology & Science Classic Index 90

The End of History and the Last Man 《历史的终结与最后的人》 Francis Fukuyama Fukuyama argues that with the collapse of the Soviet bloc, liberal democracy had emerged as the only remaining legitimate form of government, and he… World History Classic Index 89

The Worldly Philosophers 《世俗哲学家》 Robert Heilbroner Heilbroner combines biography and intellectual history to present the central preoccupations of economists from Smith, Malthus, and Ricardo through… Economics Classic Index 88

Flow 《心流》 Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi Drawing on long interviews with artists, athletes, surgeons, and ordinary people, Csikszentmihalyi isolates a state he calls flow: clear goals… Psychology & Cognitive Science Classic Index 88

Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! 《别闹了，费曼先生》 Richard Feynman This oral autobiography follows Feynman picking locks, playing bongos, teaching physics, and investigating a shuttle disaster, but its real subject… Technology & Science Classic Index 85

The Age of AI 《人工智能时代与人类未来》 Henry Kissinger Kissinger, Schmidt, and Huttenlocher argue that AI is not merely an efficiency tool but a new epistemology: its answers often cannot be fully… Artificial Intelligence Classic Index 84

What Are You Doing with Your Life? 《人生中不可不想的事》 Jiddu Krishnamurti Krishnamurti circles back to the links among education, ambition, fear, and freedom, arguing that real change begins with direct observation of how… Philosophy Classic Index 84

Bad Beliefs 《坏信念》 Neil Levy Extreme falsehoods, a polluted information environment, and bad beliefs. Society & Civilization AZM's list

The Treason of the Intellectuals 《知识分子的背叛》 Julien Benda Intellectuals who abandon truth and surrender to political extremes. Society & Civilization AZM's list

The Palliative Society 《妥协社会》 Byung-Chul Han A society that yields to institutional coercion and cannot reform itself. Society & Civilization AZM's list

Philosophy 2013 Religion Without God Ronald Dworkin Religion Without God 《没有上帝的宗教》 Ronald Dworkin A religious sensibility without God, and the case for objective value. Philosophy AZM's list

Philosophy 2006 The God Delusion Richard Dawkins The God Delusion 《上帝的错觉》 Richard Dawkins Militant atheism and a full dismantling of traditional religion. Philosophy AZM's list

Philosophy 2012 Mind and Cosmos Thomas Nagel Mind and Cosmos 《心灵和宇宙》 Thomas Nagel Doubts about materialism and reductionism, and a case for studying mind. Philosophy AZM's list

Philosophy 1951 The Wisdom of Insecurity Alan Watts The Wisdom of Insecurity 《心安》 Alan Watts Zen and Western metaphysics as ways out of anxiety. Philosophy AZM's list

Philosophy 2007 The Stillborn God Mark Lilla The Stillborn God 《夭折的上帝》 Mark Lilla Political theology, the Enlightenment, and the modern West. Philosophy AZM's list

Philosophy 2013 Just Babies Paul Bloom Just Babies 《善恶之源》 Paul Bloom What infants reveal about morality and the making of universal values. Philosophy AZM's list

Philosophy c. 371 BC Memorabilia Xenophon Memorabilia 《回忆苏格拉底》 Xenophon Recollections of Socrates' character and conversations. Philosophy AZM's list

Philosophy 2010 The Hemlock Cup Bettany Hughes The Hemlock Cup 《毒堇之杯》 Bettany Hughes Reconstructing Socrates' Athens and the crowd's readiness to condemn. Philosophy AZM's list

Philosophy Arthur Schopenhauer 一个悲观主义者的积极思考 《一个悲观主义者的积极思考》 Arthur Schopenhauer Pessimist philosophy as practical wisdom for everyday life. Philosophy AZM's list

Philosophy c. 52 BC On the Laws Cicero On the Laws 《论法律》 Cicero Unjust law, natural law, and what justice actually is. Philosophy AZM's list

Philosophy Hermann Hesse 阅读是安静的自我觉醒 《阅读是安静的自我觉醒》 Hermann Hesse Active reading, sustained attention, and the nourishment of the mind. Philosophy AZM's list

Technology & Science 2022 Starry Messenger Neil deGrasse Tyson Starry Messenger 《星际信使》 Neil deGrasse Tyson The big picture, seen from a cosmologist's perspective. Technology & Science AZM's list

Technology & Science 2019 Harald Lesch 这个宇宙和我有什么关系 《这个宇宙和我有什么关系》 Harald Lesch Physics, and finding meaning in an indifferent universe. Technology & Science AZM's list

Technology & Science 2020 Until the End of Time Brian Greene Until the End of Time 《直到时间尽头》 Brian Greene String theory, entropy, and the end of everything. Technology & Science AZM's list

Technology & Science 2017 Visions of Technological Transcendence James A. Herrick Visions of Technological Transcendence 《人类未来进化史》 James A. Herrick Technological immortality, rhetoric, and the future of human evolution. Technology & Science AZM's list

Technology & Science 2021 Extraterrestrial Avi Loeb Extraterrestrial 《外星人》 Avi Loeb A Harvard astronomer on alien civilizations and the scientific spirit. Technology & Science AZM's list

Economics 1977 The Passions and the Interests Albert O. Hirschman The Passions and the Interests 《欲望与利益》 Albert O. Hirschman How the pursuit of gain was made respectable before capitalism won. Economics AZM's list

Technology & Science 2019 Our Symphony with Animals Aysha Akhtar Our Symphony with Animals 《伴生》 Aysha Akhtar Animal ethics and the foundations of a civilized social order. Technology & Science AZM's list

Technology & Science 1976 The Selfish Gene Richard Dawkins The Selfish Gene 《自私的基因》 Richard Dawkins Gene-centred evolution and its anti-humanist implications. Technology & Science AZM's list

Technology & Science 2014 The Meaning of Human Existence Edward O. Wilson The Meaning of Human Existence 《人类存在的意义》 Edward O. Wilson Evolution and humanism seen through sociobiology. Technology & Science AZM's list

Society & Civilization The Book of Lord Shang Shang Yang The Book of Lord Shang 《商君书》 Shang Yang The Legalist art of weakening, impoverishing, and dulling the people to rule them. Society & Civilization XMS's list

Philosophy 1818 The World as Will and Representation Arthur Schopenhauer The World as Will and Representation 《作为意志和表象的世界》 Arthur Schopenhauer The visible world is mere representation; reality itself is blind will. Philosophy XMS's list

Philosophy 1781 Critique of Pure Reason Immanuel Kant Critique of Pure Reason 《纯粹理性批判》 Immanuel Kant How our cognitive structure bounds reason, dividing appearance from things in themselves. Philosophy XMS's list

Philosophy Symposium Plato Symposium 《会饮篇》 Plato Banquet speeches on the nature of Eros and the ascent of the soul. Philosophy XMS's list

Philosophy 1739 A Treatise of Human Nature David Hume A Treatise of Human Nature 《人性论》 David Hume Challenging causal necessity: causation as nothing but a habit of the mind. Philosophy XMS's list

Technology & Science 2009 Biocentrism Robert Lanza Biocentrism 《生物中心主义三部曲》 Robert Lanza The universe does not stand alone: life and consciousness define it. Technology & Science XMS's list

Economics 2003 A Travel Guide to Heaven Anthony DeStefano A Travel Guide to Heaven 《天堂之旅》 Anthony DeStefano What Christian texts say about heaven's landscape, bodies, and daily life. Economics XMS's list

Society & Civilization 1865 The Philosophy of Art Hippolyte Taine The Philosophy of Art 《艺术哲学》 Hippolyte Taine Art as imitation, and how race, milieu, and era determine style. Society & Civilization XMS's list

The Human Condition 《人的境况》 Hannah Arendt Human beings build their world through labor, work, and action Philosophy Daily Pick

Meditations on First Philosophy 《第一哲学沉思集》 René Descartes Using universal doubt as a method to find an indubitable foundation for knowledge Philosophy Daily Pick

De Anima (On the Soul) 《论灵魂》 Aristotle The soul is not a passenger inside the body but the very activity of being alive in an organ-bearing body Philosophy Daily Pick

Consciousness Explained 《意识的解释》 Daniel C. Dennett Consciousness is not a screen or a center in the brain but what emerges when many parallel processes compete for 'fame' Psychology & Cognitive Science Daily Pick

Philosophical Investigations 《哲学研究》 Ludwig Wittgenstein Meaning lives in use, not in the head: how Wittgenstein's language games dissolved philosophy's most stubborn illusions Philosophy Daily Pick

Ethics 《伦理学》 Baruch Spinoza There is only one substance: how Spinoza used geometry to show that God is Nature and freedom lies in understanding necessity Philosophy Daily Pick

Philosophy 1966 The Order of Things Michel Foucault The Order of Things 《词与物》 Michel Foucault An archaeology of knowledge: each epoch has its unspoken episteme that determines what can be seen, named, and thought Philosophy Daily Pick

Psychology & Cognitive Science 1973 The Interpretation of Cultures Clifford Geertz The Interpretation of Cultures 《作为文化的解释》 Clifford Geertz Culture is not a hidden entity in the mind but a public web of meaning — understanding another culture means 'thick description' of its symbols and… Psychology & Cognitive Science Daily Pick