#books ## Prepared in 2018 1. There are many books on the history of Western philosophy. If you must read just one, I would recommend Bertrand Russell’s “The History of Western Philosophy”. It’s heavy but passes the Electrical Engineer’s Readability Test. 2. Second, I would put Kenan Malik’s "The Quest For a Moral Compass", which takes us through the same journey as Russell but is a lot easier to read. 3. On Indian philosophy, I would suggest Chatterjee & Datta’s "Introduction to Indian Philosophy", which I think is more readable than Radhakrishnan’s or Hiriyanna’s magesterial works. See my one slide summary of the major schools of [[Indian Philosophy]]. 4. Fourth, Steven Pinker’s “Enligtenment Now” is a book that everyone must read in these times — it shows us how the power of good ideas got us to where we are, and why rallying behind formulas that have led to human success is an antidote to the pessimism that is all around us. 5. Finally, Michael Shermer’s “The Moral Arc” shows us how science, liberty and moral progress are inter-related, and offers us a framework for conducting our personal and public lives. ## Colophon Status: [[Brewing]]