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Cambridge Philosophy ClassicsSeries

This collection showcases essential philosophical works from the past century, bringing together influential texts by renowned thinkers. It spans a wide range of philosophical disciplines, including ethics, political philosophy, and the philosophy of science. Each volume is enhanced with a new preface by a leading contemporary philosopher, highlighting the enduring significance and relevance of these foundational texts for modern inquiry.

Kant's Dialectic
Logic of Statistical Inference
Obscenity and Film Censorship
Models of Man
What is a Law of Nature?
Proofs and Refutations : The Logic of Mathematical Discovery

Recommended Reading Order

  • Proofs and Refutations : The Logic of Mathematical Discovery

    • 183 pages
    • 7 hours of reading
    4.4(39)Add rating

    Imre Lakatos's Proofs and Refutations is an enduring classic, which has never lost its relevance. Taking the form of a dialogue between a teacher and some students, the book considers various solutions to mathematical problems and, in the process, raises important questions about the nature of mathematical discovery and methodology. Lakatos shows that mathematics grows through a process of improvement by attempts at proofs and critiques of these attempts, and his work continues to inspire mathematicians and philosophers aspiring to develop a philosophy of mathematics that accounts for both the static and the dynamic complexity of mathematical practice. With a specially commissioned Preface written by Paolo Mancosu, this book has been revived for a new generation of readers.

    Proofs and Refutations : The Logic of Mathematical Discovery

  • Models of Man

    • 172 pages
    • 7 hours of reading

    Focusing on human action and identity, this influential work by Martin Hollis presents a rationalist perspective that delves into the complexities of how individuals make choices and define themselves. Through thoughtful analysis, it examines the interplay between personal agency and social context, offering insights that challenge conventional notions of behavior and identity. Hollis's exploration invites readers to reconsider the foundations of rational thought in understanding human experiences.

    Models of Man

  • Kant's Dialectic

    • 306 pages
    • 11 hours of reading
    3.5(7)Add rating

    This book is Jonathan Bennett's engaging and influential study of the second half of Kant's Critique of Pure Reason.

    Kant's Dialectic

  • Experience and its Modes

    • 288 pages
    • 11 hours of reading

    Michael Oakeshott's classic discussion of modality and human experience in relation to the practical, the historical and the scientific modes of understanding is presented in a new series livery with a specially commissioned preface, written by Paul Franco, for twenty-first-century readers, in recognition of its enduring importance.

    Experience and its Modes

  • Sour Grapes

    • 192 pages
    • 7 hours of reading
    4.0(3)Add rating

    This book is Jon Elster's influential study of irrationality, challenging orthodox theories of rational choice.

    Sour Grapes

  • Art and Its Objects

    • 292 pages
    • 11 hours of reading
    3.8(45)Add rating

    Aims to convey the author's belief that the nature of art has to be comprehensible from both the artist's and the spectator's point of view. In pursuing this, the book considers questions on expression, representation, style, the significance of the artist.

    Art and Its Objects

  • The Concept of Nature

    • 141 pages
    • 5 hours of reading
    4.0(2)Add rating

    This influential discussion of the fundamental metaphysical problems of space, time and substance continues to be important and illuminating for philosophers and scientists alike. With a specially commissioned preface written by Michael Hampe, this book is presented in a fresh twenty-first-century series livery for a new generation of readers.

    The Concept of Nature

  • Sour Grapes

    Studies in the Subversion of Rationality

    • 192 pages
    • 7 hours of reading

    Sour Grapes aims to subvert orthodox theories of rational choice through the study of forms of irrationality. Dr Elster begins with an analysis of the notation of rationality, to provide the background and terms for the subsequent discussions, which cover irrational behaviour, irrational desires and irrational belief. These essays continue and complement the arguments of Jon Elster's earlier book, Ulysses and the Sirens. That was published to wide acclaim, and Dr Elster shows the same versatility here in drawing on philosophy, political and social theory, decision-theory, economics and psychology, as well as history and literature.

    Sour Grapes

  • Nietzsche on Tragedy

    • 480 pages
    • 17 hours of reading
    3.7(3)Add rating

    The first comprehensive study of Nietzsche's earliest book, The Birth of Tragedy (1872), this important book has been revived for a new generation of readers of Nietzsche, German philosophy and history of philosophy. It is presented in a fresh twenty-first-century series livery and includes a specially commissioned new preface.

    Nietzsche on Tragedy

  • Dilemmas

    • 120 pages
    • 5 hours of reading

    This book shows that the conflicts that arise from everyday ways of thinking are not dilemmas as they appear to be.

    Dilemmas