Philosophy

Aesthetics, the second volume of the complete collection of Michel Foucault's courses, articles and interviews, focuses on the philosophy, literatu...

Tough times don't last. Tough people do. In The Black Swan, Taleb showed us that highly improbable and unpredictable events underlie almost everyth...

'It is impossible to live the pleasant life without also living sensibly, nobly and justly' The ancient Greek philosopher and teacher Epicurus argu...

In Freud's view we are driven by the desire for pleasure as well as by the desire to avoid pain. But the pursuit of pleasure has never been a simpl...

'What Japan was she owed to the samurai. They were not only the flower of the nation, but its root as well.' Inazo Nitobe's book, the most influent...

How do we preserve what makes us human in an age of uncertainty? Are we now just consumers shaped by market forces? A sequence of DNA? A collection...

This new collection contains some of Camus' most brilliant political writing as he reflects on moral responsibility and the role of the artist in t...

Leopardi, poet and philosopher, explores in humorous but savage dialogue the power of fashion and its strange irrationality. He also imagines conve...

The grisly spectacle of public executions and torture of centuries ago has been replaced by the penal system in western society - but has anything ...

translated by Robert F. Dobbin 'I must die. But must I die bawling?' Epictetus, a Greek Stoic and freed slave, ran a thriving philosophy school in ...

Misogyny is a hot topic, yet it's often misunderstood. What is misogyny exactly? Who deserves to be called a misogynist? How does misogyny contrast...

translated by R.J. Hollingdale In late 1888, only weeks before his final collapse into madness, Nietzsche (1844-1900) set out to compose his autobi...

The Essential Works of Michel Foucault offers the definitive collection of his articles, interviews and seminars from across thirty years of his ex...

Published shortly after his death in 1677, the Ethics is Spinoza's greatest work - a fully cohesive philosophical system that strives to provide a ...

The Father of Existentialism, Kierkegaard transformed philosophy with his conviction that we must all create our own nature; in this great work of ...

'We have left dry land and put out to sea! We have burned the bridge behind us - what is more, we have burned the land behind us!' Nietzsche's deva...

'Don't hope that events will turn out the way you want, welcome events in whichever way they happen' How can we cope when life's events seem beyond...

How can Stoicism inspire us to lead more enjoyable lives? In the past few years, Stoicism has been making a comeback. But what exactly did the Stoi...

Written in Greek by an intellectual Roman emperor without any intention of publication, the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius offer a wide range of fa...

Widely regarded as the father of modern Western philosophy, Descartes sought to look beyond established ideas and create a thought system based on ...

translated by Desmond M. Clarke Descartes was prepared to go to any lengths in his search for certainty--even to deny those things that seemed most...

translated by D.C. Lau Mencius was one of the great philosophers of ancient China, second only in influence to Confucius, whose teachings he defend...

Voltaire's short, radical and iconoclastic essays on philosophical ideas from angels to idolatry, miracles to wickedness, make wry observations abo...

In this short introduction to Zen Buddhism, a practising Japanese monk shares the many lessons he has learned from life inside a temple. With charm...

In this personal and practical guide to moral self-improvement and living a good life, the second-century philosopher Epictetus tackles questions o...

What is kindness? Does it make us happier? And does it have a place in a selfish world? Psychoanalyst Adam Phillips and historian Barbara Taylor pr...

In one of the most influential philosophical works ever writen, John Stuart Mill explores the risks and responsibilities of liberty. Examining the ...

Blending intellectual speculation with anecdote and personal reflection, the Renaissance thinker and writer Montaigne pioneered the modern essay. T...

William Hazlitt's tough, combative writings on subjects ranging from slavery to the imagination, boxing matches to the monarchy, established him as...

The Stoic writings of the philosopher Seneca offer powerful insights into the art of living, the importance of reason and morality, and continue to...

On the Suffering of the World is a collection of the later aphoristic writings of Arthur Schopenhauer, known for their incisive, aphoristic style a...

'One swallow does not make a summer; neither does one day. Similarly neither can one day, or a brief space of time, make a man blessed and happy' W...

Arguing that 'education is freedom', Paulo Freire's radical international classic contends that traditional teaching styles keep the poor powerless...

The past is forgotten, and the future is without hope. Dystopia has become a reality. This is the new normal in our apocalyptic politics - but if w...

The third and final volume of the Essential Works of Foucault series, Power brings together his writings on the issues that he helped make the core...

'When silence or tricks of language contribute to maintaining an abuse that must be reformed or a suffering that can be relieved, then there is no ...

Alain de Botton takes us one step further than Dawkins or Hitchens ventured - into a world of ideas beyond the God debate... All of us, whether rel...

translated by Michael Grant Collecting the most incisive and influential writings of one of Rome's finest orators, Cicero's Selected Works is trans...

Philosopher, dramatist, rhetorician, Stoic and pragmatist, Seneca was one of the most contradictory figures in ancient Rome, embracing a stern asce...

For a generation now, public debate has been corroded by a narrow derision of religion in the name of an often very vaguely understood 'science'. J...

Society Must Be Defended is Michel Foucault's devastating critique of the systems of power and control inherent in civilization. Taken from a serie...

Fundamental to Chinese philosophy and religion, the Tao Te Ching is a simple guidebook for virtue, encouraging peace, understanding and humility. R...

What makes a house truly beautiful? Why are many new houses so ugly? Why do we argue so bitterly about sofas and pictures - and can differences of ...

Few activities seem to promise as much happiness as going travelling: taking off for somewhere else, somewhere far from home, a place with more int...

For more than two thousand years, Sun-tzu's The Art of War has provided leaders with essential advice on battlefield tactics and management strateg...

Offering ancient wisdom on how to use skill, cunning, tactics and discipline to outwit your opponent, this bestselling 2000-year-old military manua...

Why are we so often unwilling to accept that life is unpredictable? In this brilliant book Nassim Nicholas Taleb distils his idiosyncratic wisdom t...

translated by Martin Palmer The Book of Chuang Tzu draws together the stories, tales, jokes and anecdotes that have gathered around the figure of C...