Best Philosophy books

The 21 highest-rated Philosophy books, scored from 5K reader ratings.

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By year of first publication, 1532–2022. The busiest stretch is 2000–2049, with 9. Select a bar to narrow the list.

1
8.58.5 / 10
This Is WaterDavid Foster Wallace160 ratingsA commencement speech about attention and compassion, “This Is Water” doubles as a brief, serious guide to ordinary adult life.Our view
2
8.48.4 / 10
How to Be an AntiracistIbram X. Kendi356 ratings“How to Be an Antiracist” is a clear, argumentative introduction that mixes memoir with social commentary.Our view
3
8.48.4 / 10
The Righteous MindJonathan Haidt238 ratings“The Righteous Mind” uses social psychology to explain why decent people land on opposite sides of politics and religion.Our view

Why This Is Water is #1

This Is Water (David Foster Wallace) scores 8.5/10 from 160 ratings — 0.1 points ahead of How to Be an Antiracist in second place.

The score is a weighted average across 3 independent rating sources. A title with few ratings is pulled toward the category average, so a handful of enthusiastic reviews cannot outrank a book that thousands of readers have judged. To keep the list varied, the top 20 holds at most two books from one series and three by one author; the rest follow further down. Method →