Anybody know any good books about philosophy, living life to its fullest, or anything of the sort?

Question

Not the religious kind, though....

Answer 1

The Last Unicorn

by Peter S. Beagle

Answer 2

an atlas to the greek island is a good start  

Answer 3

Fight Club -----> Men.

Tuesdays With Morrie -----> Women, wimpy men.

The Alchemist -----> Kids, teens.

The Phantom Tollbooth -----> Kids.

Answer 4

THE WEIGHT OF THINGS

(philosophy and the good life)

by JEAN KAZEZ

The Weight of Things explores the hard questions of our daily lives, examining both classic and contemporary accounts of what it means to lead ‘the good life’. Looks at the views of philosophers such as Aristotle, the Stoics, Mill, Nietzsche, and Sartre as well as contributions from other traditions, such as Buddhism Incorporates key arguments from contemporary philosophers including Peter Singer, Martha Nussbaum, Robert Nozick, John Finnis, and Susan Wolf Uses examples from biography, literature, history, movies and media, and the news Gives a fresh perspective on the hard questions of our daily lives An engaging read; an excellent book for both students and general readers

and

Thomas W. Polger's  ÃƒÂ¢Ã‚€ÂœNatural Minds”

In Natural Minds Thomas Polger advocates, and defends, the philosophical theory that mind equals brain — that sensations are brain processes — and in doing so brings the mind-brain identity theory back into the philosophical debate about consciousness. The version of identity theory that Polger advocates holds that conscious processes, events, states, or properties are type- identical to biological processes, events, states, or properties — a “tough-minded” account that maintains that minds are necessarily indentical to brains, a position held by few current identity theorists. Polger’s approach to what William James called the “great blooming buzzing confusion” of consciousness begins with the idea that we need to know more about brains in order to understand consciousness fully, but recognizes that biology alone cannot provide the entire explanation. Natural Minds takes on issues from philosophy of mind, philosophy of science, and metaphysics, moving freely among them in its discussion.

Polger begins by answering two major objections to identity theory — Hilary Putnam’s argument from multiple realizability (which discounts identity theory because creatures with brains unlike ours could also have mental states) and Saul Kripke’s modal argument against mind-brain identity (based on the apparent contingency of the indentity statement). He then offers a detailed account of functionalism and functional realization, which offer the most serious obstacle to consideration of identity theory. Polger argues that identity theory can itself satisfy the kind of explanatory demands that are often believed to favor functionalism.

Answer 5

For the fiction, I still and always love 'The Alchemist' by Paulo Coelho. It's not actually a children book although it is told in a tale-like way. Simple with deep morals. Everytime I am down, the books that I read is : The Holy Book, my boyfriend's emails, and The Alchemist.

For the non-fiction, I choose the international bestseller : The Secret by Rhonda Byrne. Simple ways to live life to the fullest. I have proven them!!

Answer 6

The Art of War (Sun Tzu)

Novum Organum  (Francis Bacon)

Discourse on Method (René Descartes)

Utilitarianism (John Stuart Mill)

*Spinoza's Ethics (Baruch Spinoza)

Nicomachean Ethics (Aristotle)

Discourses on Livy (Machiavelli)

*Spinoza's concept of "God" is not religious; it is simply the acknowledgment of a higher power (nature itself).

I am not a fan of c**p like "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" and "Chicken Soup For the Soul". If you are going to read that overly simplistic tripe you might as well be getting your philosophy from Harry Potter. However, its always good to be familiar with the things we criticize.

Answer 7

This book doesn't really cover the "live life to the fullest" part... but I definitely feel it's philosophy-entwined.

I have no idea why. But the book I'm talking about is...

The Host by Stephenie Meyer

I told my friend that the book is so philosophical... and he stared back and laughed asking "is that even a word??"

I was like... "duhhh!!!!"

lol.

Long story short... The Host really is a good book that I feel has some hidden philosophical meaning.

It makes you view the world in a totally new way. If I wasn't online right now, I'd probably be reading it. :]