Free Philosophy eBooks Everyone Should Read – From Ancient Greece to Postmodernism

The best way to start with and get enthusiastic about philosophy is to find ways to apply it to your life. Some of the greatest thinkers in world history have lived within the field of philosophy. By studying the best philosophy books we can try to understand the ways that cultures before us created and understood meaning in their lives. Of course, there are numerous ways to build your mindset, but none are as profound as reading philosophy books. Through these books, some of the greatest minds around ask questions and delve deep into thought.

The ways we think and behave are heavily influenced by the culture we are born into. Philosophy can reveal to us the reasons behind the ways we act, and in doing so help us to gain understanding our inner selves and how we relate to our world around us. While there isn’t always a clear and distinct answer to the many questions of philosophy, the entire field is a gateway to a higher sense of self. It gets you to think about all manner of things.

Below, we cover some of the essential philosophy books that are best for those who are just starting or looking to expand their mind. Our coverage reaches back to the dawn of the subject, with the best books on the Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. Aiming to challenge the western bias, we also have book recommendations for ancient Chinese philosophy, Islamic philosophy, and world philosophy. The majority of them are freely available in PDF format. The rest can be either purchased online or as a physical book from your nearest bookstores.

Ancient Indian Philosophy

1. The Upaniṣads by Swami Paramananda (translation) (between 8th and 1st century BCE for both early and late Upanisads)
2. Bhagavad-Gītā by Lars Martin Fosse (translation) (5th to 3rd century BCE)
3. Abhinavgupta’s commentary on Bhārata by KC Pandey (translation) (10th century BCE)
4. The Questions of King Milinda by Nāgārjuna’s Mūlamadhyamakakārikā (2nd to 3rd century BCE)
5. Dignāga’s Investigation of the Percept by Douglas Duckworth, Malcolm David Eckel, Jay L. Garfield, John Powers, Yeshes Thabkhas, and Sonam Thakchoe (edit and translation) (5th century)
6. Śāntideva’s Bodhicāryāvatāra by Shantideva (8th century AD)

Chinese Philosophy

1. Analects by Confucius
2. The Daodejing: A short book on Daoist philosophy
3. Huineng, The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch

Ancient Greek Philosophy

1. Last Days of Socrates by Plato (399 BCE)
2. Republic by Plato (380 BCE)
3. Nicomachean Ethics by Aristotle (350 BCE)
4. Discourses by Epictetus (108 CE)

Ancient Roman Philosophy

1. Lucretius On the Nature of Things by Cyril Bailey (translation) (50 BCE)
2. Cicero On Ends by XXX (1st century BCE)
3. Seneca Letters by XXX (c. 65 CE)
4. Musonius Rufus Discourses by XXX (1st century CE)
5. Meditations by Marcus Aurelius (161-180 CE)

Japanese Philosophy

1. Japanese Philosophy: A Sourcebook by Heisig, James W., Thomas P. Kasulis, and John C. Maraldo, eds. (2011)
2. Treasury of the True Dharma Eye: Zen Master Dogen’s Shobo Genzo by Kazuaki Tanahashi (edit) (1233–1253)
3. An Inquiry into the Good by Kitaro Nishida, translated by Masao Abe and Christopher Ives (1911)
4. Watsuji Tetsurō’s “Rinrigaku”: Ethics in Japan by Tetsurō Watsuji, trans. Yamamoto Seikaku and Robert E. Carter (1937–1949)
5. The Body: Toward an Eastern Mind-body Theory by Yasuo Yuasa, trans. Shigenori Nagatomo and Thomas P. Kasulis (1977)