Book Summaries
13 books · Philosophy & Ideas
Philosophy & Ideas
On the Origin of Species By Means of Natural Selection
Charles Darwin
What if the 'perfect' design of the human eye is actually just the residue of a billion small victories over death?
Philosophy & Ideas
An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations
Adam Smith
What if the very selfishness we are taught to suppress is actually the only thing keeping global society from collapsing?
Philosophy & Ideas
Seneca's Morals
Lucius Annaeus Seneca
What if the sting of someone's ingratitude is actually the only way to prove your generosity isn't just a commercial transaction?
Philosophy & Ideas
The Consolation of Philosophy
Boethius
What if the things you are most terrified of losing are actually burdens you are finally being freed from?
Philosophy & Ideas
The Republic
Plato (Benjamin Jowett, Translator)
The man who dominates the world while failing to dominate his own desires is actually the most wretched slave of all.
Philosophy & Ideas
The Prince
Niccolo Machiavelli
Why is it safer to be feared than loved, and why is your desire to be liked the primary vulnerability your rivals are exploiting?
Philosophy & Ideas
The Analects of Confucius (from the Chinese Classics)
James Legge (Translator)
What if the only way to truly lead others is to stop managing them and start obsessively refining your own character?
Philosophy & Ideas
Walden, and On The Duty Of Civil Disobedience
Henry David Thoreau
What if the true cost of your possessions isn't measured in dollars, but in the specific amount of your limited life you sacrificed to buy them?
Philosophy & Ideas
The Enchiridion
Epictetus (Elizabeth Carter, Translator)
Stop treating your life as a series of rights and start treating it as a series of assignments you didn't choose but must perform with excellence.
Philosophy & Ideas
The Art of War
Sun Tzu (Lionel Giles, Translator)
What if the most compassionate way to lead is to invest in intelligence so you can break an enemy's will before a single sword is drawn?
Philosophy & Ideas
Ecce Homo: Complete Works, Volume Seventeen
Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm
What if your 'goodness' is actually a mask for weakness, and your greatest suffering is the only tool capable of liberating you?
FREEPhilosophy & Ideas
Meditations
Marcus Aurelius, Emperor of Rome
What if the events ruining your day are actually neutral, and the only thing causing you pain is the label you've placed upon them?
Philosophy & Ideas
The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers
Diogenes Laertius
What if your intellectual brilliance is just a flowery robe used to hide a naked lack of character?