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Philosophic suggested reading?

As one of those knowledge sponges I was wondering if anybody had some recommend reading, so far under my belt I've read most of European philosophy Greek,German and British, as well as some Native American and early American philosophy.

Does anyone have an Asian Philosophy books recommendations or modern Philosophy recommendations?

Also to add on to this discussion what have you read personally that has had a lasting inpact on how you think and way you view world?

Like for me I've read my fair share of distopia's such as fahrenheit 451 and brave new world that helps me appreciate what we have today.

Tags: Books, Philosphy, Reading, distopia

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Permalink Reply by John Camilli on February 11, 2011 at 5:16am

I very much recommend "Siddartha" by Herman Hesse.

Although you've read many of the Europeans, and although I end up disagreeing with his conclusions, I want to recommend Immanuel Kant's Critique of Pure Reason as a wonderful example of nearly impeccable logical analysis. It is an extremely difficult read (I remember reading one sentence over a hundred times just to be sure I knew what he was saying). He has some really loooooong compound sentences, but his intellect is staggering to behold and if you can force yourself to understand it, you will be head and shoulders above the common sense of common man. However, I must warn you that, once your logic becomes much stricter than theirs, you will find it more and more difficult to relate to the thoughts of others.

I am also a sponge, as you say. I started as a lover of language and grammar, moving later into physics and philosophy. I used to carry a little dictionary and pocket thesaurus when I was a kid, but rather than increasing my ability to communicate effectively, I have most often found that it has isolated me from those who have not taken the time to understand. Good luck to you.

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Permalink Reply by Keith Sewell on February 20, 2011 at 7:16pm

If you haven't yet read 'Consilience', by E. O. Wilson, then that would be my top recommendation. For a superb hot-off-the-press read check out 'The View From Lazy Point', by Carl Safina. Both of these guys have interesting things to say, and are suberp writers.