4
votes
In need of a recommendation.
I'm looking for something challenging to read that is sort of on the fringe of philosophy and makes some interesting arguments. I would like to read classical philosophy but the girl I'm reading it with just finished a philosophy major and doesn't want to, so I guess I'm looking for something a little "softer".
I'm not sure what you would consider "challenging". I suppose that's quite subjective. Some books that spring to mind as to being "softer" but also on the fringe of philosophy would be
"Sofie's world" - Jostein Gaarder
"Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" - Robert M. Pirsig
"Diaspora" - Greg Egan
if you already have a philosophy educations first two might seem quite basic to you, I enjoyed them but I don't have an education in Philosophy!
Diaspora is what I would consider "hard sci-fi" with some really unique and interesting concepts about reality.
As an aside I also found "The Analysis of Mind" by Bertrand Russel to be quite accessible and a good read.
If we can call Diaspora fringe philosophy, then Stephenson's Anathem probably fits that label as well.
Thanks! After reading a few reviews "Diaspora" looks really interesting. I dont have a philosophy major either but I'm studying computer science so it looks like a cool blend of ideas.
I enjoyed Sophie's World when I was in school. I had troubles finishing Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Repair.
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is an excellent book. The Tao Te Ching is a good work to follow it up with.
The Stranger - Camus
You Can't GO Home Again - Thomas Wolfe
The stranger is mostly about perception in a lot of ways. They condemn the guy because he was tired and the sun was in his eyes.
The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind is an interesting nonfiction read that isn't exactly philosophy but makes an astonishingly compelling argument that consciousness is a much more recent phenomenon than we might have otherwise thought.
Nausea, by Jean-Paul Sartre. It's a short philosophical novel about a blocked writer, who goes through an existencial crisis and writes a diary about it. He calls this feeling of existencial crisis "the nausea".
It's philosophical but in a very personal and introspective way, very charged with emotions. I enjoyed reading it so much.
You might like Les Misérables by Victor Hugo. It's still my favorite book to this day.
Not sure if it fits your criteria perfectly, but maybe?
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance was a play on the title of a work published in 1948, Zen In the Art of Archery, by Eugen Herrigel. It's non-fiction, a thoughtful reporting on a European learning archery from a Zen Master. I thought it was great.
Are you looking for something that's fiction or non?
If non-fiction is okay and you're in comp sci, you might want to give Gödel, Escher, Bach a try. There's philosophy, computer science, and it's also an entertaining read.
Hofstadter also wrote I am a Strange Loop, which was gonna be my recommendation.
That's also a great recommendation.