He's saying that because the Bible is the most common book in the world. I think thats why..

"Consciousness Explained" by Daniel Dennett. Neat book, though better read in chunks than as a whole. Certain portions are incredible in that they give insight into what goes on 'behind the curtain' in your own brain/mind (there is a difference).

"Gateless Gate" ed. by Kuon Yamada. Amazing book for students of Zen Buddhism

"Siddharta Gautama" Herman Hesse, nuff said.

"Hero With a Thousand Faces" and "Power of Myth" by Joseph Campbell.

"Beyond Good and Evil" and "Thus Spake Zarathrusta", Nietszche

Plato's "Republic" and his Socratic Dialogues.

Keith dig a pair of wonderful graphic novels (yes, comic books) on "Epicurus the Sage". It gave a tongue in cheek look at classical Greek philosophy and yet still taught some good lessons. It will, at the minimum, allow you toe recognize the difference between Plato, Socrates, Aristotle, etc. T%he second is not quite so amusing and deals more with classical Greek myth and religious beliefs, but it is still amusing.

:Hindu Philosophy and Thought" Pereira (I think, been a while).

I think I'll stop now...

I've liked:

Tao te ching, Lao Tzu

The Analects, Confucius

An introductory overview of philosophy by TZ Levine, I think.

A very interesting book, if not wholly persuasive, was Julian Jayne's The Origin of Consciousness in the Bicameral Mind or something.

Selected Non-Fictions, Jorge Luis Borges

On the Heights of Despair, E.M. Cioran

Foucault's Pendulum, Umberto Eco

Holographic Universe, Michael Talbot

I'll throw my hat in the ring.

Hobbes' Leviathan.
The Art of Happiness (some ghost writer writing for the Dalai Lama).

Ishmael - Daniel Quinn

Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis a freaking awesome book! Hard to dispute and great points. Makes highly developed ideas seem common sense! One of my all time favorites. Also, just to reiterate a lot of what has been suggested: The Bible. Stop looking for faults in translation! It seems whenever it's suggested or mentioned people are always ready to jump on it and find errors. Funny, people are always ready to bash and put down any idea dealing with Christianity, but so willing to look into ideas that exclude God. Anyways....other great reads:
Socrates Meets Jesus, Kreeft
The Screwtape Letters, Lewis
Social and Political Philosophy (a great compilation of different books), Somerville and Santoni
The Problem of Pain, Lewis
Meditations on First Philosophy, Descartes

"Battlefield Earth".

Those damn Asians, good thing Elron sniffed their plans out and made them public.

Actually, I would recommend "Armageddon - The Musical" by Robert Rankin. All his books are great, because he refuses to follow any rules regarding writing books. In one book, you don't find out that the main character is a homosexual serial killer until page 200 - the middle of the book. In another, some characters get killed off just because they demand higher pay - "Armageddon - the B-movie". While he is mainly a humourous author, he is very strict on keeping his information regarding philosophy and religion straight. And if sex with stuffed toys and a drunken 12-year old hero is your thing, read "The hollow chocolate bunnies of death". Humpty Dumpty gets killed in it, boiled alive in his swimming pool.

Robert Rankin. Write the name down, people.

-Anything by Richard Dawkins, Blindwatch Maker and River out of Eden being the best. (or for the creationism side, Darwin's Black Box, i forget the author)

-Douglas Adams books, although not directly philosophical, have some great insight in them.

I like the Bhagavad Gita, The Collected Discourses of the Buddha, Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, and Titus Andronicus by Shakespeare. As for film I always hold out Being There, with Peter Sellers, although I seem to be the only person I know who digs it. And My Dinner With Andre of course.
I edit to add two biggies in the film category: The Addiction, and for you Hakagure fans Ghost Dog.

If any book changed me it was "stranger in a strange land" by Robert Heinlein. In particular it teaches you that those "gut" responses you have to morality are learned as well, and sometimes you need to question them.

I find it funny that the bible was only mentioned as a sort of joke. Particularly since it is really the book which provides the context (culturally) in which we live. Weather or not its complete bull is irrelevant, our western world has been built around it. That said its a rather imposing read, so recommendations to read it will probably be ignored. As an alternative I recommend reading Genesis, Judge's and Job of the Old testament. They won't leave you board, and they might whet your appetite. Job is particularly enlightening.

The other book I need to recommend even though I still haven't finished it yet is Eternal Golden Braid. Its a tomb, and its one of the Densest texts I have ever read, but you come out knowing quite a bit more about life the universe and everything than you did going in.

But with all of these books the place you are in your life when you read them is what determines if the book opens your eyes or not.

Ghost in the shell - anime

against a dark background-Iain M Banks..for introducing me to solipsism.

the search for Animal Chin - the bones bridgade skating video
thanks

veronica decides to die-Umberto Eco... I think?

I've alwayys reccomended people to read Nigel Warburtons 'Philosophy: the Basics'. I've never seen the Ontological Argument so simply and accurately described. Mary Warnock's 'An intelligent Persons Guide to Ethics' looks great when read on public transport. For oriental stuff Hagakure is OK, but I really reccomend the works of Dave Lowry. Be picky with Plato: Republic is really dry, but the dialogues dealing with his trial and execution are much easier to read (Crito, Apology etc).

Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky
The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoevsky

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...

Zen Speaks: Shouts of Nothingness

Another good book, not so much on philosophy though, is:
You Just Don't Understand: Women and Men in Conversation by Deborah Tannen, Ph.D.

One of the best books of the 20th century, and also changed me quite a bit. Read this, truly.

And it's Ursula K. Le Guin

Language Older than Words: Derrick Jensen
Read it! It may seem crazy at first that Jensen claims that nature/animals may be sentient, but if you give the book a chance by the end you will have a seriesly different view of the world we live in both societially and naturally

may i suggest The Age Of Spiritual Machines by Ray Kurzweil

wow, some other objectivists in here! woot woot, who is John Galt???

Anyway, for the uninitiated,
Ayn Rand..
If you need a primer, start with The Fountainhead.. it's a decent novel that will start solidifying the concepts of Objectivism.. Follow up with The Virtue of Selfishness, and Atlas Shrugged...

Familiarity with other philosophies is always good, and the Go Rin No Sho (book of 5 rings) is a great one to be aware of, as well as a familiarity with the major religions of the world.. They give you a powerful insight into how and why others will act and react the way they do.

The art of war (Sun Tzu)

The Alchemist (cant remember who by)

The education of little tree (Forest Carter)

Oh the places you'll go (Dr Sues)

The essay <a href="http://english.uindy.edu/english_331_docs/camus.htm">The Myth of Sisyphus</a> by Albert Camus, as well as the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0679733736/qid=1066678593/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/102-1781585-2628938?v=glance&s=books">book </a>by the same title.

If you read any Camus, avoid the Matthew Ward translations. Even though he claims to be more faithful to the original French, his prose is inelegant when compared to the Stuart Gilbert translation.

Compare POSSIBLE SPOILER FOR THE STRANGER:

Theres this old black and white arthouse film called "Pi". It gives a good account of the competitivness of all the alternate views on the universe.

I recomend
Staley Milgram's "Obedience to Authority"
Christopher Browning's "Ordinary Men"

They really have an insight into how horrible people are and why. They are also very interesting and quick books to read.

I just read the Bhagavad Gita, I agree with its previous reccomendations.

I'd like to encourage anyone who hasn't so far, to read C.S. Lewis. In addition to the previous suggestions, I'll add "The Great Divorce" to the list. Its a short read (a couple hours tops), but certainly thought provoking.

Right now I'm in the middle of "The River Why" by David James Duncan. Not sure yet, but it could be near the top of my list by the time it is done.

I reccomend another book by Camus, The Plague.
Any Ayn Rand is good.
I alos reccomend any of the good Russian writers, I can't remember their names, but one of the good stories was A Hero of our Time.

Also, am I the only one in the whole world who think Campbell is a quack?

the art of war every one should read it

Some of my favorites are these:

Fear and Trembling, Kirkegaard.
This is the book that made me sure that I had found the right girl -- 'Never the less I believe that I shall get her.'

Tao Te Ching, Lao Tzu
This is a text that can be read in part like a daily meditation guide. Its something that I read and reread continuously.

The Bible
Sorry, but this has some really great things in it. Psalms is one of my favorite books, Song of Songs, and Isaiah as well.

Dark Night of the Soul, St. John of the Cross.
This is another one of those that can be read in part, daily.

Anything written by Edgar Cayce.
This man definetely changed the way I thought about my faith, Christ, and even taught a Christian about how shit like reincarnation was not only possible but very probable.

Waking Life, Richard Linklater (film)
I agree that the film only scratches the surface of philosophy, but it masterfully combines thoughts of Existentialism and Spiritualism. Plus its a great watch by a talented film maker.

that's it. thanks.

<b>Voltaire</b> - "Zadig, or Fate", "Candid", and others - his stories I find to be very enjoyable and easy reads, and yet provide enough substance to give them value

I love everything by <b>Albert Camus</b>, though I'd suggest you read through his notebooks, he has an incredible ability to isolate amazing thoughts in small contained sentences.

<b>Plato</b> - "Symposium" - love is such an important topic for us, and it is really interesting to float through the various perspectives presented in this piece.

<b>Nietzsche</b> is great, as mentioned earlier. I'd like to throw in <u>The Antichrist</u> as a good reading as well.

<b>Simone de Beauvoir</b> - <u>The Second Sex</u>, particularly the excerpts on the "Woman in Love" and all of Part I.

<b>Henry David Thoreau</b> - "Civil Disobedience" and <u>Waldon</u>. I know that I really hated being forced to read these multiple times from high school through my undergraduate classes, but it truly has had a significant effect on my life.

<b>Immanual Kant</b> - learn his "categorical imperatives" from <u>Fundamental Principles from the Metaphysics of Morals</u> - Why? Because it provides quite an interesting perspective that has had a profound effect on Western thought and culture.

<b>Homer</b> - <u>The Illiad</u> and <u>The Odyssey</u> - You have to have the foundations.

I could go on and on and on....

Conversations with God series- Neale Donald Walsch

The Architecture of All Abundance- Lenedra J. Carroll (Jewel's mom)

William Connolly's Neuropolitics.

It is the latest [to my knowledge] of theorists in the field of immanent naturalists. The book is exceptionally relevant as it draws on modern techniques of neurobiology and cinema.

I was going to post Ishmael by Daniel Quinn, but i see someone already mentioned it! I'd like to second this. I'm not sure I quite grasped everything mentioned in the book, but it's main focus is on human nature and the culture that we have created for ourselves as a race. I'm sort of an amateur in philosophy, but am very intrigued.

Anybody have some books that are thought provoking, but more on a beginner's level? I keep getting the feeling i'm missing out on a lot of connections in other books. (If it helps, i'm only 17.. =/ )

I agree with most everything that has been listed, especially Tao Te Ching and The Power of Myth. It's funny how many of the classics (fat too many to list) and Greek mythology are powerful as well.

Daniel Quinn's books really get you thinking.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Covey is good. The thing I like about it is that he researched 200 years of self-help books and found something interesting: the first 150 years was character based and the last 50 was personality based. All he really did was create structure from everything he researched. It has turned out to be a foundation for me.

One last thing I highly encourage for self exploration, and this is a little different.... Now, Discover Your Strengths by the Gallup organization. It helps you understand yourself better in context with you focused not on your weaknesses but on the ROI you get from developing your natural strengths. I have made it part of our culture at my business.

thats a funny combo being that kierkegaard was a christian. good choices though.

also, i know that it is not following the whole book genre that seems to be the patern of this thred, but donnie darko is an awesome movie that induces thoughts on life, love and death. 6 thumbs up. 22 stars. a must see.

I'm a little surprised that no one has mentioned "the Matrix" series at all. look below the action sequences and there are questions of Existentialism, Codependency, Love, reincarnation (sort of) Predestination, etc.

Fair warning! If you haven't watched it once, prepare to watch it(them) several times to really get a good feel for the questions that they bring up. And be ready to be disappointed by the answers (or lack thereof)

You can glean some kind of philosophical insights from just about anything, in my mind particularly non-fiction science to help you put the dreamers in their place ;)

Classical readings though?
The Bible
Tibetan Book of Living and Dying
anything to do with Quantum physics

You could read Descartes and get a lot of that without having to deal with the Hollywood fluff. Not that the first one was a bad movie by any means..

A great book to read to get inspired about the future, that's for sure!

My personal faves:

When Science Meets Religion by Ian Barbour

Taking the Red Pill: Science, Philosophy and Religion in The Matrix ed. by Glenn Yeffeth

and of course:

The Blank Slate by Steven Pinker