John Stuart Mill’s "On Liberty" was first published in 1859. In the 21st century this text confirms Socrates’ claim that “it is only the life of true philosophy that scorns...

Socrates is on trial for his life. He is charged with impiety and corrupting young people. He presents his own defense, explaining why he has devoted his life to challenging the...

After Socrates is sentenced to death by the Athenian court, his friend Crito comes to the prison to help him escape and go to another country. Socrates responds by saying that he...

Socrates questions Ion, an actor who just won a major prize, about his ability to interpret the epic poetry of Homer. How does an actor, a poet, or any other artist create? Is it...

David Hume’s Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion had not yet been published when he died in 1776. Even though the manuscript was mostly written during the 1750s, it did not...

‘An Essay Concerning Human Understanding’ is philosopher John Locke's pioneering examination of the origins of human knowledge and understanding. First published in 1690, it...

A dialogue between Socrates and Meno probes the subject of ethics. Can goodness be taught? If it can, then we should be able to find teachers capable of instructing others about...

"The Birth of Tragedy" stands alongside Aristotle’s "Poetics" as essential works for all who seek to understand poetry and its relationship to human life. In this, his first...

Why are we often convinced that we’re right even when we’re wrong?Why are we jealous, or paranoid, even when we have absolutely no reason to be?Why is it so easy for fake news...

These works articulate the most fundamental principles of Kant’s ethical and political world-view. “What is Enlightenment?” (1784) and "Fundamental Principles of the...