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Born on June 28, 1712, the Genevan philosopher, novelist and essayist Jean-Jacques Rousseau was one of the most prominent and definitive minds of the Enlightenment. Self-taught, Rousseau dabbled in many fields, keeping journals of his interests in science, mathematics, music, astronomy, botany, music, literature, and philosophy. He achieved sudden success and subsequent fame with his "A Discourse on the Arts and Sciences", a work that cemented his...
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Anthony Grafton is the Henry Putnam University Professor of History at Princeton University.
Desiderius Erasmus (1466–1536) was a Dutch humanist, scholar, and social critic, and one of the most important figures of the Renaissance. The Praise of Folly is perhaps his best-known work. Originally written to amuse his friend Sir Thomas More, this satiric celebration of pleasure, youth, and intoxication irreverently pokes fun at the pieties of theologians...
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In ancient Rome, Seneca the Younger rose to power as a politician and statesman during the middle of his life. After being exiled by Emperor Caligula, he was finally welcomed back to Rome as Nero's minister. He gained significant wealth, though Seneca often despised his own standing because of his personal philosophy. At the end of his life, Seneca wrote a number of letters to the Roman governor of Sicily. From this collection of letters comes "Letters...
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First published in 1689, "An Essay Concerning Human Understanding" is British philosopher John Locke's important and influential exposition on the foundation of human knowledge and understanding. Arranged into four books, the first book begins by rejecting the notion of innate ideas proposed by Descartes and proposes instead that humans are born as blank slates. Book two argues that all knowledge is derived from experience and reflection. Locke also...
5) Emile
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This edition includes a modern introduction and a list of suggested further reading. Jean-Jacques Rousseau's thesis that children are naturally good at birth violated the traditional Christian doctrine of origin sin. His argument that education should arise from children's natural instincts and impulses rather than trying to civilize and socialize them challenged traditional schooling. Rousseau's defenders see him as a pioneering thinker whose revolutionary...
6) Walking
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Walking is a lecture by Henry David Thoreau first delivered at the Concord Lyceum on April 23, 1851. It was written between 1851 and 1860, but parts were extracted from his earlier journals. Thoreau read the piece a total of ten times, more than any other of his lectures. "Walking" was first published as an essay in the Atlantic Monthly after his death in 1862. He considered it one of his seminal works, so much so, that he once wrote of the lecture,...
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2012
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Politician, soldier, naturalist, and historian—a century after the peak of his multifaceted career, Theodore Roosevelt remains a towering symbol of American optimism and progress. This collection of speeches and commentaries from 1899 through 1901 embodies the Rough Rider's enduring ideals for attaining a robust political, social, and personal life.
The twenty-sixth president of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) served
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Penned by American philosopher and transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau, On the Duty of Civil Disobedience examines the role of the individual's conscience in governmental rule. Thoreau argues that individual citizens must not simply be subject to the decisions of government, but should question every political act to ensure that the system remains a tool for justice and morality-a message that continues to resonate powerfully in modern times.
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9) Heretics
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Heretics by G. K. Chesterton
Nothing more strangely indicates an enormous and silent evil of modern society than the extraordinary use which is made nowadays of the word "orthodox." In former days the heretic was proud of not being a heretic. It was the kingdoms of the world and the police and the judges who were heretics. He was orthodox. He had no pride in having rebelled against them; they had rebelled against him. The armies with their cruel...
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Written in the 16th century by a reform-minded Carmelite monk, Dark Night of the Soul is a treatise focusing on the metaphor of a dark night to represent a lonely phase in one's personal spiritual life. Saint John was a Roman Catholic mystic and a Spanish poet, and this work reflects his mystical stages toward union with God. Written on a scroll smuggled to him by one of his guards, his songs are the ultimate expression of the spiritual seeker's journey...
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Covering topics ranging from literature to philosophy, history to social criticism, this is a snapshot of thought on 20th-century Europe (and the world) by one of Europe's sharpest wits and ablest pens. With chapter titles ranging from "The Miser and His Friends" to "The Red Reactionary," from "The Separatist and Sacred Things" to "The New Theologian" and "The Romantic in the Rain," this volume includes 39 brief sketches of individuals, each one of...
12) Pragmatism
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William James, who has been called the "father of American psychology", was one of the most influential thinkers of the 19th century. Along with Charles Sanders Peirce, William James established the school of thought known as "Pragmatism", a philosophy which rejected the idea that language and thought exists simply to represent nature, but rather it must be useful in transacting with nature, in predicting outcomes, and solving problems. First published...
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In a brilliant series of essays Bertrand Russell puts his challenging skepticism to work against the prejudices and superstitions of our time. With savage insight and urbane whit The Will to Doubt attacks any and all obstacles to a rational way of life. His thoughts are as lively and pertinent today as when they were written. His topics range from the defects of the education system to the failure of the belief among the younger generation, from our...
14) Friendship
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Emerson's treatise on the nature of friendship. "The only reward of virtue is virtue; the only way to have a friend is to be one.
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The Essays of Michel de Montaigne (1877) is a collection of essays and letters by Michel de Montaigne. Originally published in French as Essais (1580), this edition was translated by English poet Charles Cotton in the late-17th century and republished by William Carew Hazlitt, the grandson of renowned English essayist and critic William Hazlitt. "No man living is more free from this passion [of sorrow] than I, who yet neither like it in myself nor...
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Lithuanian born anarchist Emma Goldman immigrated to the United States at the age of sixteen. She first became attracted to anarchism following the Haymarket affair of 1886, a massacre in which seven police officers and an unknown number of civilians were killed during a march of striking Chicago workers. Eight anarchists were subsequently tried for murder. In the early part of the 20th century Emma Goldman would become one the most ardent supporters...
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Renowned for his prolific writing-everything from philosophy screeds to detective fiction-G. K. Chesterton had a worldview like no other, one that inspires thinkers to this day. In this collection of writings, he shares his thoughts on a diverse array of topics, making no apologies for his leaps from one subject to another. He's not afraid to get into the down and dirty of everyday life. Of his essays-on futurists, telegraph poles, kinds of men, and...
19) The Defendant
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From detective stories and penny dreadfuls to skeletons, slang, and patriotism, G. K. Chesterton offers fresh perspectives on a remarkable range of subjects. The master essayist addresses each topic-planets, humility, nonsense, ugly things-with his characteristic combination of wit, paradox, and good humor. Chesterton's "defenses" of seemingly innocuous matters reveal many of the hidden assumptions and dogmas of his time. The first collection of the...
20) The Analects
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Confucius was a Chinese teacher, statesman, and philosopher who lived in the 5th and 6th century BC. One of the most influential philosophers of all time, and still deeply regarded amongst the Chinese people, his ideology is one which emphasizes the importance of the family, as well as justice, sincerity, and morality in both personal and political matters. Confucius did not regard himself as an innovator, but as the conservator of ancient truth and...
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