Some from the canon: Plato: Defence of Socrates, Euthyphro, Crito (translated by David Gallop) The Modes of Scepticism by Julia Annas and Jonathan Barnes (a beautiful collection of texts from Pyrrhonian scepticism and analysis of their arguments; the best way I know to meet ancient scepticism) Descartes: Meditations on First Philosophy (The Cambridge University Press edition is very good; it's probably worth buying their Selected Philosophical Writings for a good basic Descartes text) David Hume: An Enquiry concerning Human Understanding and An Enquiry concerning the Principles of Morals (I recommend the Oxford Philosophical Texts editions) Wittgenstein: Philosophical Investigations (terribly, terribly difficult, but very rewarding) A few contemporary things: Gilbert Ryle: The Concept of Mind Willard Van Orman Quine: From a Logical Point of View J. L. Mackie: Ethics: Inventing Right and Wrong Thomas Nagel: Mortal Questions (short essays, well-written, very accessible) Bernard Williams: Ethics and the Limits of Philosophy Michael Smith: The Moral Problem Specialist, technical, odd:…
Also recommended in this reply
- Philosophical Investigations
- An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding
- Meditations on First Philosophy
- Crito
- Euthyphro
- An Enquiry concerning the Principles of Morals
- Ethics and the Limits of Philosophy
- From a Logical Point of View
- Mortal Questions
- Selected Philosophical Writings
- The Cement of the Universe: A Study of Causation
- The Concept of Mind
- The Ethics of Belief
- The Frege Reader
- The Modes of Scepticism
- The Moral Problem