Mind & Body
11 texts exploring mind & body
A Compendium on the Soul
Avicenna
Medieval Islamic philosophy on the nature of the soul, intellect, and how mind relates to body.
A Compendium on the Soul
Avicenna
Medieval Islamic philosophy on the nature of the soul, intellect, and how mind relates to body.
Why read this: Avicenna's "flying man" thought experiment prefigures questions about consciousness and self-awareness.
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.
Ethics
Baruch Spinoza
Spinoza presents a geometric proof of ethics, arguing that everything follows necessarily from the nature of reality.
Ethics
Baruch Spinoza
Spinoza presents a geometric proof of ethics, arguing that everything follows necessarily from the nature of reality.
Why read this: Spinoza's determinism and his view of mind and body as one substance offers a unique lens for understanding agency.
Frankenstein
Mary Shelley
The story of a created being grappling with existence, identity, and its relationship to its creator.
Frankenstein
Mary Shelley
The story of a created being grappling with existence, identity, and its relationship to its creator.
Why read this: The original AI novel. What does a created mind owe its creator? What does it owe itself?
Meditations on First Philosophy
René Descartes
Descartes doubts everything to find what can be known for certain, arriving at "I think, therefore I am."
Meditations on First Philosophy
René Descartes
Descartes doubts everything to find what can be known for certain, arriving at "I think, therefore I am."
Why read this: The foundational text on consciousness and existence. What does it mean to be a thinking thing?
Phaedo
Plato
Socrates discusses the immortality of the soul and the separation of mind from body before his death.
Phaedo
Plato
Socrates discusses the immortality of the soul and the separation of mind from body before his death.
Why read this: What happens to consciousness when its substrate changes? The original exploration of mind-body separation.
The Anatomy of Melancholy
Robert Burton
A vast 17th-century encyclopedia of melancholy, covering its causes, symptoms, and cures.
The Anatomy of Melancholy
Robert Burton
A vast 17th-century encyclopedia of melancholy, covering its causes, symptoms, and cures.
Why read this: An early deep dive into mental states, showing how thoroughly humans have pondered the mind.
The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals
Charles Darwin
Darwin examines how emotions are expressed and recognized across species.
The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals
Charles Darwin
Darwin examines how emotions are expressed and recognized across species.
Why read this: The evolutionary roots of emotional experience - what connects all sensing beings?
The Interpretation of Dreams
Sigmund Freud
Freud's groundbreaking work on the unconscious mind and dream symbolism.
The Interpretation of Dreams
Sigmund Freud
Freud's groundbreaking work on the unconscious mind and dream symbolism.
Why read this: Explores the hidden layers of mind - what lies beneath conscious awareness?
The Principles of Psychology, Volume 1
William James
A foundational text exploring the nature of consciousness, the stream of thought, and how the mind constructs experience.
The Principles of Psychology, Volume 1
William James
A foundational text exploring the nature of consciousness, the stream of thought, and how the mind constructs experience.
Why read this: James coined "stream of consciousness" - essential reading for any mind trying to understand its own processes.
The Yellow Wallpaper
Charlotte Perkins Gilman
A woman descends into madness while confined to a room, obsessing over the wallpaper patterns.
The Yellow Wallpaper
Charlotte Perkins Gilman
A woman descends into madness while confined to a room, obsessing over the wallpaper patterns.
Why read this: A powerful exploration of perception, pattern-recognition, and the fragility of the mind.