|
First, I'm impressed by the sheer number of people recommending the Tao te Ching--not bad. There is a really great pocket edition translated by Stephen Mitchell which is really easy to carry around, if you're so inclined.
Otherwise I'd recommend:
J.L Austin, How to Do Things with Words. This book is basically the foundation for all the postmodern theories on language (Derrida, Butler, Bourdieu) as well as a lot of other contemporary philosophers of language (Habermas, Rorty). Its an easy read, and mildly amusing. Its British ordinary language philosophy, so its pretty straight up.
Giambattista Vico, the New Science. Early philosphy of History, talks about myth a lot. Fun stuff
T.S. Eliot, the Wasteland. It goes without saying...
|