For over 2000 years, philosophy has been our best guide to the experience of being human, and the true nature of reality.

From Aristotle, Plato, Epicurus, Confucius, Cicero and Heraclitus in ancient times to 17th century rationalists Descartes, Leibniz and Spinoza, from 20th-century greats Jean-Paul Sartre, Jean Baudrillard and Simone de Beauvoir to contemporary thinkers Michael Sandel, Peter Singer and Slavoj Zizek, 50 Philosophy Classics explores key writings that have shaped the discipline and had an impact on the real world.

This is the thinking person’s guide to a uniquely powerful tool for opening our minds and helping us view the world. It synthesises the 50 greatest books ever written, distilling hundreds of ideas from across the centuries with insightful commentary, key quotes and biographical information on the authors.

The revised edition will:

include 7 new contemporary or timely classics such as Judith Butler’s Gender Trouble, Michael Sandel’s The Tyranny of Merit, Isaiah Berlin’s The Hedgehog and the Fox and Mary Midgely’s Myths We Live By.

include a reader code to access a free pack of downloadable bonus material

have a revised introduction to reflect on the current relevance of philosophy today with topical themes to have emerged in the 9 years since the last edition was written.

have some of the less relevant titles removed

50 Philosophy Classics is an impressively wide-ranging compendium of nutshell clarity. It strikes just the right balance between contextual analysis, and breezy illustrative anecdote.

Dr Phil Oliver, Department of Philosophy, Middle Tennessee State University, USA