Required Reading

[Rival]

I often recall Jordan Peterson saying something along the lines of 'If you haven't read Jung then, so be it, but then you've not read Carl Jung...'

It stuck with me because he's right. There are some things that benefit you to read, regardless whether you agree with them. I was thinking this today browsing the Religion section in Waterstones. It struck me because I'm not a Christian, but I am a Mediaevalist, and it hit me, 'If you haven't read Thomas Aquinas, then... so be it it....but then you haven't read Thomas Aquinas.' So I picked up his selected writings, because no self-respecting Mediaevalist fails to read Aquinas.

What would you consider a seminal text?

 

[Rival]

 

[Heyo]

I think Douglas Adams' "Hitchhiker Trilogy" (all 5 books) should be required reading.

 

[ChristineM]

I think Douglas Adams' "Hitchhiker Trilogy" (all 5 books) should be required reading.

I'd like to add the Dirk Gently series, wonderful works.

And of course the late great Terry Pratchetts Discworld series

 

[Revoltingest]

Vonnegut's "Slalughterhouse 5" & "Mother Night".

 

[RestlessSoul]

Vonnegut's "Slalughterhouse 5" & "Mother Night".

Slaughterhouse 5 probably should be required reading. I haven’t read the other though, so what do I know?

 

[Revoltingest]

....I haven’t read the other though, so what do I know?

You know you want to read "Mother Night".
There's a movie version.

 

[RestlessSoul]

You know you want to read "Mother Night".
There's a movie version.

As a rule, the book’s better

Added to my reading list as of now

 

[Debater Slayer]

What would you consider a seminal text?

I think that almost entirely depends on one's areas of focus and interest.

• For someone who wants to understand the prevalent economic ideologies of the 20th century, I would say that Marx, Engels, Adam Smith, and John Maynard Keynes are essential reading.

• For someone focused on fictional literature, Shakespeare, Dickens, and Tolstoy (among many others) are obvious pillars.

• For someone who wants to understand the world's predominant religions, the central texts of Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, and Buddhism are essential.

• For someone who wants to understand how modern computers work and the advances in AI, all of the above aren't nearly as important to read as a few reliable courses on programming, computer science, and Boolean logic.

If someone is not interested in psychology or anthropology, I think it's perfectly fine to forgo Jung—and I'd say it's not even necessary to read his work to have a solid understanding of the former, since much of Jung's work in that field is now highly discredited and outdated, which is not surprising given that he died more than six decades ago.

 

[rocala]

Three of my favourites:

"How the World Works" by Noam Chomsky
"Ishmael" by Daniel Quinn
"Soil and Soul" by Alastair McIntosh

 

[Left Coast]

In the "self-help" category, the book Mindset by Carol Dweck is by far the best I've ever read.

 

[Secret Chief]

much of Jung's work in that field is now highly discredited and outdated

He's in the same bin as Freud.

 

[Secret Chief]

What would you consider a seminal text?

Seminal to anything then?

 

[Revoltingest]

As a rule, the book’s better

Added to my reading list as of now

I discern that "better" is where you find it.

 

[Rival]

Seminal to anything then?

I'm thinking culture in general, I'm my case Western culture.

 

[Rival]

He's in the same bin as Freud.

But still essential to understanding the field of psychology.

And I'm not sure he's completely useless.

 

[The Hammer]

For an understanding of how humans hunter gathering past may have looked pre-"civilization", read an Ethnography of the Ju /'hoansi of South Africa.

The changing world of the Ju/’hoansi Bushmen – in pictures

The anthropologist James Suzman has been documenting the Ju/’hoansi Bushmen’s traumatic encounter with modernity since 1992. Here he explores the threats to an ancient way of life

www.theguardian.com

 

[JustGeorge]

I think that almost entirely depends on one's areas of focus and interest.

• For someone who wants to understand the prevalent economic ideologies of the 20th century, I would say that Marx, Engels, Adam Smith, and John Maynard Keynes are essential reading.

• For someone focused on fictional literature, Shakespeare, Dickens, and Tolstoy (among many others) are obvious pillars.

• For someone who wants to understand the world's predominant religions, the central texts of Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, and Buddhism are essential.

• For someone who wants to understand how modern computers work and the advances in AI, all of the above aren't nearly as important to read as a few reliable courses on programming, computer science, and Boolean logic.

If someone is not interested in psychology or anthropology, I think it's perfectly fine to forgo Jung—and I'd say it's not even necessary to read his work to have a solid understanding of the former, since much of Jung's work in that field is now highly discredited and outdated, which is not surprising given that he died more than six decades ago.

I think the central texts of Hinduism would be hard to pin.

 

[Debater Slayer]

I think the central texts of Hinduism would be hard to pin.

Which would you recommend for a solid overview of the religion?

 

[JustGeorge]

Which would you recommend for a solid overview of the religion?

I honestly can't think of one. 'Hindu' is too much of an umbrella term.