In the time I have been studying and writing about philosophy, both as an amateur in my free time and as a professional, when it comes to interviewing experts like José Antonio Marina or Jorge Freire, I have discovered one thing: there is nothing boring, distant or inaccessible in philosophy. It’s just a matter of finding the right book.
And when you find the right books, this discipline that seems so cold and far from everyday life becomes an intimate compass that helps us understand ourselves better, make more meaningful decisions and live lucidly. It is not necessary to have an entire library with classic treatises, it is enough to open the door to those works that are capable of transforming scattered questions into deep reflections.. That is precisely what I have tried to bring you in this compilation.
This list brings together ten books that not only explain philosophy, they will also make you feel it. From classics that have marked the history of thought, to contemporary works that bring it closer to real life.these readings can become a powerful companion for those seeking to think, feel, and live more consciously.
‘Sofia’s World’ by Jostein Gaarder
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The first work that you must read to understand philosophy is, without a doubt, Sofia’s World. In addition to being essential, it is attractive and easy to approach, given that it is written in the form of a novelwith enveloping and entertaining prose.
The book introduces us to Sofía, a 14-year-old teenager who begins to receive some somewhat disturbing letters, with questions like “who are you?” Or “where does the world come from?”. The young woman tries to answer them, while trying to find out who sent them. This process will make you embark on an unexpected journey through the history of philosophy from which we have much to learn. With the mastery of great authors, Gaarder manages to present us with the great thinkers and the most important philosophical concepts in an accessible and enjoyable way.
‘An educated woman’ by José Carlos Ruiz
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In a similar vein to the previous recommendation, although with a more adult aspect, José Carlos Ruiz has published his first novel. In this case, its protagonist is an adult, Eva, a philosophy professor, a new mother and a woman at death’s door.. A late diagnosis of cancer brings about a premature death, and with the knowledge of this, Eva launches herself on the mission of writing her Letters to Lucia.
Following the style of the Letters to Lucilius of Seneca, the teacher intends to leave in writing those great lessons that she would have liked to bequeath to her daughter, whom she is barely going to meet. In the novel, we follow her in her last moments of life, reading the words she leaves written, and taking a personal journey through philosophy.its great authors and the great questions, such as loneliness, death, seduction, fear or guilt.
Aristotle’s ‘Nichomachean Ethics’
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If in the previous book it was Eva, a fictional character, who wrote to her daughter, In this case we have the book that Aristotle, the Greek philosopher, left written for his own son, Nicomachus.. It analyzes some fundamental questions about the nature of good, about happiness itself, and the author proposes finding eudaimonia, a term that we have used since then and until today to define full and true satisfaction.
It is a book with a practical and realistic approach, which despite the passing of the years allows for a gentle reading.. A must read for anyone who wants to live in the world with virtue and harmony.
‘Meditations’ by Marcus Aurelius
Marcus Aurelius, Roman emperor and one of the greatest figures of Stoicism, wrote his Meditations as a diary, without expecting anyone to take a look inside its pages. However, his words ended up being published, and remain today, the most read in Stoic philosophy.
As a diary, the emperor reveals some of his reflections on life, self-discipline, acceptance of the circumstance and the main Stoic values, which are currently in trend. It is a timeless map of self-discovery and personal growth.
‘Practical Guide to Stoicism’ by Massimo Pigluicci
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If the Meditations by Marcus Aurelius leave you wanting more and you want to continue diving into the world of the Stoics, I recommend this short and simple work by Massimo Pigluicci, expert in Stoicism, who writes in his Practical guide to Stoicism the main lessons we can learn from their authors. Or rather, one of them, quite forgotten, but essential for the doctrine: Epictetus.
‘Think like a Greek philosopher’ by Donald Robertson
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Another of the works that we could recommend in this list would be the Dialogues of Plato. In many of them, The great philosopher records the supposed conversations he had with his teacher, Socrates. Instead, however, I recommend this book by Donald Robertson, which collects in Think like a Greek philosopher the essential pieces of Plato and puts together on paper a credible account of what Socrates’ life must have been like, rescuing everything we know about him.
So, chapter by chapter, reconstructs the life of one of the great masters of philosophy of whom nothing remains writtenrevealing many of his teachings to us.
‘The Thought of Life’ by Víctor Ballesteros Sánchez-Molina
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It is often said that philosophy is the art of asking questions, even if we do not always manage to answer them. This is the idea that Víctor Ballesteros Sánchez-Molina rescues in his work The thought lifein which he revives in famous sapere aude to challenge us to think, reflect and learn.
In this way, The philosopher reviews some of the oldest questions that philosophy and humanity have been asking for centuries, to give us some answers. Or, rather, to ask ourselves new questions.
‘anti-manual of philosophy’ by Michael Onfray
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In the interview that Ballesteros gave for Bodymente, he made two recommendations for philosophy books with which we could approach this science in an entertaining but reflective way. This was the first book he recommended to us, The philosophy anti-manual by Michael Onfray.
Since Ballesteros is a high school teacher, we are not surprised that this was his first recommendation. On its first page we can read the recommendation of another great philosopher whom we have been lucky enough to interview in our magazine, José Antonio Marinawhich says «in theory, this book is a philosophy course for teenagers. In practice, it is a great book for anyone who enjoys thinking.» And it is that he Anti-manual It tries to take all the obligations of high school philosophy to turn them into Socratic and alternative lessons full of good humor that invite you to think without having headaches.
‘philosophy in the street’ by Eduardo Infantes
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As in the previous case, it was Ballesteros who recommended this book to us, in which Infantes, following in the footsteps of Onfray, It is proposed to transform the high school subject of philosophy into a Socratic course, full of ironysense of humor and references to cinema.
Among its pages, We find common questions, like, is saying “me too” the same as saying “I love you”? Or how do you get over a breakup? But behind the apparent banality, philosophical lessons are hidden that make us think and bring us little by little closer to the history of philosophy.
‘In Praise of Love’ by Rafael Narbona
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We end with an essay by one of the great thinkers of our times, Rafael Narbona, who in his Praise of love makes us reflect on the importance of loving in times of disconnection, loneliness and war. His is a personal story, in which he presents the main lessons that philosophy has left us about the subtle art of loving. A delight for reading lovers from which we can draw great philosophical lessons.
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