Current Events > What sort of books should someone read to become a complete human being?

(+) Yeah! (+)

/lit/ says to start with the Greeks and move on to the Romans. What is your view?

I'm going through the Trial and Death of Socrates right now... then I'll go on to 12 Rules for Life since I just bought it and am itching to get to it...

after that, who knows, but I'll get into Plato's The Republic and see how I fare with that.

Like philosophical works? I would say the most important thing is to expose yourself to different ideas instead of just reinforcing the same stuff over and over
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My German friend told me I should read Mein Kampf.
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I think people put way to much focus on the Greeks and the Romans. The Norse Sagas should also be read, as well as The Prince, The Art of War, The 36 Strategems, and The Book of 5 Rings. Understanding what it means to be human means knowing what humans are capable, good and bad.

No but seriously, works that should be read:

-Classical Greek and Roman stuff, philosophy, military, politics etc.. Read some ancient Indic texts, Confucian and Legalists stuff as well.
-Sun Tzu's Art of War is a must, as is Niccolo Machiavelli's The Prince
- Adam Smith, Edmund Burke for understanding how modern day conservatism and modern economic system came to be.
-B.H Lidell Hart, J.F.C Fuller, Jomini and Alfred Thayer Mahan's stuff
-Philosophy stuff: Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Rosseau, Neitzche, Hegel, Schopenhauer, John Stuart Mill
-Edward Said's Orientalism
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Dash_Harber posted...

I think people put way to much focus on the Greeks and the Romans. The Norse Sagas should also be read, as well as The Prince, The Art of War, The 36 Strategems, and The Book of 5 Rings. Understanding what it means to be human means knowing what humans are capable, good and bad.

Adding to this, Marcus Aurelius' Meditations is also a good place to start, it's good entry-level philosophy, broken down into easily understood aphorisms. Plato is a good next step, I'll also recommend Marquis de Sade if you can get past all of the outrageous sexuality of his work. Once you've read all of these, move up to something more complex like early Nietzsche such as Human, All Too Human and then go on to his later works.
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He said a complete human being not a brainwashed slave to western ideology.
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josifrees posted...

He said a complete human being not a brainwashed slave to western ideology.

He says, ignoring that we pointed out several Eastern works and things that would largely be counted as anti-Western (or, at the very least, the polar opposite of the classic Greek and Roman works that are generally considered the foundation of 'western thinking').

I'd also like to add the Bhagavad Gita is a very interesting read and a good introduction to Hindu philosophy. It's also easily accessible.

Also if you want something more 'fun' and light, I'd suggest the Satanic Bible. It's an interesting modern argument against fundamentalist Abrahamic theology. The actual quality of the belief is highly controversial (and not just among hardline Christians, either), but it's an easy stepping off point to more modern counter-culture movements. Which also reminds me, as for modern stuff, people tend to talk about Jack Kerouac and Hunter S. Thompson a lot, but I haven't read anything of theirs personally.

Superfudge
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a dictionary
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Is TC Proudclad?
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Everything that's been suggested so far, plus the Russian classics.
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Sphyx posted...

a dictionary

ha got me. thanks

how to win friends and influence people by dale carnegie

read thy bible
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Oh, and if you have an interest in Chinese history or modern literature at all, I'd suggest taking a look at Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Despite being written in the 14th century, it is pretty much the foundation for action filled epics. It translates great to modern stories about war and politics. It's a bit unwieldy, but definitely worth it. In China, it's still studied today for strategies on politics, warfare, and social relationships. Definitely one of my favorites.

Oh, and of course, the Epic of Gilgamesh. It's pretty much humanity's oldest recorded story. Pretty good foundation for understanding us. There is no single complete copy available, but the majority of it has been found and translated, enough to get the gist of the story and see the roots of what it meant.

Edit: Sorry to keep spamming, but I keep thinking of books that I found thought-provoking. The Dao De Jing and the Yi Jing were highly influential to me when I was a teenager. Very interesting reads that I feel have made a positive impact on my life.

Go, Dog. Go!

It will complete you.
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I find Chinese Legalistic philosophy to be pretty fascinating. If you like The Prince, check out translated texts of Hanfei Zi's work on philosophy.

And like another user said, check out Bhagavad Gita.

TheJBD posted...

Everything that's been suggested so far, plus the Russian classics.

And this, namely Leo Tolstoy.
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Dash_Harber posted...

Oh, and if you have an interest in Chinese history or modern literature at all, I'd suggest taking a look at Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Despite being written in the 14th century, it is pretty much the foundation for action filled epics. It translates great to modern stories about war and politics. It's a bit unwieldy, but definitely worth it. In China, it's still studied today for strategies on politics, warfare, and social relationships. Definitely one of my favorites.

Nice! ROTK is one of my favorites as well.
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for the history of the English Language, you should probably read:
-Beowulf
-at least a couple of the Canterbury Tales
-some of the King James Bible
-a few Shakespeare plays (the four Great tragedies - Hamlet, MacBeth, Othello, and King Lear - are good, but he also has some great comedies that tend to get overlooked in favour of those)

also lol don't read Jordan Peterson
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Diabetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health

oh, one that I've been looking through lately:

Neurotribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity by Steve Silberman

it's really good and informative
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"complete human being"

define what that means for you TC and i can start recommending something. but blanket vague suggestions of esoteric, and incredibly out of date notions from the greeks and romans aren't great starting places.
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Lot of great philosophy so I'll recommend a historical work: Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond.
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Pitlord_Special posted...

Diabetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health

As a diabetic with mental health issues, I approve!

myzz7 posted...

"complete human being"

define what that means for you TC and i can start recommending something. but blanket vague suggestions of esoteric, and incredibly out of date notions from the greeks and romans aren't great starting places.

I mean, from the context and the topic and the TC's responses, I think it's pretty clear he is asking what fundamental, influential works are good reads for someone with an interest in philosophy, history, and society in general.

Also, again, there is a large number of people suggesting things besides Greek or Roman sources.

Great contributions. There's lots of stuff to get to.

I went on a buying spree a few months ago and bought the following:

Plato: The Republic, Trial and Death of Socrates
1984, Animal Farm
The Federalist Papers
The Iliad
Sun Tzus' The Art of War

and have read absolutely NONE of them except for Trial and Death, which I'm half-way through now after having recently started it. Working overnight, hardly getting any sleep on work-days, and having a ton of other distractions like video games, internet, movies on my off-days makes it difficult to get to it, but I'll be making an earnest effort cause I feel like it's an obligation, as a human, to be the best that I can be and part of that would include being privy to a lot of the knowledge that has been gained by and passed on by some of the greatest thinkers in the western world, and others too.

What is my definition of complete human being? I don't know, I heard someone say it in Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker about Che Guevara and thought it sounded cool. The more I think about it, the less I can think of what would constitute of a complete human being.

Atlas Shrugged
The Fountainhead
The Art of the Deal
Adios, America: The Left's Plan to Turn Our Country Into a Third World Hellhole
Godless: The Church of Liberalism
2009 Honda Accord Automotive Owner's Manual
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Dash_Harber posted...

Pitlord_Special posted...

Diabetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health

As a diabetic with mental health issues, I approve!

yea punched that in my phone this morning and it did me the favor of 'correcting' Dianetics and didn't come back to check it until the edit window was closed

Anyways, now I have to make a serious contribution

The already mentioned Meditations by Marcus Aurelius is worth checking out and not very long or hard to get through
Epictetus's Discourses are also worth reading if you want a more in depth look at Stoic philosophy past Meditations

More modern works I found enlightening would be The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky, and Dune by Frank Herbert

The Dummies Guide to Complete Humanity.
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