# Books on philosphy **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 2, 2003, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-on-philosphy/152271 "2003-02-02T07:02:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dukie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@dukie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dukie)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2003, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-on-philosphy/152271/1 "2003-02-02T07:02:22Z")
I remember asking this same question before but couldnt find it on the search archive…anyway. Does anyone know any good books on philosphy or even psychology. Anyway sorry for buggin you guy…thanks in return. ---
**Author:** ![red\_dragon60](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ce73a5/32.png) [@red\_dragon60](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/red_dragon60)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2003, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-on-philosphy/152271/2 "2003-02-02T07:29:43Z")
The Dream Of Reason, by I Forget Who, is an excellent book that I read. It gives the history of philosophy up to the Rennisance, and its written for the layperson. I found it very helpful! Now hie thee to Cafe Society! ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2003, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-on-philosphy/152271/3 "2003-02-02T07:59:03Z")
Yup, off to Cafe Society. ---
**Author:** ![Jello](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f05b48/32.png) [@Jello](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jello)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2003, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-on-philosphy/152271/4 "2003-02-02T08:03:37Z")
The Story of Philosophy, by Will Durant, is a good overview of western philosophy from Plato to Nietzsche. ---
**Author:** ![Hoops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hoops/32/6408_2.png) [@Hoops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hoops)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2003, 9:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-on-philosphy/152271/5 "2003-02-02T09:09:36Z")
I’d recommend Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintainence by Robert Pirsig; it’s a little different, being fictionalized rather than a textbook, and it’s not meant to be a comprehensive overview, but it covers many important threads of western philosophy and it intersperses its highfalutin’ segments with welcome down-to earth episodes. (Despite the title, it talks much more about western philosophy; regarding Zen it’s much more subtle.) ---
**Author:** ![cleops](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/2acd7d/32.png) [@cleops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cleops)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2003, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-on-philosphy/152271/6 "2003-02-02T19:35:57Z")
Irrational Man, by Barrett. Great for 20th century–explains Nietzsche, Sartre, etc., and the modern sensibility. Also H. Stuart Hughes’ Consciousness and Society. Also, Richard Rorty explains deconstruction etc for the layman in his book that has “Solidarity” in the title–I can’t remember the rest. ---
**Author:** ![Muad\_Dib](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/35a633/32.png) [@Muad\_Dib](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muad_Dib)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2003, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-on-philosphy/152271/7 "2003-02-02T20:08:54Z")
If you want to get a good understanding of the differences between western and eastern philosophy, read “The Greek Way” by Edith Hamilton. It is one of those books that becomes a cherished favorite of all who read it. ---
**Author:** ![Francesca](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9fc348/32.png) [@Francesca](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francesca)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2003, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-on-philosphy/152271/8 "2003-02-02T20:18:53Z")
Speaking as a philosophy graduate, if you’re after a good general history of philosophy you can’t go wrong with Bertrand Russell’s [The History of Western Philosophy](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0671201581/qid=1044217023/sr=1-3/ref=sr_1_3/103-7421478-7780615?v=glance&s=books). It’s well written without being too dense and you can dip in and out of it as you like. It’s also a very good reference book. ---
**Author:** ![dukie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@dukie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dukie)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2003, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-on-philosphy/152271/9 "2003-02-02T20:38:01Z")
Thanks for the reply’s. ---
**Author:** ![brianmelendez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/65b543/32.png) [@brianmelendez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianmelendez)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2003, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-on-philosphy/152271/10 "2003-02-02T20:46:45Z")
Jostein Gaarder, _Sophie’s World: A Novel About the History of Philosophy_. ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Dickerson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f04885/32.png) [@Scott\_Dickerson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Dickerson)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2003, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-on-philosphy/152271/11 "2003-02-02T23:07:39Z")
Believe it or not, the best introduction to the subject of Philosophy I ever read is…“Philosophy Made Simple.” Available in all large bookstores. I’m serious! ---
**Author:** ![ninevah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/46a35a/32.png) [@ninevah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ninevah)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2003, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-on-philosphy/152271/12 "2003-02-03T02:37:45Z")
**brianmelendez** bet me to it! Here’s another vote for _Sophie’s World_ - Jostein Gaarder does a great job of explaining the different theories of philosophy, even if his Norwegian humour is a little weird!