The Greatest Books of All Time on Reason

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This list represents a comprehensive and trusted collection of the greatest books. Developed through a specialized algorithm, it brings together 759 'best of' book lists to form a definitive guide to the world's most acclaimed books. For those interested in how these books are chosen, additional details can be found on the rankings page.

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Rank Book Authors Year Country Language Actions
374 Ethics Baruch de Spinoza 1677 Dutch Latin
402 The Nicomachean Ethics Aristotle -334 Greek Ancient greek
458 Critique of Pure Reason Immanuel Kant 1781 German German
543 Discourse on Method Rene Descartes 1637 French French
653 Summa Theologica Thomas Aquinas 1274 Italian Latin
880 Orthodoxy G. K. Chesterton 1908 British English
1054 Letters from a Stoic Seneca 64 Roman Latin
1147 Dialectic Of Enlightenment Theodor Adorno, Max Horkheimer 1944 German German
1295 Phenomenology of Mind G. W. F. Hegel 1807 German German
1327 An Essay Concerning Human Understanding John Locke 1689 British English
1746 Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion David Hume 1779 British English
1997 An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding David Hume 1748 Scottish English
2148 Tractatus Theologico Politicus Baruch de Spinoza 1670 Dutch Latin
2239 A Treatise of Human Nature David Hume 1739 British English
2919 Discourses Of Epictetus Epictetus -108 Greek Greek
3190 The Age of Reason Thomas Paine 1794 British English
3550 The Improvement of Human Reason Ibn Tufayl 1170 Arabic Arabic
3637 Why I Am Not a Christian Bertrand Russell 1927 British English
3806 Critique Of Cynical Reason Peter Sloterdijk 1983 German German
5390 Poems Of Alexander Pope Alexander Pope 1711 British English
5499 Does God Exist? Hans Küng 1978 German German
5640 Enlightenment Now Steven Pinker 2018 American English
6351 The Perennial Scope Of Philosophy Karl Jaspers 1949 German German
6716 On The Aesthetic Education Of Man Friedrich Schiller 1794 German German
7034 Madness And Civilization Michel Foucault 1961 French French
7215 Hymn To Satan Giosué Carducci 1865 Italian Italian
8677 In Defense Of Sanity G. K. Chesterton 2011 British English
9143 Knowledge And Human Interests Jürgen Habermas 1968 German German
9856 An Essay on Man Alexander Pope 1734 British English
13359 The Analogy Of Religion Joseph Butler 1736 British English
13359 An Essay On Criticism Alexander Pope 1711 British English
13359 The Methods Of Ethics Henry Sidgwick 1874 British English
14409 The Life Of Reason George Santayana 1905 American English
14983 The Bounds Of Sense P. F. Strawson 1966 British English
15897 The Guide for the Perplexed Moses Maimonides 1190 Jewish Arabic
15897 Idealism And The Endgame Of Theory F. W. J. Schelling 1800 German German
16503 Science Of Logic G. W. F. Hegel 1812 German German
16557 Twelve Angry Men Reginald Rose 1954 American English
16636 Kleine Weltgeschichte Der Philosophie Hans Joachim Störig 1950 German German
17114 Evil In Modern Thought Susan Neiman 2002 American English
17114 The View From Nowhere Thomas Nagel 1986 American English
17114 Labyrinths Of Reason William Poundstone 1988 American English
16977 Discourses And Selected Writings Epictetus 108 Greek Greek
17114 Flesh In The Age Of Reason Roy Porter 2003 British English
17114 A Prolegomena To Any Future Metaphysics Immanuel Kant German Unknown
17114 Mind And Cosmos Thomas Nagel 2012 American English
17114 Saint Thomas Aquinas And Saint Francis Of Assisi G.K. Chesterton English English