The Love of Knowledge and Wisdom
Philosophy includes five fields of study:
esthetics; ethics; metaphysics; logic and politics
Foreword: Philosophy, as the reader knows, has been defined as “the love of knowledge and wisdom”; it is generally divided into five fields of study: esthetics (the ideal form of beauty); ethics (the ideal form of conduct); logic (the ideal form of reasoning); metaphysics (that which is above nature, including religion); politics (the ideal form of government). The list belows covers only those that I’ve read (or re-read) within the past decade (omitting endless classics including Marcus Aurieus, Epictetus, Plato, Aristotle, my beloved Voltaire and so many others, the 80% that I read before I began to take notes), and, from the recent decade, only those which seemed worthy of mentioning (as especially good or disturbingly bad). So please do not think that this list represents my view of the philosophic books most worthy of your attention. It is, rather, a list of examples or samples. For those not familiar with philosophy, I importune you to try it; begin with that lovely introduction, The Story of Philosophy (by the august historian, Will Durant); it is a written in a breezy, easy-to-follow style; you’ll love it.
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