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Brian Leiter's Top Book Recommendations

Want to know what books Brian Leiter recommends on their reading list? We've researched interviews, social media posts, podcasts, and articles to build a comprehensive list of Brian Leiter's favorite book recommendations of all time.

1

Nietzsche's System

This book argues, against recent interpretations, that Nietzsche does in fact have a metaphysical system--but that this is to his credit. Rather than renouncing philosophy's traditional project, he still aspires to find and state essential truths, both descriptive and valuative, about us and the world. These basic thoughts organize and inform everything he writes; by examining them closely we can find the larger structure and unifying sense of his strikingly diverse views. With rigor and conceptual specificity, Richardson examines the will-to-power ontology and maps the... more
Recommended by Brian Leiter, and 1 others.

Brian LeiterThe title is meant to be provocative, but Richardson’s central claim is that there is a kind of thematic coherence to all of Nietzsche’s work, and this coherence derives in part from the doctrine of the will to power. (Source)

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2

Nietzsche on Truth and Philosophy

Friedrich Nietzsche haunts the modern world. His elusive writings with their characteristic combination of trenchant analysis of the modern predicament and suggestive but ambiguous proposals for dealing with it have fascinated generations of artists, scholars, critics, philosophers, and ordinary readers. Maudemarie Clark's highly original study gives a lucid and penetrating analytical account of all the central topics of Nietzsche's epistemology and metaphysics, including his views on truth and language, his perspectivism, and his doctrines of the will-to-power and the eternal recurrence. The... more
Recommended by Brian Leiter, and 1 others.

Brian LeiterI think the one to go for would be the Clark – Nietzsche on Truth and Philosophy. (Source)

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3

Nietzsche

A Philosophical Biography

Nietzsche is considered one of the most controversial philosophers of the modern age. His writings signalled a major turn in the history of Western philosophy and his influence is so profound that today not even the casual reader can ignore his life and ideas. In this book, Safranski positions the details of Nietzsche's unhappy life within the context of his thought. He talks about Nietzsche's boyhood obsession with music, his time in the army, his friendship with Wagner and his unrequited love for Lou Andreas Salome, quoting diaries, letters and discarded writings, each of which reveal a... more
Recommended by Brian Leiter, and 1 others.

Brian LeiterI think the virtue of this book is that it has a detailed and readable narrative of the life, but it combines it with an introduction to the philosophical works, which is written at a very appropriate level for the beginner. That’s the main reason I picked the Safranski. (Source)

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4

Beyond Good and Evil

In Beyond Good and Evil Friedrich Nietzsche contends that no human values are absolute; that all value distinctions (such as that between 'good' and 'evil') are artificial, the result of mere traditional prejudices; and that humanity should discard its old, outmoded values (such as 'good' and 'evil'). less
Recommended by Simon Critchley, Brian Leiter, and 2 others.

Simon CritchleyWhat did you think of it then? We should talk about your reaction to it! (Source)

Brian LeiterYes, I think that’s right. It touches on almost all Nietzsche’s central concerns – on truth, on the nature of philosophy, on morality, on what’s wrong with morality, will to power. (Source)

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5

The Genealogy of Morals (Translated by Horace B. Samuel with an Introduction by Willard Huntington Wright)

German philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche was one the most controversial figures of the 19th century. His evocative writings on religion, morality, culture, philosophy, and science were often polemic attacks against the established views of his time. First published in 1887, "The Genealogy of Morals," is a work which follows and expands upon the principles of his previous works, "Thus Spoke Zarathustra" and "Beyond Good and Evil." In a preface and three interrelated essays, Nietzsche outlines his theories on the origins of our moral prejudices. "The Genealogy of Morals," was written partly in... more

Bryan CallenOf course, I read Nietzsche. On the Genealogy of Morality, etc, where the truths and the truisms are really cut and dried in a lot of ways. It's the equivalent of, I guess, intellectual red meat. (Source)

Antonio EramThis book was recommended by Antonio when asked for titles he would recommend to young people interested in his career path. (Source)

Brian LeiterI don’t know I would single it out as the masterpiece, but it’s a fascinating book which follows on many of the themes of Beyond Good and Evil. It’s unusual because it’s less aphoristic, but rather three essays. The essays have more structure and extended argumentation than is typical in most of Nietzsche’s works. (Source)

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