Philosophy for Today

The books, in order

1. 1

   Philosophy · 18 min

   The Burnout Society

   Byung-Chul Han

   The most exhausting pressure in modern life rarely comes from orders handed down from above, but from the deep-seated inner conviction that we must constantly produce more.

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2. 2

   Philosophy · 18 min

   In the Swarm

   Byung-Chul Han

   Bringing together thousands of outraged profiles online is not the same as building a popular movement, because isolated individuals behind screens rarely form real bonds of solidarity.

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3. 3

   Philosophy · 15 min

   To Have or to Be?

   Erich Fromm

   True learning changes how you view the world, and writing down everything does not guarantee that.

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4. 4

   Psychology · 15 min

   Escape from Freedom

   Erich Fromm

   Freedom without direction becomes a burden: getting free of an authority is the easy part, and deciding what to do with that freedom is the work almost no one learns on their own.

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5. 5

   Philosophy · 20 min

   The Tyranny of Merit

   Michael J. Sandel

   When a selection process measures competence for a job opening, it still has not measured the dignity of those who applied.

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6. 6

   Philosophy · 18 min

   Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do?

   Michael J. Sandel

   A decision can improve the average while still severely harming those who disappear inside it.

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7. 7

   Philosophy · 14 min

   Philosophy for the Courageous

   Luiz Felipe Pondé

   Intellectual courage begins the moment someone agrees to face reality without resorting to comforting fantasies.

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8. 8

   Philosophy · 18 min

   This Idea Must Die

   John Brockman

   Belief in fixed, unchanging categories kept humanity from understanding the evolution of life for centuries.

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9. 9

   Philosophy · 15 min

   Leviathan

   Thomas Hobbes

   An agreement without someone capable of enforcing the deal depends purely on goodwill, and goodwill runs out when temptation grows.

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