A-Z Works in Philosophy
Learn about the works that shaped the development of philosophical thinking.
"Meditations on First Philosophy" (1641)
Descartes’s major work, the "Meditations on First Philosophy" (1641) are considered by many the first text of modern philosophy. Divided in six agile chapters, they provide a new foundation for philosophical and scientific thinking, addressing issues in epistemology (skepticism in particular), metaphysics, theology, and ethics.
"The Prince" by Niccolò Machiavelli
The Prince is the most read work by Florentine author Niccolò Machiavelli and one of the masterpieces of Western political thought. It is a small treatise composed of twenty-six chapters and aiming to educate a young adult about how to maintain power in a princedom regardless of the situation. Machiavelli’s precepts subverted Aristotelian...
Plato's "Republic"
Is it always better to be just rather than unjust? By means of this simple question, Plato's "Republic" faces the foundational issues for the construction of a civic society.
Aristotle's "Metaphysics"
One of the foundational works of Western philosophy, Aristotle's "Metaphysics" owes its name to the editor who assembled the volume in the I century A.D. It is one of the deepest and most dense bodies of philosophical work, which calls for some guidance.
Kant's "Critique of Pure Reason"
How is metaphysics possible? What are the most poignant metaphysical questions? Probably the most difficult text of modern philosophy, Kant's "Critique of Pure Reason" attempts to answers these questions by accomplishing a "Copernican revolution" in Western metaphysics.
Hobbes's "Leviathan"
One of the most influential books on contemporary political thinking and practicing, Hobbes's "Leviathan" is a must read to understand the "social contract theory".