
Ask HN: What are the best books to (re)discover philosophy? - simonebrunozzi
I loved philosophy when I was in high school (Italy, 20+ years ago). I&#x27;d love to rediscover it, but in a hopefully exciting way. In other words, I am not looking for a long, boring, heavy book on philosopher X, but rather something fresh and interesting... Ideally, a SINGLE book that covers philosophy in its entirety. Any good suggestions or ideas?
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dalf
Sophie's World

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophie%27s_World](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophie%27s_World)

[https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0374530718/](https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0374530718/)

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barry0079
An excellent entry point and no doubt also a way to rekindle your thinking.

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Schiphol
Most academic philosophers (disclaimer: I am one of them) don't think of their
field in terms of important figures of the past, but in terms of unsolved
philosophical problems right here right now. [Tim Williamson's
Tetralogue]([https://global.oup.com/academic/product/tetralogue-978019872...](https://global.oup.com/academic/product/tetralogue-9780198728887?cc=us&lang=en&))
is a good intro to philosophy from this perspective.

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Top19
Look no further! I would bet a year’s worth of pay this is the book you’re
looking for:

The Story of Philosophy: The Lives and Opinions of the World's Greatest
Philosophers
[https://www.amazon.com/dp/0671739166/](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0671739166/)

It’s by Will Durant, who wrote some of the most exceptional works of the 20th
century regarding history, philosophy, and the meaning of human civilization.

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jason_wirth
Mortimer Adler's "How To Think About The Great Ideas"

I got a degree in philosophy and its the single best general book I've ever
read.

The book is actually a transcription of a TV show he did and its in dialogue
form.

The structure is broken up into a bunch of mini chapters that are "how to
think about _______". Like how to think about love, how to think about
government, etc.

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muzani
I second this.

I'm a big fan of Mortimer Adler. His specialty seems to be piecing together
all the other works of philosophy and making it easily accessible to the
commoner.

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SirLJ
The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged By Ayn Rand

[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayn_Rand](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayn_Rand)

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guilhas
"Cracking Philosophy" 400 pages, 2/3 pages for each philosopher or
philosophical idea, with illustrations.

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brudgers
_Philosophical Investigations_

