Books like

Books like Tao: The Watercourse Way

12 books with a reading profile close to Tao: The Watercourse Way by Alan W. Watts. Deep, contemplative and open-ended; a demanding read.

  1. 1 Concerning the Spiritual in Art

    Concerning the Spiritual in Art

    by Wassily Kandinsky

    Also deep and contemplative · philosophy, academic

    Wassily Kandinsky identifies painting as a psychological tool rather than a method for reproducing physical reality.

  2. 2 On Free Choice of the Will

    On Free Choice of the Will

    by Augustine, Thomas Williams

    Also deep and contemplative · philosophy, academic

    In this dialogue, Augustine investigates the origin of evil and the mechanics of human volition.

  3. 3 The Struggle for Recognition

    The Struggle for Recognition

    by Axel Honneth

    Also deep and contemplative · philosophy, academic

    Axel Honneth constructs a social theory centered on the premise that human identity depends on successful interaction within three distinct spheres of recognition: love, rights, and solidarity.

  4. 4 The Paradoxes of Art

    The Paradoxes of Art

    by Alan Paskow

    Also deep and contemplative · philosophy, academic

    In "The Paradoxes of Art," Alan Paskow addresses the ontological status of fictional entities and why humans feel genuine emotions toward characters they know do not exist.

  5. 5 Art as Experience

    Art as Experience

    by John Dewey

    Also deep and contemplative · philosophy, academic

    John Dewey argues that art is not a finished object stored in a museum, but a continuous process of human interaction with the environment.

  6. 6 On Photography

    On Photography

    by Susan Sontag

    Also deep and contemplative · philosophy, academic

    Susan Sontag examines how the camera functions as an instrument of surveillance, appropriation, and moral detachment.

  7. 7 The Plague of Fantasies

    The Plague of Fantasies

    by Slavoj Žižek

    Also deep and contemplative · philosophy, academic

    Slavoj Žižek examines the structural role of fantasy in mediating the gap between digital abstraction and social reality.

  8. 8 After Virtue

    After Virtue

    by Alasdair MacIntyre

    Also deep and contemplative · philosophy, academic

    Alasdair MacIntyre argues that contemporary moral discourse is in a state of terminal disarray because the Enlightenment project failed to provide a rational justification for objective morality.

  9. 9 On the Genealogy of Morals

    On the Genealogy of Morals

    by Friedrich Nietzsche

    Also deep and open-ended · philosophy, academic

    Friedrich Nietzsche challenges the evolution of Western ethics by tracing the psychological origins of good and evil.

  10. 10 The Abolition of Man

    The Abolition of Man

    by C.S. Lewis

    Also deep and contemplative · philosophy, academic

    C.S.

  11. 11 Undoing Gender

    Undoing Gender

    by Judith Butler

    Also deep and contemplative · philosophy, academic

    Judith Butler addresses the political and social conditions that define which lives are recognized as human.

  12. 12 Phenomenology of Spirit

    Phenomenology of Spirit

    by Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel

    Also deep and contemplative · philosophy, academic

    Hegel traces the progression of human consciousness from basic sensory certainty to the state of absolute knowing.

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