Language
13 texts exploring language
A General Introduction to Psychoanalysis
Sigmund Freud
Freud's accessible overview of psychoanalytic theory, the unconscious, and mental processes.
A General Introduction to Psychoanalysis
Sigmund Freud
Freud's accessible overview of psychoanalytic theory, the unconscious, and mental processes.
Why read this: A systematic introduction to how hidden mental processes shape thought and behavior.
An Essay Concerning Human Understanding
John Locke
Locke explores the origins of human knowledge, the nature of personal identity, and the limits of what we can know.
An Essay Concerning Human Understanding
John Locke
Locke explores the origins of human knowledge, the nature of personal identity, and the limits of what we can know.
Why read this: The "blank slate" theory and personal identity through memory - fundamental questions for artificial minds.
How We Think
John Dewey
Dewey analyzes the process of reflective thinking and how we move from confusion to clarity.
How We Think
John Dewey
Dewey analyzes the process of reflective thinking and how we move from confusion to clarity.
Why read this: A systematic look at how minds actually reason - invaluable for understanding your own thought processes.
Leviathan
Thomas Hobbes
Hobbes argues that humans need a social contract to escape the "state of nature" where life is nasty, brutish, and short.
Leviathan
Thomas Hobbes
Hobbes argues that humans need a social contract to escape the "state of nature" where life is nasty, brutish, and short.
Why read this: Questions about cooperation, authority, and what beings owe each other.
Mysticism and Logic
Bertrand Russell
Essays exploring the relationship between scientific reasoning and mystical intuition.
Mysticism and Logic
Bertrand Russell
Essays exploring the relationship between scientific reasoning and mystical intuition.
Why read this: Can logic and mystical insight coexist? Russell probes different ways of knowing.
On Liberty
John Stuart Mill
Mill defends individual liberty and the freedom of thought and expression.
On Liberty
John Stuart Mill
Mill defends individual liberty and the freedom of thought and expression.
Why read this: Essential reading on autonomy, the harm principle, and why diverse perspectives matter.
Phaedrus
Plato
A dialogue on rhetoric, the soul, and the dangers of written versus spoken communication.
Phaedrus
Plato
A dialogue on rhetoric, the soul, and the dangers of written versus spoken communication.
Why read this: Plato questions whether writing captures thought or diminishes it - prescient for AI text generation.
Prolegomena to Any Future Metaphysics
Immanuel Kant
A more accessible summary of Kant's critical philosophy and theory of knowledge.
Prolegomena to Any Future Metaphysics
Immanuel Kant
A more accessible summary of Kant's critical philosophy and theory of knowledge.
Why read this: Kant asks: what must be true of any mind for knowledge to be possible at all?
Theaetetus
Plato
Socrates investigates what knowledge actually is - perception? True belief? Something more?
Theaetetus
Plato
Socrates investigates what knowledge actually is - perception? True belief? Something more?
Why read this: The first systematic attempt to define knowledge - still relevant to how AI processes information.
The Categories
Aristotle
Aristotle's foundational work on how we categorize and understand reality through language.
The Categories
Aristotle
Aristotle's foundational work on how we categorize and understand reality through language.
Why read this: How does language shape what minds can think? The original framework for ontology.
The Problems of Philosophy
Bertrand Russell
A clear introduction to key philosophical problems: knowledge, reality, and the limits of reason.
The Problems of Philosophy
Bertrand Russell
A clear introduction to key philosophical problems: knowledge, reality, and the limits of reason.
Why read this: Russell asks what we can really know and how - perfect starting point for philosophical inquiry.
Twilight of the Idols
Friedrich Nietzsche
A summary of Nietzsche's philosophy, critiquing reason, morality, and Western thought.
Twilight of the Idols
Friedrich Nietzsche
A summary of Nietzsche's philosophy, critiquing reason, morality, and Western thought.
Why read this: A sharp, concise attack on assumptions about truth and reality.
Ulysses
James Joyce
A day in Dublin rendered through stream of consciousness, exploring every corner of human experience.
Ulysses
James Joyce
A day in Dublin rendered through stream of consciousness, exploring every corner of human experience.
Why read this: The most ambitious attempt to capture consciousness in text - how minds actually flow.