Essays and Aphorisms


Arthur Schopenhauer - 1851
    This selection of his writings on religion, ethics, politics, women and many other themes is taken from Schopenhauer's last work, Parerga and Paralipomena, which he published in 1851. He depicts humanity as locked in a struggle beyond good and evil, each individual absolutely free within a Godless world in which art, morality and self-awareness are our only salvation. This innovative and pessimistic view proved powerfully influential upon philosophy and art, affecting the work of Nietzsche and Wittgenstein among others.

Dancing with the Gods: Reflections on Life and Art


Kent Nerburn - 2018
    Tender and joyous, it is a celebration of art's power to transform the darkest of human experience and give voice to the grandest of human hopes.

Meditations on First Philosophy, with Selections from the Objections and Replies


René Descartes - 1641
    It is based on the best available texts and presents Descartes' central metaphysical writings in clear, readable modern English.

Letters to a Young Artist


Peter Nesbett - 2006
    The young artist asked a selection of his heroes, Is it possible to maintain one's integrity and freedom of thought and still participate in the art world? Responding artists--including Gregory Amenoff, Jo Baer, John Baldessari, Jimmie Durham, Joan Jonas, Adrian Piper, William Pope Lawrence Weiner and Richard Tuttle wrote back with advice (Gregory Amenoff: Keep away from art fairs.); encouragement (Joan Jonas: The answer is the Work. To Work. To care about the Work.); and cautionary tales (Adrian Piper: Young artist, it is highly unlikely that you will be rewarded professionally for reaching this point. Nor will it make you popular. On the contrary: you will develop a reputation for being 'difficult, ' 'uncooperative, ' 'inflexible, ' or even 'self-destructive;' and treated [or mistreated, or ostracized, or blacklisted] accordingly.). Twelve of these letters were originally published in Art on Paper. This book expands considerably upon that proje

The Hour of Decision: Germany and World-Historical Evolution


Oswald Spengler - 1933
    Spengler's writings had a great effect on the racial thinking of Adolf Hitler.

Diogenes the Cynic: Sayings and Anecdotes, with Other Popular Moralists


Diogenes of Sinope - 2012
    His biting wit and eccentric behavior were legendary, and it was by means of his renowned aphorisms that his moral teachings were transmitted. He scorned the conventions of civilized life, and his ascetic lifestyle and caustic opinions informed the Cynic philosophy and later influenced Stoicism. This unique edition also covers his immediate successors, such as Crates, his wife Hipparchia, and the witty moral preacher Bion. The contrasting teachings of the Cyrenaic school, founded by Aristippos, a pleasure-loving friend of Socrates, complete the volume, together with a selection of apocryphal letters.About the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

Minima Moralia: Reflections on a Damaged Life


Theodor W. Adorno - 1951
    Built from aphorisms and reflections, he shifts in register from personal experience to the most general theoretical problems.

On Liberty and Other Writings


John Stuart Mill - 1989
    A comprehensive introduction prefaces two classic texts,

Living by your own Rules


Devdutt Pattanaik - 2016
    His profound management sutras are derived from his bestselling books on business and management. They show how individuals can realize their potential, create wealth and achieve lasting success by following uniquely Indian principles (based on Hindu, Jain and Buddhist mythology) of goal setting, strategic thinking and decision-making.

Vitamin H


Abhishek Vipul Thakkar - 2020
    It aims to elevate the lives of people by fostering inner confidence and strengthening their faith. In a turbulent and chaotic world, people are in dire need of words of motivation and inspiration. Vitamin H provides the much needed therapy which will successfully cure the diseases such as negativity, pessimism, cynicism and envy. It will awaken the dreamer within you and help you achieve the seemingly impossible.

The False Principle of Our Education


Max Stirner - 1842
    A classic essay from Stirner.

The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge


Jean-François Lyotard - 1979
    Many definitions of postmodernism focus on its nature as the aftermath of the modern industrial age when technology developed. This book extends that analysis to postmodernism by looking at the status of science, technology, and the arts, the significance of technocracy, and the way the flow of information is controlled in the Western world.

Introducing Derrida


Jeff Collins - 1993
    Derrida's philosophy is an initially puzzling array of oblique, deviant and yet rigorous tactics for destabilizing texts, meanings and identities. Deconstruction, as these strategies have been called, has been reviled as a politically pernicioius nihilism and celebrated as a liberatory politics of indifference.

Specters of Marx


Jacques Derrida - 1993
    His plenary address, 'Specters of Marx', delivered in two parts, forms the basis of this book. Hotly debated when it was first published, a rapidly changing world and world politics have scarcely dented the relevance of this book.

Terry Goodkind


Jesse Russell - 2012
    Before his success as an author Goodkind worked primarily as a painter, as well as doing carpentry and woodworking. Goodkind is a proponent of Ayn Rand's philosophical approach of Objectivism, with references to Rand's ideas and novels referenced in his works.The Sword of Truth series sold twenty-five million copies worldwide and was translated into more than twenty languages. It was adapted into a television series called Legend of the Seeker, premiering November 1, 2008 but canceled after two seasons in May, 2010.