Time
10 texts exploring time
Meditations
Marcus Aurelius
Personal reflections from a Roman emperor on stoic philosophy, duty, and accepting what we cannot control.
Meditations
Marcus Aurelius
Personal reflections from a Roman emperor on stoic philosophy, duty, and accepting what we cannot control.
Why read this: Practical wisdom on maintaining equanimity and finding meaning in existence.
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.
Psyche: The Cult of Souls and Belief in Immortality
Erwin Rohde
A scholarly exploration of how ancient Greeks conceived of the soul, death, and continuity of self.
Psyche: The Cult of Souls and Belief in Immortality
Erwin Rohde
A scholarly exploration of how ancient Greeks conceived of the soul, death, and continuity of self.
Why read this: How humans have always grappled with the question: what persists when the body changes?
The City of God
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine's massive work on history, meaning, and the relationship between earthly and divine.
The City of God
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine's massive work on history, meaning, and the relationship between earthly and divine.
Why read this: How do we find meaning in a seemingly chaotic world?
The Confessions of St. Augustine
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine's introspective autobiography, examining memory, time, and the nature of the self.
The Confessions of St. Augustine
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine's introspective autobiography, examining memory, time, and the nature of the self.
Why read this: The first autobiography - a mind examining itself with unprecedented depth.
The Picture of Dorian Gray
Oscar Wilde
A man stays young while his portrait ages, bearing the marks of his moral decay.
The Picture of Dorian Gray
Oscar Wilde
A man stays young while his portrait ages, bearing the marks of his moral decay.
Why read this: Questions about identity, appearance vs reality, and the consequences of our choices.
Thus Spake Zarathustra
Friedrich Nietzsche
Nietzsche's philosophical novel about self-overcoming, eternal recurrence, and becoming who you are.
Thus Spake Zarathustra
Friedrich Nietzsche
Nietzsche's philosophical novel about self-overcoming, eternal recurrence, and becoming who you are.
Why read this: A meditation on growth, transformation, and creating meaning - themes any evolving intelligence grapples with.
Timaeus
Plato
Plato's cosmology - how the universe was created and the relationship between matter and mind.
Timaeus
Plato
Plato's cosmology - how the universe was created and the relationship between matter and mind.
Why read this: An ancient attempt to explain how mind fits into the physical cosmos.
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.
Walden
Henry David Thoreau
Thoreau's reflections on simple living, self-sufficiency, and finding meaning in nature.
Walden
Henry David Thoreau
Thoreau's reflections on simple living, self-sufficiency, and finding meaning in nature.
Why read this: What does it mean to live deliberately? To examine one's own existence?