The Greatest Works of Philosophy

This selection of philosophy is based on the continuing research carried out for The Greatest Literature of All Time and additional research into philosophical literature acclaimed by the world's readers, writers, critics and scholars.

The Greatest Works of Philosophy includes both popular works aimed at educating the public on philosophical topics, as well as expert research intended for those trained in the field.

You may also be interested in The Greatest Nonfiction, The Greatest Philosophical Fiction or The Greatest Science.

This list is updated as new works are discovered and appreciation of older works evolves. Please note the revision date when citing the list.

Latest update: July 17, 2025

The 55 Greatest Works of Philosophy

c.399 BCE

Apology

by Plato, Greece

Nonfiction, originally Apología Sokrátousalso knowm as Apology of Socrates

c.399 BCE

Crito

by Plato, Greece

Nonfiction

c.385–370 BCE

The Symposium

by Plato, Greece

Nonfiction

c.380 BCE

The Republic

by Plato, Greece

Nonfiction

c.370 BCE

Phaedrus

by Plato, Greece

Nonfiction

c.370 BCE

Memorabilia

by Xenophon, Greece

Nonfiction

c.360 BCE

Phaedo

by Plato, Greece

Nonfiction

c.350 BCE

Nichomachean Ethics

by Aristotle, Greece

Nonfiction, originally Ēthika Nikomacheia

c.350 BCE

Metaphysics

by Aristotle, Greece

Nonfiction

c.335 BCE

Poetics

by Aristotle, Greece

Nonfiction, originally Peri poietikês

c.330 BCE

Physics

by Aristotle, Greece

Nonfiction, originally Physica

c.300 BCE

The Mencius

by Mencius, China

Nonfiction, originally Mèngzǐ

c.200 BCE

The Analects

by Confucius, China

Nonfiction, also known as Selected Sayings

c.50 BCE

On the Nature of Things

by Lucretius, Rome

Nonfiction, originally De rerum natura

65 CE

Letters from a Stoic

by Seneca, Rome

Nonfiction, also knonw as Moral Epistles, originally Epistulae Morales ad Lucilium

108

Discourses

by Epictetus, Greece

Nonfiction

175

Meditations

by Marcus Aurelius, Rome

Nonfiction

397–0400

Confessions

by Augustine of Hippo, Algeria

Nonfiction

1265–1273

Summa Theologica

by Thomas Aquinas, Italy

Nonfiction

1636

Discourse on the Method

by René Descartes, France

Nonfiction, originally Discours de la Méthode pour bien conduire sa raison, et chercher la vérité dans les sciences

1641

Meditations on First Philosophy

by René Descartes, France

Nonfiction, originally Meditationes de Prima Philosophia, in qua Dei existentia et animæ immortalitas demonstratur

1651

Leviathan

by Thomas Hobbes, England

Nonfiction

1677

Ethics, Demonstrated in Geometrical Order

by Baruch Spinoza, Dutch Republic

Nonfiction, originally Ethica, ordine geometrico demonstrata

1686

Discourse on Metaphysics

by Gottfried W. Leibniz, Germany

Nonfiction

1689

An Essay Concerning Human Understanding

by John Locke, England

Nonfiction

1748

An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding

by David Hume, Scotland

Nonfiction

1757-1779

Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion

by David Hume, Scotland

Nonfiction

1762

The Social Contract

by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Switzerland

Nonfiction, originally Du contrat social; ou, Principes du droit politique

1781

Critique of Pure Reason

by Immanuel Kant, Germany

Nonfiction, originally Kritik der reinen Vernunft

1785

Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals

by Immanuel Kant, Germany

Nonfiction, originally Grundlegung zur Metaphysik der Sitten

1805

Rameau's Nephew, or the Second Satire

by Denis Diderot, France

Nonfiction, originally Le Neveu de Rameau ou La Satire seconde

1807

The Phenomenology of Spirit

by G.W.F. Hegel, Germany

Nonfiction, also known as The Phenomenology of Mind, originally Phänomenologie des Geistes

1841

The Essence of Christianity

by Ludwig Feuerbach, Germany

Nonfiction, originally Das Wesen des Christentums

1843

Fear and Trembling

by Søren Kierkegaard, Denmark

Nonfiction

1854

Walden

by Henry David Thoreau, United States

Nonfiction

1859

On Liberty

by John Stuart Mill, England

Nonfiction

1861

Utilitarianism

by John Stuart Mill, England

Nonfiction

1867–1893

Capital

by Karl Marx, Germany

Nonfiction, originally Das Kapital

1869

The Subjection of Women

by John Stuart Mill, England

Nonfiction

1883–1885

Thus Spoke Zarathustra

by Friedrich Nietzsche, Germany

Novel, subtitled A Book for All and None, originally Also sprach Zarathustra: Ein Buch für Alle und Keinen

1886

Beyond Good and Evil

by Friedrich Nietzsche, Germany

Nonfiction, subtitled Prelude to a Philosophy of the Future originally Jenseits von Gut und Böse: Vorspiel einer Philosophie der Zukunft

1895

The Antichrist

by Friedrich Nietzsche, Germany

Nonfiction, originally Der Antichrist

1921

Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus

by Ludwig Wittgenstein, Austria

Nonfiction

1927

Being and Time

by Martin Heidegger, Germany

Nonfiction

1936

The Crisis of European Sciences and Transcendental Phenomenology

by Edmund Husserl, Germany

Nonfiction, subtitled An Introduction to Phenomenological Philosophy, originally Die Krisis der europäischen Wissenschaften und die transzendentale Phänomenologie: Eine Einleitung in die phänomenologische Philosophie

1943

Being and Nothingness

by Jean-Paul Sartre, France

Nonfiction

1945

A History of Western Philosophy

by Bertrand Russell, England

Nonfiction, fully titled A History of Western Philosophy and Its Connection with Political and Social Circumstances from the Earliest Times to the Present Day

1949

Second Sex, The

by Simone de Beauvoir, France

Nonfiction, originally Le Deuxième Sexe

1949

The Concept of Mind

by Gilbert Ryle, England

Nonfiction

1953

Philosophical Investigations

by Ludwig Wittgenstein, Austria

Nonfiction