I just picked up a copy of this book in the budget section of Barnes and Noble, thought the list was sort of interesting. The list is in chronological order. What do you all think?

1. The I Ching
2. The Old Testament
3. The Iliad and The Odyssey by Homer
4. The Upanishads
5. The Way and Its Power, Lao-tzu
6. The Avesta
7. Analects, Confucius
8. History of the Peloponnesian War, Thucydides
9. Works, Hippocrates
10. Works, Aristotle
11. History, Herodotus
12. The Republic, Plato
13. Elements, Euclid
14. The Dhammapada
15. Aeneid, Virgil
16. On the Nature of Reality, Lucretius
17. Allegorical Expositions of the Holy Laws, Philo of Alexandria
18. The New Testament
19. Lives, Plutarch
20. Annals, from the Death of the Divine Augustus, Cornelius Tacitus
21. The Gospel of Truth
22. Meditations, Marcus Aurelius
23. Outlines of Pyrrhonism, Sextus Empiricus
24. Enneads, Plotinus
25. Confessions, Augustine of Hippo
26. The Koran
27. Guide for the Perplexed, Moses Maimonides
28. The Kabbalah
29. Summa Theologicae, Thomas Aquinas
30. The Divine Comedy, Dante Alighieri
31. In Praise of Folly, Desiderius Erasmus
32. The Prince, Niccolò Machiavelli
33. On the Babylonian Captivity of the Church, Martin Luther
34. Gargantua and Pantagruel, François Rabelais
35. Institutes of the Christian Religion, John Calvin
36. On the Revolution of the Celestial Orbs, Nicolaus Copernicus
37. Essays, Michel Eyquem de Montaigne
38. Don Quixote, Parts I and II, Miguel de Cervantes
39. The Harmony of the World, Johannes Kepler
40. Novum Organum, Francis Bacon
41. The First Folio [Works], William Shakespeare
42. Dialogue Concerning Two New Chief World Systems, Galileo Galilei
43. Discourse on Method, René Descartes
44. Leviathan, Thomas Hobbes
45. Works, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz
46. Pensées, Blaise Pascal
47. Ethics, Baruch de Spinoza
48. Pilgrim's Progress, John Bunyan
49. Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy, Isaac Newton
50. Essay Concerning Human Understanding, John Locke
51. The Principles of Human Knowledge, George Berkeley
52. The New Science, Giambattista Vico
53. A Treatise of Human Nature, David Hume
54. The Encyclopedia, Denis Diderot, ed.
55. A Dictionary of the English Language, Samuel Johnson
56. Candide, François-Marie de Voltaire
57. Common Sense, Thomas Paine
58. An Enquiry Into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith
59. The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Edward Gibbon
60. Critique of Pure Reason, Immanuel Kant
61. Confessions, Jean-Jacques Rousseau
62. Reflections on the Revolution in France, Edmund Burke
63. Vindication of the Rights of Women, Mary Wollstonecraft
64. An Enquiry Concerning Political Justice, William Godwin
65. An Essay on the Principle of Population, Thomas Robert Malthus
66. Phenomenology of Spirit, George Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
67. The World as Will and Idea, Arthur Schopenhauer
68. Course in the Positivist Philosophy, Auguste Comte
69. On War, Carl Marie von Clausewitz
70. Either/Or, Søren Kierkegaard
71. The Manifesto of the Communist Party, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels
72. "Civil Disobedience," Henry David Thoreau
73. The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, Charles Darwin
74. On Liberty, John Stuart Mill
75. First Principles, Herbert Spencer
76. "Experiments with Plant Hybrids," Gregor Mendel
77. War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy
78. Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism, James Clerk Maxwell
79. Thus Spake Zarathustra, Friedrich Nietzsche
80. The Interpretation of Dreams, Sigmund Freud
81. Pragmatism, William James
82. Relativity, Albert Einstein
83. The Mind and Society, Vilfredo Pareto
84. Psychological Types, Carl Gustav Jung
85. I and Thou, Martin Buber
86. The Trial, Franz Kafka
87. The Logic of Scientific Discovery, Karl Popper
88. The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money, John Maynard Keynes
89. Being and Nothingness, Jean-Paul Sartre
90. The Road to Serfdom, Friedrich von Hayek
91. The Second Sex, Simone de Beauvoir
92. Cybernetics, Norbert Wiener
93. Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell
94. Beelzebub's Tales to His Grandson, George Ivanovitch Gurdjieff
95. Philosophical Investigations, Ludwig Wittgenstein
96. Syntactic Structures, Noam Chomsky
97. The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, T. S. Kuhn
98. The Feminine Mystique, Betty Friedan
99. Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung [The Little Red Book], Mao Zedong
100. Beyond Freedom and Dignity, B. F. Skinner

This message has been edited. Last edited by: mark f,

The most impressive thing about this list, is that you went to the trouble of writing it all down.

It seems all our important thinking has been done.

Where are the modern writers?

Who is this list supposed to be important to?

How many people would I have a chance of meeting that have actually read these books?

My 100 best books would contain all these choices as one choice, mental masturbation.

storm- cut and paste is a wonderful option.

I don't think the lack of fiction should be completely surprising. This is a list of great influence, not great literature. Academic texts have had much more influence than literature, that seems almost beyond debate. In fact, as much as I like Kafka and Orwell, I thought they were two of the lesser choices on the list.

You may never get a chance to meet people who have read these books, many of them are very out of date, and would only be of interest to experts in particular fields. That in no way underscores the fact that they carried great influence in the course of history.

As for my own opinion, aside from Kafka and Orwell I think Skinner was a bad choice. With a little bit of time now passed since the behaviorists had their moment in the sun, they have shown themselves to be a minor blip in psychology, not a major influence.

quote:

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Originally posted by keylimetrev:
storm- cut and paste is a wonderful option.

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I don't know what this means.

OK, no fiction hey?

The trial and Nineteen-eighty four are on the list.

Are they meant to represent the pinnicle of achievment in fiction. Pah!

So we got a buncha high-thinkin', high-steppin' brain types tellin' us what reality tastes like.

I do my own chewin', thanks.

storm- the cut and paste comment was in regard to what you thought was the most impressive thing about the list.

Remeber that it is influence this list is concerned with, not literary achievment. As I said before, I happen to think that neither Kafka's nor Orwell's books are influencial enough to make the list, so maybe in some way we agree on that.

It has been the case that 'high-thinkin' 'high-steppin' people have written some very influencial books, regardless of what you think of them personally. The quality of the works should not enter into debates of this list.

It's not a matter of how I think of them personally, it's a matter of how much influence I think they have had on me personally.

These works may be highly regarded because they trace a pattern of thinking that is intellectually popular, but I don't feel they have had much direct bearing on my own thought processes.

On a historical level, they might be considered important, but on a day to day survival level, they are largely unnescessary.

It's a nice list, yet Ulysses by James Joyce deserves to be on it.

Stormchaser, I would call you a moron, but insults are discouraged. To answer yr questions however; these books are important to anyone who wants to think or learn; I myself have read 53 on the list and will eventually read the vast majority. Both Chomsky and Kuhn are modern writers; your ignorance is astonishing if you think none of these books can or do have day to day influence. try 2, 28 and 37 just for starters. What are you even doing on a book discussion board if you are this hostile to such a broad swathe of texts?? I repeat, I would call you a moron, but....

To be fair, Stormy hasn't frequented the site in a long while and you called him a moron twice.

With regards to the list I think it a little ridiculous, although I would approve of the placing of the I Ching and The Upanishads. Someone needs to explain to me why it is necessary to decide if the New Testiment is more "Influencial" than the Koran. There is really no use for this in the least, and I cannot see how one would actually go about making a list such as this.

As far as I can tell, you seem to be having problems with the actual ranking of the books; but I think the editors of the text itself would agree that these rankings are not fixed in some eternal order. It's a list to encourage people to learn and debate the history of the human race as told in books. There may be no use in and of itself to rank the texts, but there is most certainly a use, and I would argue a need, to inform curious readers of these significant works. My argument is given merit by the fact that stormchaser derided such a terrific collection(meaning that there is someone who would benefit greatly from reading a bunch of these books) and that you, Mike, cannot see how one would go about making a list like this. Making a list like this is very straightforward if the people involved in creating it have a deep knowledge of the history of thought, culture, language and meta and inter textuality. For example, this list is discussing influence on our ethics, our scientific outlook, our religiosity, our storytelling etc etc. The criteria for listing influential texts is obvious. I merely encourage you and anyone else to see these kind of lists as educational. At the very least, it brings people into contact with some of the fiercest intellects and strongest hearts the world has ever seen. To read some of these books, actually all of them in my opinion is to be forever influenced and changed. Thanks for reading this far, ha ha.

I find the list somewhat strange. I think the absence of more fiction is somewhat bothersome. While I understand that the point of the list is influence, I think that fiction has, at different times, been extremely influential. "Uncle Tom's Cabin," is a work that comes immediately to mind. Not necessarily a great literary work, but enormously influential in a social sense. I also think that if we're going to refer to the Upanishads and the Analects as "books" then influential documents are just as important. The Magna Carta, or even the Declaration of Independence and Constitution of the United States. Great literature? No. Influential? Immensely. In that sense I would disagree with your choice of Joyce's "Ulysses." A work of superb literary merit, but, socially, I think of less influence. If you're looking for works of modern writing that influenced the modern literary style, I would look more to the poets, such as Pound or Eliot, or to writers like Hemingway.
Parenthetically, Storm, I've read some or all of the majority of the works listed. It's not like there's a restriction against it. Yet.

kendocubano, it's very intrigiuing that you have read a lot of the works listed. Any favourites? I must respectfully disagree with you about including documents. The Upanishads and Analects are definitely books in that they are a collection of literature, whereas documents are just that. A scroll, a notice, not a book. Anyway, yr point about Uncle Toms Cabin is a good one. As far as I can gauge, it really shook things up, over there in the US.

Many of the books that I read were many years ago when I was in college, obtaining a BA in religion. The department in which I studied had a very philosophical bent (so, include Spinoza, Descartes, Kant, Hobbes, etc) My concentration, and bachelor's thesis, related to religion in the classical world. That covers probably forty of the books. I have ultimately pursued a "scientific" career, thereby accounting for another 15 or 20 of the books. For the rest, I have always loved literature, accounting for Cervantes, Shakespeare, Bunyan, Orwell, etc. I also sense a bit of an American bias in the list, so things like Skinner, Thoreau, Paine, are part of the cultural wallpaper. I've never specifically read Skinner, or John Stuart Mill, but pretty much know what it's about.
My comment about the Analects and Upanishads, I suppose, is directed at the notion that they were collections of documents or aphorisms rather than unified works, but I see your distinction.
Ironically, none of the works listed are works I can honestly be said to have enjoyed. With the possible exception of Orwell and Kafka. Maybe Tolstoy, though I always preferred Dostoevsky. Admired, perhaps, but not enjoyed.

Nonetheless Ishmael, what we are looking at is a list of 100 books, less books than most will read in their lifetime, that have a profound cultural impact as well as a historical one. I think it a disservice to the authors 'rate' their books against each other. Now back to my original point, how is one to decide how 'influencial' one book is to another, the answer would depend on who you were to speak with or what religious group / country, you ask. As an American, I understand the importance of Thomas Paynes "Common Sense," whereas a frech reader would not find it of particular importance, but may want to move Descartes work up on the list.

Stormchaser made a wonderful point, by the way, when he said:

quote:

These works may be highly regarded because they trace a pattern of thinking that is intellectually popular, but I don't feel they have had much direct bearing on my own thought processes.

Influence is something measured differently by each person and I think that it is rather difficult to make a definitive list. Also we have to take into account, as Kendo pointed out, whether we are talking about literary influence or historical influence.

Some inclusions I like: George Orwell (But 93 is far too low), Kierkegaard, Immanuel Kant, Jean-Paul Sartre, Plato and Marx.

So in summation, although a list like this may prove useful to less read, it is of no real significance and is rather dubious nature considering that the list was actually published in book form for a financial gain by its authors. This when if you were to take a poll of college professors, you would probably find a list similar to this, with the addition of more fiction. Regardless, you obviously think that the list, regardless of validity is of importance simplyh because it suggests books to read, while I believe that the library can do a much better job.

Mike, your point about deciding how influential a book is by quizzing various groups etc is I submit, indicating to me that you haven't looked closely at the list, or you havent read much of it. These books already cover nearly every social/religious orientation of significance. The Upanishads and the IChing cover our eastern kin, the Bible is there, Satre, greek drama etc. A French reader would most definitely find Paine of interest as the French found him of interest when he worked with the French government. Do you know of what you speak here Mike? Descartes had influence on Western Philosophy as a whole, not merely Frenchmen, so your argument is invalid there also. Please remember that I agree that the ranking is not the important thing here. I think the book does that to just stir the pot a bit. Stormchasers' point is actually incredibly silly. Of course these works have had direct bearing on his thought processes, or does he think that Woolstonecrafts advocation of womens rights had no influence on the society he lives in and how he thinks about women?? Thats just one example. Influence is "measured differently" to quote you, on a micro level yes, not the macro level that these works operate on. There's a big debate on the role of evolution going round currently. That affects everyone who pay taxes or has children. The list is discussing both literary AND histori-cultural influence. This dubious nature you ascribe to the text is odd also. Seems to me the authors are a lot like the bloggers here, up for a list to generate debate. I also do not think the list is of importance merely because it suggests books to read. Thats an absurd point to make Im sorry old chap. I regard the list as thoroughly valid. These books, most of them can be found in any good library, which is the point of the list itself. Here it says-here's some great stuff we're recommending. Go to your library, read 'em, find out just where a lot of what we think and do had its origins, or it's best advocates. I mean for gods sake, how is this book any different to a list made by a blogger here?? Of course the list is of significance; as Im sure a long list by a fellow such as yrself would be(no sarcasm intended). Thanks for reading. Have fun out there in cyberspace.

I don't believe the list is in rank order. It appears to be chronological.
Mike, I'm going to respectfully disagree with you and Storm. I think that the list has had an enormous influence on both of your thought processes. Perhaps not directly, if you haven't read many of the works, but certainly indirectly. These works, among many others, provide the scaffold for modern thought, eastern and western. I think it's safe to say, that all of our thought processes are informed by these works. A simple example. Cartesian philosophy assumed that adquisition of knowledge occurred entirely in the mind. All of the elements were in place, and it was a simple matter of unfolding the knowledge. Empirical epistomological thought (Berkeley, Locke, Hume) held that all knowledge was acquired. We were born as tabulae rasae. Kant's synthetic philosophy, which is probably closest to what we believe today, held that most knowledge was indeed acquired through experience, but our own rational processes determined how experience was interpreted and utilized. This only seems obvious to us now, because Kantian epistomology has become normative.
Ok, maybe it's not that simple. But its a good example!

Yeah kendocubano Im with you. You're right about the list being chronological. I forgot that, caught up as I was in the great debate ha ha. Your example of influence re: development of philosophy was excellent. So, yeah, like, umm, just read ok everyone right?

The word of today is subjectivity, influence is something that is subjective because who is to decide that Darwin's contribution to science is less/more important than Freud's contribution to psychology.

I would never say that the books are not important, because they are some of the most important books in the history of civilization, the list, however, is mundane and pointless. I didn't really find it necessary to scrupulously study the list, because I didn't agree with the compilation of such a general list to begin with. Naming a subject and suggesting books is well and good, but there are a countless number of books, and thousands of them are of some importance, naming one hundred is ridiculous.

Mike, maaaaaate, as we say in Oz.....im gonna give up now. The list is chronological as kendo smartly pointed out, so the ranking Darwin above Freud is a non-issue. I dont what to say to ya really, cos I dont know why yr so hostile to making a list to encourage people to read widely....when I was young and just as stupid as I am still, I discovered a lot of great reading through a list book very similiar to the one in question. ok, im gonna give up.......now!!

I made my post prior to refreshing the page and reading the new posts, I'm not particularly hostile, I just am not comfortable in saying that of all the books written, these are the most important.

I find that I generally choose my reading choices by actively seeking out books.