Key Philosophical Texts (in the Western Canon)

Interview by Sophie Roell of Nigel Warburton at Five Books.

"Even if you've never studied philosophy, it's nice to be able to read a few books and get a sense of what it's all about. Here, we asked our philosophy editor, Nigel Warburton, to talk us through five key works of Western philosophy—many of them in the public domain and available for free as ebooks—and explain why, despite one or two odd conclusions or quirky writing styles, they've played such an important role in expanding our understanding of the world."

See Plato, Dialogues, and The Seventh Letter, in Great Books of the Western World (first edition, 52 Vol., 1952) volume 7, (second edition, 60 Vol., 1990) volume 6.

See Descartes, Rules for the Direction of the Mind, Method of Rightly Conducting the Reason, Meditations on First Philosophy, Objections Against the Meditations, and Replies, and The Geometry, in Great Books of the Western World (first edition, 52 Vol., 1952) volume 31, (second edition, 60 Vol., 1990) volume 28.

See Hume, "On the Standard of Taste" from Essays, Moral, Political, and Literary, in volume 5, and "Of Refinement in the Arts", "Of Money", "Of the Balance of Trade", "Of Taxes", and "Of the Study of History", from Essays, Moral, Political, and Literary, in volume 7, Gateway to the Great Books (10 Vol., 1963); and An Inquiry Concerning Human Understanding, in Great Books of the Western World (first edition, 52 Vol., 1952) volumen 35, and (second edition, 60 Vol., 1990) volume 33.

See John Stuart Mill, "Childhood and Youth" from Autobiography, in volume 6, and "Nature" from Three Essays on Religion, in volume 10, of Gateway to the Great Books (10 Vol., 1963); and On Liberty, Representative Government, and Utilitarianism, in Great Books of the Western World (first edition, 52 Vol., 1952) volume 43, (second edition, 60 Vol., 1990) volume 40.

See Wittgenstein, Philosophical Investigations, in Great Books of the Western World (second edition, 60 Vol., 1990) volume 55.