Philosophy

23 works

23 works of Philosophy in the Western literary canon — ranked by Gröblé, with difficulty, length, and influence at a glance.

Philosophy, Ranked

According to Groblé

  1. 16Phaedo~385 BCPlatoHard·Medium·94 pagesInfluence89Popularity41Ancient GreecePhilosophyAncient Greek
  2. 18The Bhagavad Gita~200 BCVyasaModerate·Short·294 pagesInfluence79Popularity66Ancient WorldPhilosophySanskrit
  3. 33Poetics~335 BCAristotleHard·Quick·128 pagesInfluence91Popularity40Ancient GreecePhilosophyAncient Greek
  4. 36The Symposium~385 BCPlatoHard·Short·109 pagesInfluence88Popularity42Ancient GreecePhilosophyAncient Greek
  5. 37The Nicomachean Ethics~330 BCAristotleHard·Long·213 pagesInfluence92Popularity41Ancient GreecePhilosophyAncient Greek
  6. 43Thus Spoke Zarathustra1883Friedrich NietzscheHard·Long·342 pagesInfluence85Popularity73PhilosophyGerman
  7. 52Letters from a Stoic~64SenecaEasy·Long·254 pagesInfluence39Popularity43Ancient RomePhilosophyLatin
  8. 53The Prince1513Niccolò MachiavelliEasy·Medium·130 pagesInfluence86Popularity78RenaissancePhilosophyItalian
  9. 55Phaedrus~370 BCPlatoHard·Short·176 pagesInfluence33Popularity40Ancient GreecePhilosophyAncient Greek
  10. 59On the Nature of Things~55 BCLucretiusHard·Long·304 pagesInfluence71Popularity11Ancient RomePhilosophyLatin
  11. 63The Republic~375 BCPlatoHard·Long·300 pagesInfluence96Popularity72Ancient GreecePhilosophyAncient Greek
  12. 66Leviathan1651Thomas HobbesHard·Epic·688 pagesInfluence82Popularity38EnlightenmentPhilosophyEnglish
  13. 68The Analects~450 BCConfuciusModerate·Medium·279 pagesInfluence78Popularity57Ancient WorldPhilosophyClassical Chinese
  14. 77The Works of Cicero~50 BCMarcus Tullius CiceroHard·Long·350 pagesInfluence79Popularity11Ancient RomePhilosophyLatin
  15. 101Pensées1670Blaise PascalHard·Long·333 pagesInfluence69Popularity36EnlightenmentPhilosophyFrench
  16. 102Meditations on First Philosophy1641René DescartesHard·Short·59 pagesInfluence82Popularity37EnlightenmentPhilosophyLatin
  17. 104An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding1748David HumeHard·Medium·142 pagesInfluence70Popularity37EnlightenmentPhilosophyEnglish
  18. 113Apology~399 BCPlatoHard·Quick·39 pagesInfluence89Popularity42Ancient GreecePhilosophyAncient Greek
  19. 121The Consolation of Philosophy~524BoethiusModerate·Medium·154 pagesInfluence32Popularity28Ancient RomePhilosophyLatin
  20. 129Meditations~175Marcus AureliusEasy·Medium·256 pagesInfluence38Popularity79Ancient RomePhilosophyAncient Greek
  21. 136Tao Te Ching~350 BCLao TzuModerate·Quick·113 pagesInfluence77Popularity79Ancient WorldPhilosophyClassical Chinese
  22. 176The Communist Manifesto1848Karl MarxEasy·Short·287 pagesInfluence84Popularity82PhilosophyGerman
  23. 178Ethics1677Baruch SpinozaHard·Long·208 pagesInfluence70Popularity36EnlightenmentPhilosophyLatin