Best Philosophy books you have read

[Arsh1469]

Just share your favorite philosophy books you have read. Also don't include SGGS or Dasam Granth because literary everyone on this forum has read some of it.

[Arsh1469]

Meditations 

Republic

Upishands

[Premi]

I liked Eckhart Tolle's books 

[GurjantGnostic]

Was trying to think of some easy to miss philosophy that isn't too dry. 

There's a lot of Bruce Lee's writings out now. 

And, these here, they're in audio and video format, unless you want to buy his book, but Frank Zappa is a really interestingly placed, sober, politically sophisticated, conservative, Composer who mainly was only infamous for his protest brand of rock music. He pioneered and financed a great many of the devices that became electronic music production today. His vices are sex and cigarettes fair warning. But if you want to hear rational commentary, and truly american philosophy from the 1950s to 1990s, Frank Zappa is worth aquainting yourself with. 

 Musically most people would probably prefer his later orchestral stuff, and various rifts. The bulk of his music was orchestra and protests disguised as rock. 

I won't link most his songs lol. 

Be he fought against the pmrc and censorship among other things and his insight is interesting. 

 

 

 Don't take it from me. 

Oh and music videos? Invented by Frank. All the effects? Frank. 

And. Frank. Was. Sober. 

[GurjantGnostic]

Everyone is always asking about this one. Again not a book, forgive me please.  

 

 

[Premi]

@GurjantGnostic

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gnostic-Philosophy-Ancient-Persia-Modern/dp/1594770352?

 

Gnosticism was a contemporary of early Christianity, and its demise can be traced to Christianity's efforts to silence its teachings. The Gnostic message, however, was not destroyed but simply went underground. Starting with the first emergence of Gnosticism, the author shows how its influence extended from the teachings of neo-Platonists and the magical traditions of the Middle Ages to the beliefs and ideas of the Sufis, Jacob Böhme, Carl Jung, Rudolf Steiner, and the Rosicrucians and Freemasons.

In the language of spiritual freemasonry, gnosisis the rejected stone necessary for the completion of the Temple, a Temple of a new cosmic understanding that today's heirs to Gnosticism continue to strive to create. The Gnostics believed that the universe embodies a ceaseless contest between opposing principles. Terrestrial life exhibits the struggle between good and evil, life and death, beauty and ugliness, and enlightenment and ignorance: gnosisand agnosis. The very nature of physical space and time are obstacles to humanity's ability to remember its divine origins and recover its original unity with God.

Thus the preeminent gnostic secret is that we are God in potential and the purpose of bona fide gnostic teaching is to return us to our godlike nature. Tobias Churton is a filmmaker and the founding editor of the magazine FreemasonryToday. He studied theology at Oxford University and created the award-winning documentary series and accompanying book The Gnostics, as well as several other films on Christian doctrine, mysticism, and magical folklore. He lives in England.

[GurjantGnostic]

4 minutes ago, Premi said:

@GurjantGnostic

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gnostic-Philosophy-Ancient-Persia-Modern/dp/1594770352?

 

Gnosticism was a contemporary of early Christianity, and its demise can be traced to Christianity's efforts to silence its teachings. The Gnostic message, however, was not destroyed but simply went underground. Starting with the first emergence of Gnosticism, the author shows how its influence extended from the teachings of neo-Platonists and the magical traditions of the Middle Ages to the beliefs and ideas of the Sufis, Jacob Böhme, Carl Jung, Rudolf Steiner, and the Rosicrucians and Freemasons.

In the language of spiritual freemasonry, gnosisis the rejected stone necessary for the completion of the Temple, a Temple of a new cosmic understanding that today's heirs to Gnosticism continue to strive to create. The Gnostics believed that the universe embodies a ceaseless contest between opposing principles. Terrestrial life exhibits the struggle between good and evil, life and death, beauty and ugliness, and enlightenment and ignorance: gnosisand agnosis. The very nature of physical space and time are obstacles to humanity's ability to remember its divine origins and recover its original unity with God.

Thus the preeminent gnostic secret is that we are God in potential and the purpose of bona fide gnostic teaching is to return us to our godlike nature. Tobias Churton is a filmmaker and the founding editor of the magazine FreemasonryToday. He studied theology at Oxford University and created the award-winning documentary series and accompanying book The Gnostics, as well as several other films on Christian doctrine, mysticism, and magical folklore. He lives in England.

Looks good. I had read and been told that gnosticism predates christianity, but that's neither here nor there. 

Take anything with a grain of salt. This particular source seems pro masonic for example. 

Looks compelling though. 

[Premi]

1 minute ago, GurjantGnostic said:

This particular source seems pro masonic for example. 

 

The author (Tobias Churton) likes this

https://www.watkinspublishing.com/authors/tobias-churton/

[GurjantGnostic]

5 hours ago, Premi said:

The author (Tobias Churton) likes this

https://www.watkinspublishing.com/authors/tobias-churton/

Red flags. 

[HSD]

Esotericism is just a freemason code word for occultism. 
 

I’d recommend Epistulae Morales Ad Lucilium by Seneca, definitely a good book for those who are genuinely interested in philosophy.  

[HSD]

Another good one is The Moral Sayings of Publilius Syrus. Though it’s more focused on wisdom than philosophy.