Recommended reads

Jotaro July 19, 2025 at 03:06 575 views 3 comments

Hello! Are there any one-size-fits-all philosophy books/essays that I should read? I'm interested in existentialism and secularism. I'm reading Thus Spoke Zarathustra currently and will be reading The Myth of Sisyphus following that. Thanks!

Comments (3)

I like sushi July 19, 2025 at 04:32 #1001341 0 likes

Reply to Jotaro Thus Spoke Zarathustra is not a good place to start for Neitzsche. I would go for 'Beyond Good and Evil' and then work your way backwards before tackling Thus Spake.

For ideas about existentialism and secularism I would maybe go for reading Marcuse's 'One-Dimensional Man' alongside Mircea Eliade's 'The Sacred and The Profane'.

Other than that, good old Plato and The Republic is a good introductionary text covering many different areas.

Have fun :)

Jotaro July 19, 2025 at 05:07 #1001345 0 likes

Thank you! @I like sushi

kirillov July 24, 2025 at 19:43 #1002404 0 likes

Reply to Jotaro For Nietzsche, I would take "The Birth of Tragedy" first. Nietzsche himself said that one should start with his earlier works, and then go with later ones. Though Friedrich rejected "The Birth of Tragedy", it's still a great book. And important one.

And it's pretty existentialist. The question of affirmation of life, it's value.