The Canon Library

Western Canon reading path

Ancient Philosophy

The foundational arguments about virtue, knowledge, politics, mortality, and the good life.

How to use this reading path

Begin with Socrates in public, move through Plato's political vision and Aristotle's practical philosophy, then test those systems against Stoic and Epicurean ways of living.

Books
8
Estimated hours
115
Suggested pace
5 months
Difficulty
Intermediate

The reading order

  1. Apology by Plato

    Begin with Socrates' defense of the examined life.

  2. The Republic by Plato
  3. Nicomachean Ethics by Aristotle
  4. Politics by Aristotle
  5. Elements by Euclid
  6. On the Nature of Things by Lucretius
  7. Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
  8. The New Testament by Multiple authors

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