How to Read a Book
Content
CONDENSED FROM HOW TO READ A BOOK BY MORTIMER ADLER
I. THE ANALYSIS OF A BOOK’S STRUCTURE
1. Classify the book according to kind and subject matter. 2. State what the whole book is about with the utmost brevity. 3. Enumerate its major parts in their order and relation, and analyze these parts as you have analyzed the whole. 4. Define the problem or problems the author is trying to solve.
II. THE INTERPRETATION OF A BOOK’S CONTENTS
I. Come to terms with the author by interpreting his basic words. 2. Grasp the author's leading propositions through dealing with his most important sentences. 3. Know the author's arguments, by finding them in, or constructing them out of, sequences of sentences. 4. Determine which of his problems the author solved, and which he did not; and of the latter, decide which the author knew he failed to solve.
III. THE CRITICISM OF A BOOK AS COMMUNICATION OF KNOWLEDGE A. General Maxims
1. Do not begin criticism until you have completed analysis and interpretation. (Do not say you agree, disagree, or suspend judgment, until you can say, "I understand.") 2. Do not disagree disputatiously or contentiously. 3. Respect the difference between knowledge and opinion, by having reasons for any critical judgment you make.
B. Specific Criteria for Points of Criticism
1. Show wherein the author is uninformed. 2. Show wherein the author is misinformed. 3. Show wherein the author is illogical. 4. Show wherein the author's analysis or account is incomplete.
Published Great Books of the Western World Homer. Iliad, Odyssey
The Old Testament Aeschylus. Tragedies Sophocles. Tragedies Herodotus. History Euripides. Tragedies Thucydides. History of the Peloponnesian War Hippocrates. Medical Writings Aristophanes. Comedies Plato. Dialogues Aristotle. Works Epicurus. 'Letter to Herodotus';'Letter to Menoecus' Euclid. Elements Archimedes. Works Apollonius. Conic Sections Cicero. Works Lucretius. On the Nature of Things Virgil. Works Horace. Works Livy. History of Rome Ovid. Works Plutarch. Parallel Lives; Moralia Tacitus. Histories; Annals; Agricola; Germania Nicomachus, Gerasa of. Introduction to Arithmetic Epictetus. Discourses; Encheiridion Ptolemy. Almagest Lucian. Works Aurelius, Marcus. Meditations Galen. On the Natural Faculties The New Testament Plotinus. The Enneads Augustine, St.. On the Teacher; Confessions; City of God; On Christian Doctrine The Song of Roland The Nibelungenlied The Saga of Burnt Njal Aquinas, St. Thomas. Summa Theologica Alighieri, Dante. The New Life; On Monarchy; The Divine Comedy Chaucer, Geoffrey. Troilus and Criseyde; The Canterbury Tales Vinci, Leonardo da. Notebooks Machiavelli, Niccolo. The Prince; Discourses on the First Ten Books of Livy Erasmus, Desiderius. The Praise of Folly Copernicus, Nicolaus. On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres More, Sir Thomas. Utopia
Luther, Martin. Table Talk; Three Treatises Rabelais, Francois. Gargantua and Pantagruel Calvin, John. Institutes of the Christian Religion Montaigne, Michel de. Essays Gilbert, William. On the Loadstone and Magnetic Bodies Cervantes, Miguel de. Don Quixote Spenser, Edmund. Prothalamion; The Faerie Queene Bacon, Francis. Essays; Advancement of Learning; Novum Organum, New Atlantis Shakespeare, William. Poetry and Plays Galilei, Galieo. The Starry Messenger; Dialogues Concerning Two New Sciences Kepler, Johannes. Epitome of Copernican Astronomy; Concerning the Harmonies of the World Harvey, William. On the Motion of the Heart and Blood in Animals; On the Circulation of the
Blood; On the Generation of Animals Hobbes, Thomas. The Leviathan Descartes, Rene. Rules for the Direction of the Mind; Discourse on the Method; Geometry; Meditations on First Philosophy Milton, John. Works Moliere. Comedies Pascal, Blaise. The Provincial Letters; Pensees; Scientific Treatises Huygens, Christiaan. Treatise on Light Spinoza, Benedict de. Ethics Locke, John. Letter Concerning Toleration; 'Of Civil Government'; Essay Concerning Human Understanding; Thoughts Concerning Education Racine, Jean Baptiste. Tragedies Newton, Isaac. Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy; Optics Leibniz, Gottfried Wilhelm von. Discourse on Metaphysics; New Essays Concerning Human Understanding; Monadology Defoe, Daniel. Robinson Crusoe Swift, Jonathon. A Tale of a Tub; Journal to Stella; Gulliver's Travels; A Modest Proposal Congreve, William. The Way of the World Berkeley, George. Principles of Human Knowledge Pope, Alexander. Essay on Criticism; Rape of the Lock; Essay on Man Montesquieu, Charles de Secondat, Baron de. Persian Letters; Spirit of Laws Voltaire. Letters on the English; Candide; Philosophical Dictionary Fielding, Henry. Joseph Andrews; Tom Jones Johnson, Samuel. The Vanity of Human Wishes; Dictionary; Rasselas; The Lives of the Poets Hume, David. Treatise on Human Nature; Essays Moral and Political; An Inquiry Concerning Human Understanding Rousseau, Jean Jaques. On the Origin of Inequality; On the Political Economy; Emile, The Social Contract Sterne, Laurence. Tristram Shandy; A Sentimental Journey through France and Italy Smith, Adam. The Theory of Moral Sentiments; The Wealth of Nations Kant, Immanuel. Critique of Pure Reason; Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysics of Morals; Critique of Practical Reason; The Science of Right; Critique of Judgment; Perpetual Peace
Gibbon, Edward. The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire; Autobiography Boswell, James. Journal Life of Samuel Johnson, Ll.D. Lavoisier, Antoine Laurent. Elements of Chemistry Hamilton, John Jay, James Madison, and Alexander. Federalist Papers Bentham, Jeremy. Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation; Theory of Fictions Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von. Faust; Poetry and Truth Fourier, Jean Baptiste Joseph. Analytical Theory of Heat Hegel, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich. Phenomenology of Spirit; Philosophy of Right; Lectures on the
Philosophy of History
Wordsworth, William. Poems Coleridge, Samuel Taylor. Poems; Biographia Literaria Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice; Emma Clausewitz, Karl von. On War Stendhal. The Red and the Black; The Charterhouse of Parma; On Love Byron, George Gordon, Lord. Don Juan Schopenhauer, Arthur. Studies in Pessimism Faraday, Michael. Chemical History of a Candle; Experimental Researches in Electricity Lyell, Charles. Principles of Geology Comte, Auguste. The Positive Philosophy Balzac, Honore de. Pere Goriot; Eugenie Grandet Emerson, Ralph Waldo. Representative Men; Essays; Journal Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter Tocqueville, Alexis de. Democracy in America Mill, John Stuart. A System of Logic; On Liberty; Representative Government; Utilitarianism;
The Subjection of Women; Autobiography Darwin, Charles. The Origin of Species; The Descent of Man; Autobiography Dickens, Charles. Works Bernard, Claude. Introduction to the Study of Experimental Medicine Thoreau, Henry David. Civil Disobedience; Walden Marx, Karl. Capital Eliot, George. Adam Bede; Middlemarch Melville, Herman. Moby Dick; Billy Budd Dostoevsky, Fyodor. Crime and Punishment; The Idiot; The Brothers Karamazov Flaubert, Gustave. Madame Bovary; Three Stories Ibsen, Henrik. Plays Tolstoy, Leo. War and Peace; Anna Karenina; What is Art?; Twenty-Three Tales Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn; The Mysterious Stranger James, William. The Principles of Psychology; The Varieties of Religious Experience; Pragamatism; Essays in Radical Empiricism James, Henry. The American; The Ambassadors Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm. Thus Spoke Zarathustra; Beyond Good and Evil; The Geneology of Morals; The Will to Power Poincare, Jules Henri. Science and Hypothesis; Science and Method Freud, Sigmund. The Interpretation of Dreams; Introductory Lectures on Psychoanalysis; Civilization and Its Discontents; New Introductory Lectures on Psychoanalysis
Shaw, George Bernard. Plays and Prefaces Planck, Max. Origin and Development of the Quantum Theory; Where Is Science Going?;
Scientific Autobiography
Bergson, Henri. Time and Free Will; Matter and Memory; Creative Evolution; The Two Sources
of Morality and Religion Dewey, John. How We Think; Democracy and Education; Experience and Nature; Logic; the Theory of Inquiry Whitehead, Alfred North. An Introduction to Mathematics; Science and the Modern World; The Aims of Education and Other Essays; Adventures of Ideas Santayana, George. The Life of Reason; Skepticism and Animal Faith; Persons and Places Lenin, Nikolai. The State and Revolution Proust, Marcel. Remembrance of Things Past Russell, Bertrand. The Problems of Philosophy; The Analsysis of Mind; An Inquiry into Meaning and Truth; Human Knowledge, Its Scope and Limits Mann, Thomas. The Magic Mountain; Joseph and His Brothers Einstein, Albert. The Meaning of Relativity; On the Method of Theoretical Physics, Physics; The Evolution of. James Joyce, 'The Dead' in Dubliners; Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man; Ulysses Maritain, Jaques. Art and Scholasticism; The Degrees of Knowledge; The Rights of Man and Natural Law; True Humanism Kafka, Franz. The Trial; The Castle Toynbee, Arnold. A Study of History; Civilization on Trial Sartre, Jean Paul. Nausea; No Exit; Being and Nothingness Solzhenitsyn, Aleksandr I.. The First Circle; The Cancer Ward
Mortimer Adler’s Great Books List (with Personal Revison)
The New Testament The Nibelungenlied The Old Testament The Saga of Burnt Njal The Song of Roland
Aeschylus. Tragedies Alighieri, Dante. On Monarchy Alighieri, Dante. The Divine Comedy Alighieri, Dante. The New Life Aquinas, St. Thomas. Summa Theologica Archimedes. Works Aristophanes. Comedies Aristotle. Works Arnold, Eberhard, Innerland Augustine, St. City of God Augustine, St. Confessions Augustine, St. On Christian Doctrine Augustine, St. On the Teacher Aurelius, Marcus. Meditations Austen, Jane. Emma Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice Bacon, Francis. Novum Organum, New Atlantis Bacon, Francis. Essays; Advancement of Learning Balzac, Honore de. Eugenie Grandet Balzac, Honore de. Pere Goriot Bentham, Jeremy. Theory of Fictions Bentham, Jeremy. Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation Bergson, Henri. The Two Sources of Morality and Religion Bergson, Henri. Creative Evolution Bergson, Henri. Matter and Memory Bergson, Henri. Time and Free Will Berkeley, George. Principles of Human Knowledge Bernard, Claude. Introduction to the Study of Experimental Medicine Boswell, James. Journal Life of Samuel Johnson, Ll.D. Byron, George Gordon, Lord. Don Juan Calvin, John. Institutes of the Christian Religion Cervantes, Miguel de. Don Quixote Chaucer, Geoffrey. The Canterbury Tales Chaucer, Geoffrey. Troilus and Criseyde Cicero. Works Clausewitz, Karl von. On War Coleridge, Samuel Taylor. Biographia Literaria
Coleridge, Samuel Taylor. Poems Comte, Auguste. The Positive Philosophy Congreve, William. The Way of the World Copernicus, Nicolaus. On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres Darwin, Charles. Autobiography Darwin, Charles. The Descent of Man Darwin, Charles. The Origin of Species Defoe, Daniel. Robinson Crusoe Descartes, Rene. Meditations on First Philosophy Descartes, Rene. Discourse on the Method Descartes, Rene. Geometry Descartes, Rene. Rules for the Direction of the Mind Dewey, John. Democracy and Education Dewey, John. Experience and Nature Dewey, John. How We Think Dewey, John. Logic Dewey, John. The Theory of Inquiry Dickens, Charles. Works Dostoevsky, Fyodor. The Brothers Karamazov Dostoevsky, Fyodor. Crime and Punishment Dostoevsky, Fyodor. The Idiot Edersheim, Alfred, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah Einstein, Albert. On the Method of Theoretical Physics Einstein, Albert. The Evolution of Physics Einstein, Albert. The Meaning of Relativity Eliot, George. Middlemarch Eliot, George. Adam Bede Emerson, Ralph Waldo. Essays Emerson, Ralph Waldo. Journal Emerson, Ralph Waldo. Representative Men Epictetus. Encheiridion Epictetus. Discourses Epicurus. 'Letter to Herodotus' Epicurus. 'Letter to Menoecus' Erasmus, Desiderius. The Praise of Folly Euclid. Elements Euripides. Tragedies Faraday, Michael. Chemical History of a Candle Faraday, Michael. Experimental Researches in Electricity Fielding, Henry. Tom Jones Fielding, Henry. Joseph Andrews Flaubert, Gustave. Three Stories Flaubert, Gustave. Madame Bovary Fourier, Jean Baptiste Joseph. Analytical Theory of Heat Freud, Sigmund. Civilization and Its Discontents
Freud, Sigmund. Introductory Lectures on Psychoanalysis Freud, Sigmund. New Introductory Lectures on Psychoanalysis Freud, Sigmund. The Interpretation of Dreams Galen. On the Natural Faculties Galilei, Galieo. Dialogues Concerning Two New Sciences Galilei, Galieo. The Starry Messenger Gerasa, Nicomachus of. Introduction to Arithmetic Gibbon, Edward. Autobiography Gibbon, Edward. The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Gilbert, William. On the Loadstone and Magnetic Bodies Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von. Poetry and Truth Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von. Faust Hamilton, Alexander, and John Jay, James MadisonFederalist Papers Harvey, William. On the Circulation of the Blood Harvey, William. On the Generation of Animals Harvey, William. On the Motion of the Heart and Blood in Animals Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter Hegel, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich. Lectures on the Philosophy of History Hegel, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich. Phenomenology of Spirit Hegel, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich. Philosophy of Right Herodotus. History Hippocrates. Medical Writings Hobbes, Thomas. The Leviathan Homer. Odyssey Homer. Iliad Horace. Works Hume, David. An Inquiry Concerning Human Understanding Hume, David. Essays Moral and Political Hume, David. Treatise on Human Nature Huygens, Christiaan. Treatise on Light Ibsen, Henrik. Plays Illich, Ivan, Deschooling Society James, Henry. The Ambassadors James, Henry. The American James, William. Essays in Radical Empiricism James, William. Pragamatism James, William. The Principles of Psychology James, William. The Varieties of Religious Experience Johnson, Samuel. Dictionary Johnson, Samuel. The Lives of the Poets Johnson, Samuel. Rasselas Johnson, Samuel. The Vanity of Human Wishes Joyce, James. Dubliners Joyce, James. Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man Joyce, James. Ulysses
Kafka, Franz. The Castle Kafka, Franz. The Trial Kant, Immanuel. Perpetual Peace Kant, Immanuel. Critique of Judgment Kant, Immanuel. Critique of Practical Reason Kant, Immanuel. Critique of Pure Reason Kant, Immanuel. Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysics of Morals Kant, Immanuel. The Science of Right Kepler, Johannes. Concerning the Harmonies of the World Kepler, Johannes. Epitome of Copernican Astronomy Lavoisier, Antoine Laurent. Elements of Chemistry Leibniz, Gottfried Wilhelm von. Discourse on Metaphysics Leibniz, Gottfried Wilhelm von. Monadology Leibniz, Gottfried Wilhelm von. New Essays Concerning Human Understanding Lenin, Nikolai. The State and Revolution Livy. History of Rome Locke, John. Thoughts Concerning Education Locke, John. Essay Concerning Human Understanding Locke, John. Letter Concerning Toleration Locke, John. Of Civil Government Lucian. Works Lucretius. On the Nature of Things Luther, Martin. Three Treatises Luther, Martin. Table Talk Lyell, Charles. Principles of Geology Machiavelli, Niccolo. Discourses on the First Ten Books of Livy Machiavelli, Niccolo. The Prince Mann, Thomas. Joseph and His Brothers Mann, Thomas. The Magic Mountain Maritain, Jacques. Art and Scholasticism Maritain, Jacques. The Degrees of Knowledge Maritain, Jacques. The Rights of Man and Natural Law Maritain, Jacques. True Humanism Marx, Karl. Capital Melville, Herman. Billy Budd Melville, Herman. Moby Dick Mill, John Stuart. A System of Logic Mill, John Stuart. Autobiography Mill, John Stuart. On Liberty Mill, John Stuart. Representative Government Mill, John Stuart. The Subjection of Women Mill, John Stuart. Utilitarianism Milton, John. Works Moliere. Comedies Montaigne, Michel de. Essays
Montesquieu, Charles de Secondat, Baron de. Spirit of Laws Montesquieu, Charles de Secondat, Baron de. Persian Letters More, Sir Thomas. Utopia Newton, Isaac. Optics Newton, Isaac. Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm. The Will to Power Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm. Beyond Good and Evil Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm. The Geneology of Morals Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm. Thus Spoke Zarathustra Ovid. Works Pascal, Blaise. Pensees Pascal, Blaise. Scientific Treatises Pascal, Blaise. The Provincial Letters Perga, Apollonius of. Conic Sections Planck, Max. Origin and Development of the Quantum Theory Planck, Max. Scientific Autobiography Planck, Max. Where Is Science Going? Plato. Dialogues Plotinus. The Enneads Plutarch. Moralia Plutarch. Parallel Lives Poincare, Jules Henri. Science and Method Poincare, Jules Henri. Science and Hypothesis Pope, Alexander. Essay on Man Pope, Alexander. Rape of the Lock Pope, Alexander. Essay on Criticism Proust, Marcel. Remembrance of Things Past Ptolemy. Almagest Rabelais, Francois. Gargantua and Pantagruel Racine, Jean Baptiste. Tragedies Rousseau, Jean Jaques. The Social Contract Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. Emile Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. On the Origin of Inequality Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. On the Political Economy Russell, Bertrand. An Inquiry into Meaning and Truth Russell, Bertrand. Human Knowledge, Its Scope and Limits Russell, Bertrand. The Analsysis of Mind Russell, Bertrand. The Problems of Philosophy Santayana, George. Persons and Places Santayana, George. The Life of Reason; Skepticism and Animal Faith Sartre, Jean Paul. Being and Nothingness Sartre, Jean Paul. No Exit Sartre, Jean Paul. Nausea Schopenhauer, Arthur. Studies in Pessimism Shakespeare, William. Poetry and Plays
Shaw, George Bernard. Plays and Prefaces Smith, Adam. The Wealth of Nations Smith, Adam. The Theory of Moral Sentiments Solzhenitsyn, Aleksandr I.. The Cancer Ward Solzhenitsyn, Aleksandr I.. The First Circle Sophocles. Tragedies Spenser, Edmund. The Faerie Queene Spenser, Edmund. Prothalamion Spinoza, Benedict de. Ethics Stendhal. On Love Stendhal. The Charterhouse of Parma Stendhal. The Red and the Black Sterne, Laurence. A Sentimental Journey through France and Italy Sterne, Laurence. Tristram Shandy Swift, Jonathan. Gulliver's Travels Swift, Jonathan. Journal to Stella Swift, Jonathon. A Modest Proposal Swift, Jonathon. A Tale of a Tub Tacitus, Agricola Tacitus, Germania Tacitus, Annals Tacitus, Histories Thoreau, Henry David. Walden Thoreau, Henry David. Civil Disobedience Thucydides. History of the Peloponnesian War Tocqueville, Alexis de. Democracy in America Tolstoy, Leo. Twenty-Three Tales Tolstoy, Leo. Anna Karenina Tolstoy, Leo. War and Peace Tolstoy, Leo. What is Art? Toynbee, Arnold. Civilization on Trial Toynbee, Arnold. A Study of History Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Twain, Mark. The Mysterious Stranger Vinci, Leonardo da. Notebooks Virgil. Works Voltaire. Candide Voltaire. Philosophical Dictionary Voltaire. Letters on the English Whitehead, Alfred North. Adventures of Ideas Whitehead, Alfred North. An Introduction to Mathematics Whitehead, Alfred North. Science and the Modern World Whitehead, Alfred North. The Aims of Education and Other Essays Wordsworth, William. Poems
I. THE ANALYSIS OF A BOOK’S STRUCTURE
1. Classify the book according to kind and subject matter. 2. State what the whole book is about with the utmost brevity. 3. Enumerate its major parts in their order and relation, and analyze these parts as you have analyzed the whole. 4. Define the problem or problems the author is trying to solve.
II. THE INTERPRETATION OF A BOOK’S CONTENTS
I. Come to terms with the author by interpreting his basic words. 2. Grasp the author's leading propositions through dealing with his most important sentences. 3. Know the author's arguments, by finding them in, or constructing them out of, sequences of sentences. 4. Determine which of his problems the author solved, and which he did not; and of the latter, decide which the author knew he failed to solve.
III. THE CRITICISM OF A BOOK AS COMMUNICATION OF KNOWLEDGE A. General Maxims
1. Do not begin criticism until you have completed analysis and interpretation. (Do not say you agree, disagree, or suspend judgment, until you can say, "I understand.") 2. Do not disagree disputatiously or contentiously. 3. Respect the difference between knowledge and opinion, by having reasons for any critical judgment you make.
B. Specific Criteria for Points of Criticism
1. Show wherein the author is uninformed. 2. Show wherein the author is misinformed. 3. Show wherein the author is illogical. 4. Show wherein the author's analysis or account is incomplete.
Published Great Books of the Western World Homer. Iliad, Odyssey
The Old Testament Aeschylus. Tragedies Sophocles. Tragedies Herodotus. History Euripides. Tragedies Thucydides. History of the Peloponnesian War Hippocrates. Medical Writings Aristophanes. Comedies Plato. Dialogues Aristotle. Works Epicurus. 'Letter to Herodotus';'Letter to Menoecus' Euclid. Elements Archimedes. Works Apollonius. Conic Sections Cicero. Works Lucretius. On the Nature of Things Virgil. Works Horace. Works Livy. History of Rome Ovid. Works Plutarch. Parallel Lives; Moralia Tacitus. Histories; Annals; Agricola; Germania Nicomachus, Gerasa of. Introduction to Arithmetic Epictetus. Discourses; Encheiridion Ptolemy. Almagest Lucian. Works Aurelius, Marcus. Meditations Galen. On the Natural Faculties The New Testament Plotinus. The Enneads Augustine, St.. On the Teacher; Confessions; City of God; On Christian Doctrine The Song of Roland The Nibelungenlied The Saga of Burnt Njal Aquinas, St. Thomas. Summa Theologica Alighieri, Dante. The New Life; On Monarchy; The Divine Comedy Chaucer, Geoffrey. Troilus and Criseyde; The Canterbury Tales Vinci, Leonardo da. Notebooks Machiavelli, Niccolo. The Prince; Discourses on the First Ten Books of Livy Erasmus, Desiderius. The Praise of Folly Copernicus, Nicolaus. On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres More, Sir Thomas. Utopia
Luther, Martin. Table Talk; Three Treatises Rabelais, Francois. Gargantua and Pantagruel Calvin, John. Institutes of the Christian Religion Montaigne, Michel de. Essays Gilbert, William. On the Loadstone and Magnetic Bodies Cervantes, Miguel de. Don Quixote Spenser, Edmund. Prothalamion; The Faerie Queene Bacon, Francis. Essays; Advancement of Learning; Novum Organum, New Atlantis Shakespeare, William. Poetry and Plays Galilei, Galieo. The Starry Messenger; Dialogues Concerning Two New Sciences Kepler, Johannes. Epitome of Copernican Astronomy; Concerning the Harmonies of the World Harvey, William. On the Motion of the Heart and Blood in Animals; On the Circulation of the
Blood; On the Generation of Animals Hobbes, Thomas. The Leviathan Descartes, Rene. Rules for the Direction of the Mind; Discourse on the Method; Geometry; Meditations on First Philosophy Milton, John. Works Moliere. Comedies Pascal, Blaise. The Provincial Letters; Pensees; Scientific Treatises Huygens, Christiaan. Treatise on Light Spinoza, Benedict de. Ethics Locke, John. Letter Concerning Toleration; 'Of Civil Government'; Essay Concerning Human Understanding; Thoughts Concerning Education Racine, Jean Baptiste. Tragedies Newton, Isaac. Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy; Optics Leibniz, Gottfried Wilhelm von. Discourse on Metaphysics; New Essays Concerning Human Understanding; Monadology Defoe, Daniel. Robinson Crusoe Swift, Jonathon. A Tale of a Tub; Journal to Stella; Gulliver's Travels; A Modest Proposal Congreve, William. The Way of the World Berkeley, George. Principles of Human Knowledge Pope, Alexander. Essay on Criticism; Rape of the Lock; Essay on Man Montesquieu, Charles de Secondat, Baron de. Persian Letters; Spirit of Laws Voltaire. Letters on the English; Candide; Philosophical Dictionary Fielding, Henry. Joseph Andrews; Tom Jones Johnson, Samuel. The Vanity of Human Wishes; Dictionary; Rasselas; The Lives of the Poets Hume, David. Treatise on Human Nature; Essays Moral and Political; An Inquiry Concerning Human Understanding Rousseau, Jean Jaques. On the Origin of Inequality; On the Political Economy; Emile, The Social Contract Sterne, Laurence. Tristram Shandy; A Sentimental Journey through France and Italy Smith, Adam. The Theory of Moral Sentiments; The Wealth of Nations Kant, Immanuel. Critique of Pure Reason; Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysics of Morals; Critique of Practical Reason; The Science of Right; Critique of Judgment; Perpetual Peace
Gibbon, Edward. The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire; Autobiography Boswell, James. Journal Life of Samuel Johnson, Ll.D. Lavoisier, Antoine Laurent. Elements of Chemistry Hamilton, John Jay, James Madison, and Alexander. Federalist Papers Bentham, Jeremy. Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation; Theory of Fictions Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von. Faust; Poetry and Truth Fourier, Jean Baptiste Joseph. Analytical Theory of Heat Hegel, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich. Phenomenology of Spirit; Philosophy of Right; Lectures on the
Philosophy of History
Wordsworth, William. Poems Coleridge, Samuel Taylor. Poems; Biographia Literaria Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice; Emma Clausewitz, Karl von. On War Stendhal. The Red and the Black; The Charterhouse of Parma; On Love Byron, George Gordon, Lord. Don Juan Schopenhauer, Arthur. Studies in Pessimism Faraday, Michael. Chemical History of a Candle; Experimental Researches in Electricity Lyell, Charles. Principles of Geology Comte, Auguste. The Positive Philosophy Balzac, Honore de. Pere Goriot; Eugenie Grandet Emerson, Ralph Waldo. Representative Men; Essays; Journal Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter Tocqueville, Alexis de. Democracy in America Mill, John Stuart. A System of Logic; On Liberty; Representative Government; Utilitarianism;
The Subjection of Women; Autobiography Darwin, Charles. The Origin of Species; The Descent of Man; Autobiography Dickens, Charles. Works Bernard, Claude. Introduction to the Study of Experimental Medicine Thoreau, Henry David. Civil Disobedience; Walden Marx, Karl. Capital Eliot, George. Adam Bede; Middlemarch Melville, Herman. Moby Dick; Billy Budd Dostoevsky, Fyodor. Crime and Punishment; The Idiot; The Brothers Karamazov Flaubert, Gustave. Madame Bovary; Three Stories Ibsen, Henrik. Plays Tolstoy, Leo. War and Peace; Anna Karenina; What is Art?; Twenty-Three Tales Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn; The Mysterious Stranger James, William. The Principles of Psychology; The Varieties of Religious Experience; Pragamatism; Essays in Radical Empiricism James, Henry. The American; The Ambassadors Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm. Thus Spoke Zarathustra; Beyond Good and Evil; The Geneology of Morals; The Will to Power Poincare, Jules Henri. Science and Hypothesis; Science and Method Freud, Sigmund. The Interpretation of Dreams; Introductory Lectures on Psychoanalysis; Civilization and Its Discontents; New Introductory Lectures on Psychoanalysis
Shaw, George Bernard. Plays and Prefaces Planck, Max. Origin and Development of the Quantum Theory; Where Is Science Going?;
Scientific Autobiography
Bergson, Henri. Time and Free Will; Matter and Memory; Creative Evolution; The Two Sources
of Morality and Religion Dewey, John. How We Think; Democracy and Education; Experience and Nature; Logic; the Theory of Inquiry Whitehead, Alfred North. An Introduction to Mathematics; Science and the Modern World; The Aims of Education and Other Essays; Adventures of Ideas Santayana, George. The Life of Reason; Skepticism and Animal Faith; Persons and Places Lenin, Nikolai. The State and Revolution Proust, Marcel. Remembrance of Things Past Russell, Bertrand. The Problems of Philosophy; The Analsysis of Mind; An Inquiry into Meaning and Truth; Human Knowledge, Its Scope and Limits Mann, Thomas. The Magic Mountain; Joseph and His Brothers Einstein, Albert. The Meaning of Relativity; On the Method of Theoretical Physics, Physics; The Evolution of. James Joyce, 'The Dead' in Dubliners; Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man; Ulysses Maritain, Jaques. Art and Scholasticism; The Degrees of Knowledge; The Rights of Man and Natural Law; True Humanism Kafka, Franz. The Trial; The Castle Toynbee, Arnold. A Study of History; Civilization on Trial Sartre, Jean Paul. Nausea; No Exit; Being and Nothingness Solzhenitsyn, Aleksandr I.. The First Circle; The Cancer Ward
Mortimer Adler’s Great Books List (with Personal Revison)
The New Testament The Nibelungenlied The Old Testament The Saga of Burnt Njal The Song of Roland
Aeschylus. Tragedies Alighieri, Dante. On Monarchy Alighieri, Dante. The Divine Comedy Alighieri, Dante. The New Life Aquinas, St. Thomas. Summa Theologica Archimedes. Works Aristophanes. Comedies Aristotle. Works Arnold, Eberhard, Innerland Augustine, St. City of God Augustine, St. Confessions Augustine, St. On Christian Doctrine Augustine, St. On the Teacher Aurelius, Marcus. Meditations Austen, Jane. Emma Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice Bacon, Francis. Novum Organum, New Atlantis Bacon, Francis. Essays; Advancement of Learning Balzac, Honore de. Eugenie Grandet Balzac, Honore de. Pere Goriot Bentham, Jeremy. Theory of Fictions Bentham, Jeremy. Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation Bergson, Henri. The Two Sources of Morality and Religion Bergson, Henri. Creative Evolution Bergson, Henri. Matter and Memory Bergson, Henri. Time and Free Will Berkeley, George. Principles of Human Knowledge Bernard, Claude. Introduction to the Study of Experimental Medicine Boswell, James. Journal Life of Samuel Johnson, Ll.D. Byron, George Gordon, Lord. Don Juan Calvin, John. Institutes of the Christian Religion Cervantes, Miguel de. Don Quixote Chaucer, Geoffrey. The Canterbury Tales Chaucer, Geoffrey. Troilus and Criseyde Cicero. Works Clausewitz, Karl von. On War Coleridge, Samuel Taylor. Biographia Literaria
Coleridge, Samuel Taylor. Poems Comte, Auguste. The Positive Philosophy Congreve, William. The Way of the World Copernicus, Nicolaus. On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres Darwin, Charles. Autobiography Darwin, Charles. The Descent of Man Darwin, Charles. The Origin of Species Defoe, Daniel. Robinson Crusoe Descartes, Rene. Meditations on First Philosophy Descartes, Rene. Discourse on the Method Descartes, Rene. Geometry Descartes, Rene. Rules for the Direction of the Mind Dewey, John. Democracy and Education Dewey, John. Experience and Nature Dewey, John. How We Think Dewey, John. Logic Dewey, John. The Theory of Inquiry Dickens, Charles. Works Dostoevsky, Fyodor. The Brothers Karamazov Dostoevsky, Fyodor. Crime and Punishment Dostoevsky, Fyodor. The Idiot Edersheim, Alfred, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah Einstein, Albert. On the Method of Theoretical Physics Einstein, Albert. The Evolution of Physics Einstein, Albert. The Meaning of Relativity Eliot, George. Middlemarch Eliot, George. Adam Bede Emerson, Ralph Waldo. Essays Emerson, Ralph Waldo. Journal Emerson, Ralph Waldo. Representative Men Epictetus. Encheiridion Epictetus. Discourses Epicurus. 'Letter to Herodotus' Epicurus. 'Letter to Menoecus' Erasmus, Desiderius. The Praise of Folly Euclid. Elements Euripides. Tragedies Faraday, Michael. Chemical History of a Candle Faraday, Michael. Experimental Researches in Electricity Fielding, Henry. Tom Jones Fielding, Henry. Joseph Andrews Flaubert, Gustave. Three Stories Flaubert, Gustave. Madame Bovary Fourier, Jean Baptiste Joseph. Analytical Theory of Heat Freud, Sigmund. Civilization and Its Discontents
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