The Closing of the American Mind by Allan Bloom (again)

 Re-read of an all-time classic, and one of those books that is a companion book with which you dialog over a lifetime. Every time I read it, I come away with new insights, and also perhaps new places where I would disagree or at least qualify the ideas of Bloom.

Curing Mad Truths by Remi Brague (again)

 I read this back in 2023 and just reread it. It's an excellent, short book about the philosophical roots of our current "madness." This is a book I will reread every few years.

Retrieving Realism by Hubert Dreyfus and Charles Taylor

 Excellent book defending realist philosophy by critiquing the "mediational" presupposition in modern philosophy.

Curing Mad Truths: Medieval Wisdom for the Modern Age by Remi Brague

 Excellent analysis of the deterioration of modern culture and its cure in ancient wisdom

The Kingdom of Man: Genesis and Failure of the Modern Project by Remi Brague

 Excellent analysis of the philosophical and social consequences of the Enlightenment

Natural Law and Human Rights by Pierre Manent

 Another great book by Manent, among the most penetrating political philosophers of today. He is excellent at diagnosing the modern malaise that afflicts the West.

An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding by David Hume

 A philosophical classic and essential Enlightenment reading.

Mind, Language and Society by John Searle

 Written in 1998,  Searle develops an analysis of social structure in terms of his philosophy of mind and language. Searle is always an interesting read even if I usually have problems with what he writes.

Aristotle's Revenge by Edward Feser

Detailed defense of the notion that the philosophy of Aristotle is actually the best foundation for modern science - rather than something that has been superseded by modern science. Feser is always worth reading

Three Rival Versions of Moral Enquiry by Alasdair MacIntyre

One of many excellent books by MacIntyre, author of the classic After Virtue. This one compares the Encyclopedic, Geneological (i.e. Nietzschean) and Traditional (Thomistic) approaches to moral philosophy - appropriately finding the Thomistic approach superior to the others.

An Introduction to Metaphysics by Martin Heidegger

Since I've been injured and not been able to do my long-distance running, I've had more time to read.

Heidegger is a philosopher I've long had on my list. I've tried Being and Time a few times, but never got very far as I found it incomprehensible. It's funny how some philosophers immediately speak to you and others don't. Kant is notoriously difficult to read, but I found his Critique of Pure Reason an accessible and compelling read. Not so much Heidegger.

I managed to make it through Introduction to Metaphysics and at least come away with a glimmer of what Heidegger was getting at. Maybe more than a glimmer. At least it was enough that I will continue to pursue and understanding of Heidegger.

Voltaire and the Triumph of the Enlightenment

Audible.com download of a Great Courses lecture series by Prof. Alan Charles Kors. It is Kors interpretation of the Enlightenment as told through the history of Voltaire. Kors is a very engaging, even gripping, lecturer. Recommended.

Plato, Socrates and the Dialogues by Michael Sugrue

This was an audible.com download of a Great Courses lecture series. It is an excellent intro to Plato and Socrates. Prof. Sugrue clearly loves his subject.

Ideas Have Consequences by Richard Weaver

A classic on philosophy and culture that I have been meaning to read for a long time. It lives up to the hype. Written in 1948, Weaver diagnoses the sickness in our culture, tracing it to the triumph of nominalism over realism way back in the late middle ages. The best aspect of the book, and vindicating its analysis, is its prophetic nature.

Methodical Realism by Etienne Gilson

A short but brilliant work on realist philosophy and its fundamental differences from idealism. I've been meaning to read it for years.

Socrates, A Man for Our Times by Paul Johnson

A good study of Socrates by the historian Paul Johnson. Since the subtitle was "A Man for Our Times", I was expecting more concerning the contemporary relevance of Socrates, but this is a simply a straightforward study of Socrates and Socratic philosophy. To the extent that Socrates is a man for all times - and he is - then naturally he is a man for our times.

I prefer the older book on Socrates by Romano Guardini, as Guardini is more philosophically sophisticated than Johnson. I think Johnson is also a little hard on Plato, but Johnson is still excellent.

Socrates meets Kant by Peter Kreeft

This is an excellent entry in the "Socrates meets ..." series from Kreeft. A good introduction to Kant.

Re-read of An Intellectual History of Liberalism by Pierre Manent

This book, along with Manent's The City of Man, is indispensable for understanding what it means to be modern. And we are all inevitably modern.

Re-read of The City of Man by Pierre Manent

This is one of my favorite "companion" books and is the most thorough and penetrating analysis of modern thought that I have read. It's always worth re-reading every year or two.

Why Grow Up? Subversive Thoughts for an Infantile Age by Susan Neiman

Susan Neiman was a philosophy professor at Yale and now lives in Berlin. This book wasn't quite what I thought it would be and turned out to be a vigorous defense of the Enlightenment, invoking Kant, Rousseau and their pals. Neiman tells us that there are forces conspiring to keep us infantile - principally government and corporations - because an infantile population is easier to manipulate and control. The answer is to embrace the Enlightenment challenge to think for yourself.

While I don't agree with Neiman's assessment of the Enlightenment, I always appreciate a sincere, principle, and straightforward defense of a philosophical position. And Neiman is a clear and excellent writer.