Recommendations Based off of Philosophical Topics

COLOR GUIDE

philosophy | literature | movie | music | tv | short story

large scale metaphysics

what is the meaning of anything, what is reality, space vs. time continuum, how did the universe start 

• On the Nature of the Universe | Lucretius

small scale metaphysics

what is the meaning of life, what happens after you die, existentialism, nihilism

• Physics | Aristotle

politics

government, politics, resource distribution, power distribution, a person's role in society

• Politics | Aristotle

• The Republic | Plato

• 48 Laws of Power | Robert Greene

personal development

how to live a meaningful life, what is the best way to live, virtue, morality, human interaction

• Nicomachean Ethics | Aristotle

• 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don't Do | Amy Morin

history

war, politics, history repeats itself, human nature, patterns in civilization, human behavior, psychology, evolution, why we are the way we are, society

• The Histories | Herodotus

• History of the Peloponnesian War | Thucydides

• Sapiens | Yuval Noah Harari

• 21 Lessons for the 21st Century | Yuval Noah Harari

love + human connection

what is love, romance, family, friendship, sexuality, passion, emotional connection

• Symposium | Plato

• The Road | Cormack McCarthy

• Of Mice and Men | John Steinbeck

• Como Agua Para Chocolate | Laura Esquivel

• Big Little Lies (2017-2019)

• The Story | Brandi Carlile

comedy

satire, social commentary, role of comedy in society, intersection of comedy and tragedy

• Clouds | Aristophanes

• The Simpsons (1989-)

dichotomy of good vs. evil

morality, who gets to decide what is right and wrong, who is the hero, who is the villain, deception, things are not always what they seem, good on the outside and bad on the inside, being misunderstood

• Frankenstein | Mary Shelley

• Lolita | Vladimir Nabokov

• Joker (2019)

• Maleficent (2014)

• The Dark Knight (2008)

• Zootopia (2016)

growing up

loss of innocence, youth, corruption, coming of age, transformation, hero's journey

• Alice's Adventures in Wonderland | Lewis Carroll

• Peter Pan | J M Barrie

• To Kill a Mockingbird | Harper Lee

• Purple Hibiscus | Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

• Life is Beautiful (1997)

• The Lion King (1994, 2019)

• Toy Story 1-4 (1995, 1999, 2010, 2019)

dystopia

loss of identity, herd mentality, power imbalance, politics, post-apocalyptic, society evolving, totalitarian regime 

• 1984 | George Orwell

• Animal Farm | George Orwell

• Brave New World | Aldous Huxley

• Nothing to Envy | Barbara Demick

• Homo Deus | Yuval Noah Harari

• Black Mirror (2011-)

• The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas | Ursula K. LeGuin

gender

feminism, egalitarianism, femininity, masculinity, equality, equity. sexuality

• The Second Sex | Simone de Beauvoir

• Provocations | Camille Paglia

• Things Fall Apart | Chinua Achebe

• Gone Girl | Gillian Flynn

• We Should All Be Feminists | Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

• One of the Boys | Katy Perry

race

racism, race relations, ethnicity, culture, assimilation

• Americanah | Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

• A Very Large Expanse of Sea | Tahereh Mafi

• I'm Still Here | Austin Channing Brown

nature

nurture, natural world, flora, fauna, balance, equilibrium, evolution, birth/death/rebirth cycle

• The Giving Tree | Shel Silverstein

• Where the Crawdads Sing | Delia Owens

• Tao Te Ching | Lao Tzu