Philosophy Reading List: Where to Start (and What to Read Next)

A philosophy reading list is only useful if you know why you're reading and what to do with the text. Below is a short list by theme—ancient, ethics, political, continental, global—with a sentence or two per entry and a link to a free learning path that takes you through it. Treat it as a philosophy reading list for beginners: pick one thread, follow the path, then decide what to read next from the philosophy map or the path quiz.

How to use this list

Don't treat this as a syllabus to work through in order. Pick one theme that matches what you care about right now—how to live, power and society, mind and language, or non-Western traditions—and choose one entry. Each path gives you a short text or set of ideas, reflection prompts, and optional Socratic dialogue. Finish that path before jumping to the next. If you've never read philosophy, start with something that already connects to your life: a question about lying or fairness, or a tradition you're curious about. The paths are designed so you don't need prior background. People often ask "what to read philosophy" and get a long list of books with no guidance on order or purpose. Here every entry is tied to a path that tells you what to read, in what order, and what to look for—so you're not staring at a dense page with no idea why it matters.

Ancient

• Plato, Republic (especially the allegory of the cave) — How we confuse appearance and reality, and what it would mean to turn toward the good. One of the most famous images in Western philosophy; the path walks you through the passage and what Plato is arguing. Path: Plato, forms and the cave.
• Epicureanism — Pleasure, fear of death, and a simple life. A practical ancient option if you want "how to live" without heavy metaphysics. Good philosophy books for beginners in spirit: concrete advice, not abstract system-building. Path: Ancient philosophy, Epicureanism.
• Confucius, Analects — Order, ritual, and the rectification of names. Where to start if you want Chinese philosophy. Short, aphoristic; the path ties the sayings to larger themes so you can see what to read next. Path: Confucius and rectification of names.

Ethics and how to live

• Ethics and the philosophy of love — Love, obligation, and the good life. The path takes you through how philosophers have asked what we owe to those we care about and how that shapes a life. Path: Ethics and the philosophy of love.
• Levinas and the other — Responsibility and the face of the other. For when you want ethics that starts from the encounter with another person rather than from rules or consequences. Denser than the others; the path breaks it down step by step. Path: Levinas and the other.
• African philosophy: Akan personhood and ethics — Personhood and ethics in the Akan tradition. A different starting point for "how should I live?" that doesn't assume Western frameworks. Path: Akan personhood and ethics.

Political and power

• Foucault, discipline and biopower — How power works through norms, surveillance, and the body. Not conspiracy theory: a way to see how institutions and everyday practices shape what we take for granted. The path introduces the key texts and ideas. Path: Foucault, power and knowledge.
• Fanon, colonialism and the psyche — Colonialism's effect on the mind and the project of liberation. Essential if you want to understand decolonial thought or the psychology of oppression and resistance. Path: Fanon, colonialism and the psyche.

Twentieth century and continental

• Existentialism (Sartre) — Freedom, bad faith, and "existence precedes essence." A classic entry into continental philosophy; the path works through what that slogan means and why it still gets cited. Path: Sartre, bad faith and freedom.
• Posthumanism (Haraway) — The cyborg manifesto and the boundaries of the human. If you're interested in technology, nature, or the future of the human, this is a sharp place to start. The path takes you through the essay and its main arguments so you can see why it still gets cited. Path: Haraway, cyborg manifesto.

What to read next

Don't try to read the whole list. Pick one path that matches your interest. After you finish it, use the philosophy map to see who else connects to that thinker or tradition—you'll see links to related paths and texts. Run the path quiz again to get a new suggestion based on what you've done. If you're still unsure where to start, read Philosophy for beginners: first steps—then come back and choose one entry from this philosophy reading list. We also have an introduction to ethics and a post on Socratic method examples if you want to go deeper on how to read and argue. The goal isn't to collect titles; it's to have a few texts and ideas you've actually worked through, so you know what you want to read next. Philosophy books for beginners often fail because they hand you a stack of "great books" with no thread. Here the thread is the path: one theme, one text or thinker, one set of questions. Do that once, and the next choice is easier.

Browse learning paths → · Take the path quiz → · Explore the philosophy map →

Summary. This philosophy reading list is organized by theme: ancient (Plato, Epicureanism, Confucius), ethics (love, Levinas, Akan), political (Foucault, Fanon), and twentieth-century (Sartre, Haraway). Each entry links to a free path that walks you through the text and ideas. Pick one, finish it, then use the map or quiz to choose what to read next and keep building from there. No prior background is required—the paths are built for people asking "what to read philosophy" for the first time.

Key takeaway: A philosophy reading list works when each entry points to a path. Pick one theme, do one path, then use the map or quiz to decide what to read next.