In our latest "how can we help you?" thread, a reader writes:
I am wondering what philosophy books people read in their spare time "for fun" (or, at least not for research). Most of what I read in philosophy are related to my research or teaching. In my spare time, most of what I read are outside of philosophy, such as fictions or news articles. I imagine there are philosophy books that are inspiring while not too technical. I can read them in my spare time, may or may not dive deep into them, but will learn something new and interesting. Do people have recommendations? I hope the question makes sense.
What a great idea for a thread! Brad answered:
There are some great philosophy books to read in your spare time – they are as much about the broader culture as they are about philosophy. For example, Wittgenstein's Poker is a real joy to read. It is so engaging, and it gives you a nice picture of the worlds of Wittgenstein and Popper, including their social worlds. It is truly funny at parts. A second book is The Murder of Professor Schlick. It is a bit more technical, but also quite insightful. The Vienna Circle Positivists are shown to be quite humane people, each with their own challenges and strengths. Finally, I would mention George Reisch's books: The Politics of Paradigms and How the Cold War Transformed Philosophy of Science. George is very knowledgeable about the Cold War period. He also has a great sense of humor.
I've also read and can recommend Wittgenstein's Poker and The Murder of Professor Schlick. Personally, my favorite spare time books are biographies and autobiographies of philosophers and scientists. I highly recommend this John Stuart Mill biography (which contains some great history of philosophy, including some of Mill's criticisms of moral intuitionism), Cheryl Misack's recent Frank Ramsey biography (which has some nice coverage of why Ramsey favored naturalistic philosophy), Ray Monk's Wittgenstein biography, and (for those interested in science and philosophy of science) this great physicists book, which provides a wonderful history of and relatively non-technical introduction to the groundbreaking contributions of a wide variety of physicists ranging all the way from Galileo to Marie Curie.
I love biographies in particular because they not only expose me to interesting tidbits of intellectual history–including the fascinating personalities and personal stories (and struggles!) of influential historical figures, as well as their otherwise lesser-known thoughts about ideas and debates that may have never shown up in their published work–but also because it helps to bring the history of ideas alive, situating great works in their historical context, revealing how many of the greatest figures in intellectual history had struggles not unlike you and I. For example, did you know that Kant had to work for a number of years as an unpaid lecturer before getting a paid (not to mention permanent) academic job? Or that the Critique of Pure Reason initially received brutal reviews? Also, in addition to being a pleasure to read, I find that biographies often inadvertently inspire new philosophical ideas!
What about all of you? Any good recommendations for philosophy-related books to read in one's spare time?
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