My Top Theory/Philosophy Books (As of 2020)

[@TheoryPhilosophy]

Here's the list for those who don't want to watch all the way through: 1. Sara Ahmed's "The Cultural Politics of Emotion" 2. Judith Butler's "Gender Trouble" 3. Homi Bhabha's "The Location of Culture" 4. Hannah Arendt's "The Origins of Totalitarianism" 5. Jean Baudrillard's "Fatal Strategies" 6. Michel Foucault's "Madness & Civilization" 7. Deleuze and Guattari's "A Thousand Plateaus" 8. Ania Loomba's "Colonialism/Postcolonialism" 9. Immanuel Kant's "Critique of Pure Reason" 10. Roberto Calasso's "The Ruin of Kasch"

[@samyamoy]

One in an desert island. What will it be? Foucault or D&G?

[@redwardstone3651]

Arendt. Nice.

[@chemicallystimulated476]

that's what I wanted

[@unorthodoxtrotsky]

If I shall add my recommendation is: Umberto Eco - Travels in Hyperreality Alfred North Whitehead - Process and Reality Georges Bataille - Erotism: Death and Sensuality Gilles Deleuze and Felix Gattari - Anti-Oedipus Gilles Deleuze - Coldness and Cruelty Sigmund Freud - Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality And for those who are new to phenomenology, Dermot Moran - Introduction to Phenomenology

[@marceltzara3253]

This is so excellent. Normally a top ten is just the most banal event, but here it's a genuine insight into where you are coming from. In fact a top ten of Philosophy might be the best way to indicate ones direction under the broad aegis. Also I like the way you refer to the overlooked aspects of Foucault and talk about Bhabha as lacking generosity. I'm a visual artist not a philosopher so maybe no surprise that my list would be something like - Barthes, Pleasure of the Text - Blanchot, The Work of Fire - Derrida, Writing and Difference - Cioran, Anathemas and Admirations - D + G, 1000 Plateaus - Baudrillard, Simulacra and Simulation - Wittgenstein, Tractatus....plus some Irigaray, Cixous, Adorno and Heidegger....

[@theviking2316]

I'm 19 and oil paint quite a lot. Honestly I have a very poor understanding of philosophy and I've mostly immersed myself in particular concepts I've found thought-provoking (as I've only learnt from youtube). However I have been particularly interested in deleuze, guattari and heidegger and I'm hoping to get a better grasp on these thinkers. I know this 1 year old, but could you talk about what you do/ maybe even show pictures? I would be over the moon dude.

[@gra_potemkin]

@@theviking2316:^)

[@jameslakt6235]

Recommendations: Alfred North Whitehead and the Pragmatists (Peirce, James, Dewey).

[@inhcongnguyen8715]

I am trying to read Process and Time but I just kinda worry if it's as difficult as people say it is. Do you recommend any secondary source first?

[@TheoryPhilosophy]

Thanks :3

[@jameslakt6235]

@@inhcongnguyen8715 You mean Process and Reality? Honestly I would say read to his other stuff first. His other stuff is a lot more accessible and you will be able to see more clearly what he is trying to do in Process and Reality. I recommend checking out Modes of Thought and Science and the Modern World. Regarding secondary texts Kraus' The Metaphysics of Experience and Sherburne's Key are good. Good texts to read after are Stengers' Thinking with Whitehead and Auxier & Herstein's The Quantum of Explanation. Also check out Steven Shaviro's blog if you have trouble understanding any concepts he has a good reading of Whitehead.

[@inhcongnguyen8715]

@@jameslakt6235 Yeah Process and Reality haha I mistake it with Narrative and Time by Ricoeur. Thanks for your recommendation!

[@Yash42189]

Wow, wasn't expecting to see Kant here. I have struggled with the transcendental deduction for a looong loong time, but didn't quite get it in the end.

[@tystromberg5288]

Robert Wolf and Dan Robinson have great KZbin lectures explaining it

[@VTLille]

I read somewhere that Bhabha won the 1998 bad writing contest for philosophy and literature, second only to Butler. I guess I’ll have to read “Location of Culture” and see what all the hoopla’s about. I’m reading “l’archéologie du savoir” by Foucault...not easy to get through. But every once in a while he surprises with some powerful, insightful writing.

[@inhcongnguyen8715]

Hey thanks for the great list! I myself recently finished First Critique and it's truly mindblowing. Anyway, do you have a pathway to get into Baudrillard? I read some of his essays from Symbolic Exchange and Death, The Gulf War and Consumer Society. What do you recommend, since you seem have a negative opinion on Simulation and Simulacra?

[@TheoryPhilosophy]

I think that The Perfect Crime is a decent place to start but it is also tricky as hell. I think S & S is fine, but just not as interesting as some of his other texts. Or, if you have a ton of free time, you can do what I did and read all his books in order lol

[@inhcongnguyen8715]

@@TheoryPhilosophy What a coincidence! I just ordered The Perfect Crime (and Impossible Exchange) a few days ago (not a big thing for you but I'm not living in the USA so it's more difficult)! I will tackle it asa it arrives! Thanks! Oh and I should also say most of my inspiration to read Bady comes from your podcast. Love it. Again, thank you.

[@pjeffries301]

I've only read about 15 so far, but if I did it again I would start with "System of Objects", feels foundational.

[@inhcongnguyen8715]

@@pjeffries301 I heard he changes his opinion a lot though, especially about the System of Objects, is he not?

[@pjeffries301]

@@inhcongnguyen8715 Never shy about changing his mind , true, and choosing chronological order is, well, mega-obvious. Still, I find myself returning to it later in the middle of his more difficult chapters or paragraphs, for example while reading "Fatal Strategies" or "The Perfect Crime." Maybe its the mechanical interplay between his writing and his thought evolution in SOO that feels foundational or descriptive to his later, more dense work. Hey, I'm no philosopher, or that deep a thinker really, hence my reliance on David's channel, but I've loved Baudrillard for many years and rarely pass up a chance to speak up about him, often with embarrassing results. I guess what we really need is T&P to jump in here - He's the true B scholar, true scholar in general if I'm honest. Got your ears on D? And why no Spinoza on your list?

[@abdolh2664]

Dear, I do like how you strive hard and manage to share this insightful information in such a great way, and I really would like you to upload other videos on diasporic literature, postmodernism, Eco criticism if possible. Sincerely yours

[@unorthodoxtrotsky]

If you like Michel Foucault's Madness And Civilization, you should read its unabridged version History Of Madness. History Of Madness actually have parts where Jacques Derrida critique in his essay "Cogito and the History of Madness."

[@berfinyesiltepe8139]

thank you for this awesome recommends :)

[@andrewself7752]

Coming from 2022. Aged well. Suggestions are awesome!

[@1Dimee]

Hey David I have a request. Can you cover the Mass Psychology of Fascism by Wilhelm Reich? One of my favourite books I read this year and I made a video that I just uploaded where I talk about it

[@TheoryPhilosophy]

I'll add it to the list! I'll also check out your video, gangsta!

[@1Dimee]

@@TheoryPhilosophy Thanks g

[@matth464]

This was a cool video David, you should do more videos like these every so often. Take care

[@TheoryPhilosophy]

I will try!

[@blackmaggit2294]

Would love a fiction list!

[@jaycobyart]

Greerings and thank you for sharing this list of books a few i hadn't heard of at all., and also the inspiration to dig back into kants critique.. is there a guide or skeleton key you would recommend having along side the work? Ive been slowly moving through all of your jean baudrillard videos and can't thank you enough for taking the time to put that together., thank you again and be well on the journey

[@inhcongnguyen8715]

There are many Kant's secondary sources, but the most important one, IMO, is his own work - which comes after the First Critique and he published it mainly because he acknowledged that the Frist Critique was too difficult to read - the Prolegomena to Any Future Metaphysics. It's short, succinct, beautifully written (for someone like Kant) and he explains/names a lot of his ideas in the First Critique there. Interesting enough, the so-called "Copernican Revolution" is only mentioned in this book but not in the First Critique. For the context, you also should read Hume's "A Treatise of Human Nature" to know exactly what Kant is up against (spoiler: dogmatism & scepticism). That's what I read before the First Critique, and of course I still cant fully understand what Kant means (and I think it's alright) haha.

[@pjeffries301]

@@inhcongnguyen8715 Nailed it.

[@Sesambrij]

When can I come back for your fiction top ten list?

[@TheoryPhilosophy]

Oh goodness I'm not sure haha

[@spailedfoonerism]

I just found your channel through my suggestions - I loved this list, and I'm super excited to watch through your other videos - awesome stuff!

[@arditi.204]

You’re doing a great job with this thought provoking channel my friend!:)Thank you for your recommendations and insights! Just a question if I may ask , certainly..... what is usually your pages/day reading pattern/max capacity or that one qualitative“quantity” of daily reading (always referring to philosophy) you advocate and hold for the most ideal ....?Thank you in advance:)

[@alicepractice9473]

Have you read any Adorno? I'd be quite interested in what you think about Negative Dialectics.

[@TheoryPhilosophy]

I've covered quite a bit of Adorno here, but not negative dialectics (yet)!

[@Vanessa-dk4ii]

great!!!

[@sophiabelyk8369]

I've had it for a while but I'm still too intimidated to start "The Ruin of Kasch" lmao!

[@TheoryPhilosophy]

Honestly me too sometimes.

[@cobe-2012]

List?

[@TheoryPhilosophy]

I'll add a public comment including it :)

[@cobe-2012]

@@TheoryPhilosophy I love your content I’m a high school senior 😭

[@TheoryPhilosophy]

@@cobe-2012 Very cool to hear you're into this stuff at such a young age!

[@cobe-2012]

@@TheoryPhilosophy Yea I have a big following on TikTok and Discord has 800 members for theory and philosophy

[@drw5952]

Alaisdair MacIntyre, After Virtue. Must read. Same with Roberto Unger, Knowledge and Politics.

[@MajeztikFilmz]

So far I've chosen Bruce Lee's Be water my friend, but I can't think of a 2nd choice yet

[@SvenErik_Lindstrom3]

"Established camp of poststructuralism". Isn't that a contradiction in terms.

[@JamesJoyce12]

you can like what you like - but you do know there are these dudes called Plato Aristotle Hume Nietzsche among many others - right?

[@a.mie.533]

...are you by any chance a lecturer at university? You absolutely should be...! Oh, indeed, you ARE doing a PhD =)), so you obviously are on the right path! Congratulations!

[@nightheron5892]

I am becoming a patron only so I can see you someday bust out a gold lame blazer ala Baudrillard in Vegas

[@nightheron5892]

Also I must recommend Sara Ahmed’s “Not in the Mood “ article in New Formations. Her unpacking of attunement is a potential corrective to claims of the non-representational in affect

[@TheoryPhilosophy]

Hahaha I won't let you down! And I'll check it out

[@pjeffries301]

I'm naming my new band "Baudrillard in Vegas." Thanks.

[@TheoryPhilosophy]

@@pjeffries301 haha I have a high falsetto if you need that

[@jamesferry1523]

Probably I'd have avoided referring to Butler as a "seminal" figure, but that's just me. :-P

[@philosophy_schilling]

Very cool. I've not heard of three of these, so I'll have to put them on the list.

[@Phi792]

i just found jour channel but it seems to be exactly what i've been looking for :D

[@roberth7921]

Thank you for sharing your book list :) What camera do you use for vlog :D

[@haoyang4801]

Hi David, new subscriber here. Just noticed you got gray hair. Take care man.

[@SvenErik_Lindstrom3]

I think the most inspirational books are those which I totally disagree with.

[@z.a.7846]

This is an intriguing tempting list 👍

[@juliaklee6620]

Racist aspects of Kant and Hegel stay often unmentioned and therefore unrecognized and unproblematized. With their meaning in todays Philosophy and social sciences it worries me. I wonder if you will do Laclau and Mouffe as well :) thanks for the insights!

[@alicepractice9473]

Are you talking about personal racist sentiments?

[@estuchedepeluche2212]

“Thank God, I read Kant’s book”?? Do you mean, “Thank the western imposed deity, I read Kant’s book”? Great list by the way, I was not aware of last one, I will ILL it.

[@pjeffries301]

Blistering jaunt. KZbin suits you, "allow the possibilities" bro. Thx.

[@CO8848_2]

Not my cup of tea

[@militaryandemergencyservic3286]

foucault 's work is not philosophy - it's just sociology. after hegel there is no important philosophy imo

[@grolnusdelbutus9542]

Nietzsche?