Best Modern Philosophy Books of 2025

Meditations is a collection of personal writings by Marcus Aurelius, the Roman Emperor, on Stoic philosophy and self-improvement. The 12 books of Meditations were originally written by Aurelius as a source of guidance for himself. However, this book has been adapted into Modern English for easy reading. The adaptation has made it possible for contemporary readers to understand and appreciate the timeless wisdom contained in the original text. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in philosophy and self-improvement.

Humanly Possible by Sarah Bakewell is a sweeping history of seven hundred years of humanist freethinking, inquiry, and hope. Bakewell explores the intellectual adventure of humanism, from literary enthusiasts to secular campaigners, and from anatomists to agnostics. The book illuminates the personal and individual matter of humanism, showcasing its enduring power despite opposition from fanatics, mystics, and tyrants. Bakewell's writing is clear-eyed, enlightening, and richly ambiguous, making this book a dazzling contribution to the literature on humanism. Overall, Humanly Possible is an intoxicating and joyful celebration of the humanistic worldview.

Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid is a Pulitzer Prize-winning book that explores the links between formal systems, human thought, creativity, and the prospects for computers and artificial intelligence. The author, Douglas Hofstadter, achieves the feat of making abstruse mathematical topics easy to understand and entertaining. The book is a fascinating exploration of the heart of cognitive science that delves into serious number theory while centering on Bach's music and Escher's paradoxical artwork. This book is a must-read for those interested in mathematics history books and the future of computers.

The Wisdom of Insecurity: A Message for an Age of Anxiety is a timeless and classic guide to living a more fulfilling life. Alan Watts draws on the wisdom of Eastern philosophy and religion to teach us how to embrace the present and live more fully in the now. He highlights the futility of endlessly chasing moving goalposts and shows that true certitude and security come only from understanding that impermanence and insecurity are the essence of our existence. The book explains complex concepts in beautifully simple terms, making it an insightful and comforting read in challenging times.

Designing the Mind: The Principles of Psychitecture is a thought-provoking book that combines ancient wisdom with modern psychology to offer a practical guide for self-development. The author argues that the mind is like software, and it is possible to reprogram it to overcome cognitive biases and transform emotional reactions. The book draws inspiration from the teachings of Marcus Aurelius, Lao Tzu, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Abraham Maslow, and links mindfulness to transhumanism, evolutionary psychology to Stoicism, and neuroscience to Buddhism. Overall, this book is an excellent resource for individuals seeking to optimize their emotional and mental health.

The University of Michigan Press presents the first complete translation of the essential work of postmodernist thought, Simulacra and Simulation (The Body, In Theory: Histories of Cultural Materialism). This influential work by Jean Baudrillard challenges the notion of reality and the role of symbols in modern society. The book explores the concept of simulacra, which refers to the representation of a thing that has no original, and simulation, the imitation of a real-world process or system. The book is an essential read for those interested in modern philosophy and cultural materialism.

Hailed as “lucid and magisterial” by The Observer, this book is universally acclaimed as the outstanding one-volume work on the subject of Western philosophy.. Considered to be one of the most important philosophical works of all time, the History of Western Philosophy is a dazzlingly unique exploration of the ideologies of significant philosophers throughout the ages—from Plato and Aristotle through to Spinoza, Kant and the twentieth century. Written by a man who changed the history of philosophy himself, this is an account that has never been rivaled since its first publication over sixty years ago. Since its first publication in 1945, Lord Russell’s A History of Western Philosophy is still unparalleled in its comprehensiveness, its clarity, its erudition, its grace, and its wit. In seventy-six chapters he traces philosophy from the rise of Greek civilization to the emergence of logical analysis in the twentieth century. Among the philosophers considered are: Pythagoras, Heraclitus, Parmenides, Empedocles, Anaxagoras, the Atomists, Protagoras, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, the Cynics, the Sceptics, the Epicureans, the Stoics, Plotinus, Ambrose, Jerome, Augustine, Benedict, Gregory the Great, John the Scot, Aquinas, Duns Scotus, William of Occam, Machiavelli, Erasmus, More, Bacon, Hobbes, Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, Locke, Berkeley, Hume, Rousseau, Kant, Hegel, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, the Utilitarians, Marx, Bergson, James, Dewey, and lastly the philosophers with whom Lord Russell himself is most closely associated—Cantor, Frege, and Whitehead, coauthor with Russell of the monumental Principia Mathematica.

Stoicism for Inner Peace is a collection of essays on applying Stoic philosophy in everyday life. The book focuses on the ancient Stoics’ wisdom on how to calm the mind and achieve inner peace, which is a prerequisite for being a happy and flourishing person according to Stoic philosophy. Einzelgänger revises a selection of these essays and adds two unreleased pieces about ‘loneliness’ and ‘guilt’ to the collection. The book is a valuable read, especially in these challenging and unpredictable times, as Stoic philosophy can help put things into perspective and improve our overall experience of life.

Anti-Oedipus is a thought-provoking book that challenges the established viewpoints in psychoanalysis, philosophy, and sociology. Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari argue that Western society's innate herd instinct allows for the government, media, and principles of economics to take advantage of individuals. They also suggest that those who suffer from mental disorders may not be insane, but rather individuals in the purest sense because they are isolated from society. Overall, this book is a controversial contribution to the much-needed dialogue on free thinking.

The book "Phenomenology of Spirit" by G.W.F. Hegel is a challenging but essential study of the stages of the human mind's progress from immediate sense-consciousness to scientific philosophy. This classic literature and fiction book, published by Oxford University Press, includes an introductory essay and a paragraph-by-paragraph analysis of the text to help readers understand Hegel's most influential work. The author's grandest experiment is a dramatic and revolutionary contribution to the philosophical enterprise, changing our vision of the world. Overall, this book is a must-read for anyone interested in Western thought and philosophy.