"I think, therefore I am" is one of the most well-known and significant quotes in human history. The philosopher Descartes wrote this line and many other groundbreaking philosophical commentaries in A Discourse on Method. Read the original text that changed philosophy by one of the most influential minds in philosophical thinking. Descartes's approach is to "doubt everything" to overcome skepticism and get a better perspective on the world than his philosophical contemporaries and predecessors.

A General View of Positivism (Discours sur l'ensemble du positivisme) is a 1844 book by the French philosopher Auguste Comte, first published in English in 1865. A founding text in the development of positivism and the discipline of sociology, the work provides a revised and full account of the theory Comte presented earlier in his multi-part The Course in Positive Philosophy (1830–1842). Comte outlines the epistemological view of positivism, provides an account of the manner by which sociology should be performed, and describes his law of three stages.

A Letter Concerning Toleration was actually a letter written by John Locke to his friend. Tensions were rising as England believed Catholicism was taking over the country. Locke addresses the subject in this text and provides toleration as the answer to help the government and people deal with the expanding new religion. Locke's friend published the letter without him knowing because the message was so important. Read the words Locke wrote and truly meant that had such an impact on a nation.

Johnathan Swift was a great writer who used his wit to get his point across through his fiction. In A Modest Proposal, Swift suggests that the suffering Irish sell their children as food to wealthy families. The content is obviously satirical, but the message was essential to the poor Irish and the poor attitude toward them. Read Swift's proposal, considered one of the best examples of satire ever written.

This is a powerful and thoughtful book about women and writing. It explores what a woman would need in order to become a successful writer—and suggests that, more than anything, she would need money and a quiet space where she could think and work without interruption. In this book, Woolf talks about why women in history haven’t had the same chances as men. She wonders what might have happened if Shakespeare had a sister who was just as talented as he was—but wasn’t allowed to learn, write, or be free.

George Berkeley felt so passionately about writer John Locke's thoughts on human perception that he wrote A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge to refute it. Is the world we experience real, or is it only composed of ideas? The heady subject of what we are experiencing and what is simply projections of the thoughts in our head is something that both Locke and Berkeley had feelings on. This text dives into the topics and comes to some pretty significant conclusions.

A Treatise of Human Nature is one of the most powerful works of literature in philosophy. The book is a deep dive by philosopher David Hume into human nature and how to learn about and understand it. He touches on skepticism, naturalism, and empiricism as he unfolds why people do what they do.

Women are not ornaments! Mary Wollstonecraft was an English early feminist writer in the 18th century. A Vindication of the Rights of Woman is a piece in strict defense of women's rights as humans. Wollstonecraft fights for women's education, the importance of their roles as mothers, and their equality with men. Read how she stood up to society at a time when women were not treated equally.

Anna J. Cooper was an activist and educator and one of the first voices of Black feminism. A Voice from the South is an 1892 book by Cooper that collects her series of essays on social and racial issues of the time. The text is a source of inspiration and empowerment for African Americans and women. Cooper argues for the education of Balck women to help them progress and reach their potential in the community.

Apion was a writer and commentator on Homer, whose work isn't widely known, who made a written attack on Judaism. Against Apion was written by Flavius Josephus in response to this attack refuting what the writer stated. Against Apion defends Judiams as an ancient and legitimate foundation in religion despite newer traditions by Greeks. Read this passionate text defending a classical religion that still exists today.

Does the human mind begin as a blank slate? Philosopher and physician John Locke dives into human knowledge in An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding, Volume I. Locke believes the human mind is formed by the environment in which it develops and explains his theory in detail. Locke refuted many ideas of the time with this book, and its context inspired many philosophers afterward. It is the first of two volumes on understanding and empiricism.

John Locke was a physician and philosopher who lived and wrote during the 1600s. He was one of the first British empiricists and a significant figure in Liberalism. An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding, Volume II explores the source of knowledge. Locke believed the mind was a blank slate at birth, and all sense must be gained through experience. Read how the philosopher unfolds knowledge and addresses a topic early in its understanding.