The Twenty Greatest Philosophy Books (Book from 2006)

This is one of the 743 lists we use to generate our main The Greatest Books list.

About this list

James Garvey, 20 Books

The essential guide to the top twenty greatest books in philosophy for those who have just never quite found the time to read them.

In this witty and engaging book, James Garvey offers an introductory account of the must-read books from the whole history of philosophical writing. From Plato to Popper, Descartes to Wittgenstein, the greatest books in philosophy have had a huge impact on the development of contemporary society, politics, economics and culture. This entertaining and intelligent guide introduces the philosophical questions central to these books that are of genuine interest to the general reader and opens up often complex and challenging ideas for wider debate.

James Garvey is the Managing Director of the Royal Institute of Philosophy and the Editor of The Philosophers' Magazine

This list was originally published in 2006 and was added to this site about 2 years ago.

View: List Grid Table
Rank Book Authors Year Country Language Actions
220 The Republic Plato -379 Greek Ancient greek
400 The Nicomachean Ethics Aristotle -334 Greek Ancient greek
1027 Meditations on First Philosophy Rene Descartes 1641 French Latin
344 Leviathan Thomas Hobbes 1651 British English
1325 An Essay Concerning Human Understanding John Locke 1689 British English
10604 A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge George Berkeley 1710 Irish English
1992 An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding David Hume 1748 Scottish English
526 The Social Contract Jean-Jacques Rousseau 1762 French French
457 Critique of Pure Reason Immanuel Kant 1781 German German
1295 Phenomenology of Mind G. W. F. Hegel 1807 German German
1514 The World as Will and Idea Arthur Schopenhauer 1818 German German
323 Communist Manifesto Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels 1848 German German
11520 Utilitarianism John Stuart Mill 1863 British English
222 Thus Spake Zarathustra Friedrich Nietzsche 1883 German German
1720 Pragmatism William James 1907 American English
367 Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus Ludwig Wittgenstein 1921 Austrian German
6506 Language, Truth, And Logic A. J. Ayer 1936 British English
636 Being and Nothingness Jean Paul Sartre 1943 French French
140 The Second Sex Simone de Beauvoir 1949 French French
5513 The Logic of Scientific Discovery Karl Popper 1934 Austrian German