For me it was Jack London's fiction The Sea-Wolf. I was/am interested in philosophical ideas/frameworks but the simple direct materialistic philosophy espoused by Wolf Larsen in the above book made me question everything i had read.
We are mere "Animals" with a far more complex social structure than any other species which is why we invent all sorts of "subjective meanings" to "objectively meaningless" life. How to reconcile both is the eternal "Human Condition" problem.
Nihilism strikes me as a very specific commitment. There is a difference between "there is no meaning", and "we don't know the meaning", or a myriad other recall/precision related questions such as "can we know the meaning", "is one of the following candidates potentially the meaning", and so on.
I can see why for practical reasons some may lean into it, but I don't see it being epistemologically well founded.
The most radical book I’ve read is the Bible. But dramatically different…Discover of Freedom by Rose Wilder Lane perhaps. I don’t agree with everything she wrote but she had some interesting ideas.
A unique synthesis of aesthetics and mathematics that completely formed my worldview.
Perhaps slightly dated, because it was written very early in the computer revolution. Had it been written today, the Artificial Intelligence chapters would be very different.
Second Nietzsche - Beyond Good & Evil + Thus Spake Zarathustra.
TPZ is really a poetic/mock religious text version of BG&E.
The first few chapters of BG&E ask the question: why we humans seek knowledge at all? What drives the will to knowledge. . .feelings? A question most scientists never even think to ask. . but that seems the most radical question of all (as in getting to the 'root' of it all).
The Bible, specifically the New Testament, and more specifically，The Gospels. The reason that it's radical is that Christ overturns traditional notions of morality. Greco-Roman thought saw the rich and powerful as close to the divine but Christ's message is that the meek and poor are prefered by God.
Coming in at #2, I would argue for Marx, maybe Capital. It's radical because it shows that Capitalism is not a "natural" state of affairs (as much as it would like us to believe that it is).
Agreed. I love the Old Testament too, as it is so raw and real. Murder, betrayal, sex, prostitution, and war. Interwoven with the hope of a new start with Christ coming to earth, and a new beginning when he returns.
By that definition of "radical": painful and difficult to read, but
yielding enormous positive transformation, then for me Aldous Huxley's
"Heaven and Hell" (which contains "Doors of Perceptions"), Erich
Fromm's "To Have or to Be", Lewis Mumford's "Technics and
Civilization" and his "The Myth of the Machine". YMMV, but for me all
of these were "radical" in challenging my purely rational,
instrumental, and I think very limited ideas of knowledge, technology
and "progress" that I held as a younger scientist/engineer.
> Human All Too Human : A Book for Free Spirits to give its full name
For some reason i don't often see this book mentioned. Perhaps i am biased (this was my introduction to Nietzsche) but i have always found this to be more nuanced, incisive, insightful and less polemical than his other works. Also the fact that it is basically a set of aphorisms (of varying para lengths) on very many topics means that you can read it from any page for short periods of time and still find something of value.
And, almost as a contrary, Tolstoy, My Religion. For example, he claims that
- the teachings of Jesus are a reflection of human needs; break them and you will suffer,
- every form of oath taking is forbidden; every time you align yourself with some external authority, you will suffer or do evil,
- no form of judging another is ever allowed; even the criminal justice system is against the teachings of the Christ,
- any form of non-monogamy leads to suffering; even just fantasizing about a woman who is not your wife will lead to suffering.
There’s more.
I’m not a Christian or religious. But this is radical. And interesting.
I've got a whole list of books like this sitting somewhere on my hard drive called "Well-Argued Ideologies Very Different From My Own". Covers the whole gamut, from anti-natalism to Z-theory.
The Elephant in the Brain: Hidden Motives in Everyday Life would be my go-to. It's all about how people's motives are a lot more self-serving than you might think, including your own.
If you liked that, and then really want to go off the deep end, try The Enigma of Reason.
The first one really opened my mind to alternate modes of thought. The first half of the book is especially interesting, the second half is skippable. I don't think I could have appreciated the second book if I hadn't read the first.
The Dictator's Handbook by Bueno de Mesquita and Smith is another good one. Afaik, the first successful attempt to create a true theory of politics.
Love de Mesquita's The Logic of Political Survival and selectorate theory in general as well. What a meaty concept, with a lot of counterintuitive explanations.
Atlinsky is nice but he's kind of tepid and Western anti-violentist/ Western nationalist. So he can't speak about situations where military resistance is necessary, such as resistance against fascism or dictatorship. These can inoculate themselves against alinskian shock provocation tactics by using brutality and propaganda.
In order to understand the proper use of violentism/militarism and the, ethical high ground against a dominant enemy, I recommend Che Guevara's "Guerilla Warfare". It introduces the moral high ground, the national good, the organization, the economics, and the field tactics of strike and retreat, giving units quotas of cane crops to burn, etc.
Please read Che's letters as well - "I Embrace You with All My Revolutionary Fervor: Letters 1947-1967". They will show the human behind the tactics.
Both books are on the audiobook bay, along with alinsky. They provide a perfect counterpoint to alinsky.
As we enter an era of American nationalist fascism, alinskian tactics might need to give way to queer inclusivist cyber guerilla tactics. For a Just and Libre Society! We can win!
rramadass|1 year ago
Here are the relevant excerpts : https://old.reddit.com/r/books/comments/1jqpar/what_book_sin...
We are mere "Animals" with a far more complex social structure than any other species which is why we invent all sorts of "subjective meanings" to "objectively meaningless" life. How to reconcile both is the eternal "Human Condition" problem.
See also : Philosophy in a Meaningless Life: A System of Nihilism, Consciousness and Reality by James Tartaglia. Free pdf at - https://www.bloomsburycollections.com/monograph?docid=b-9781...
usgroup|1 year ago
I can see why for practical reasons some may lean into it, but I don't see it being epistemologically well founded.
unnamed76ri|1 year ago
Suppafly|1 year ago
[deleted]
rerdavies|1 year ago
A unique synthesis of aesthetics and mathematics that completely formed my worldview.
Perhaps slightly dated, because it was written very early in the computer revolution. Had it been written today, the Artificial Intelligence chapters would be very different.
gaws|1 year ago
How?
unrestifarian|1 year ago
TPZ is really a poetic/mock religious text version of BG&E.
The first few chapters of BG&E ask the question: why we humans seek knowledge at all? What drives the will to knowledge. . .feelings? A question most scientists never even think to ask. . but that seems the most radical question of all (as in getting to the 'root' of it all).
closetkantian|1 year ago
Coming in at #2, I would argue for Marx, maybe Capital. It's radical because it shows that Capitalism is not a "natural" state of affairs (as much as it would like us to believe that it is).
p0d|1 year ago
defrost|1 year ago
nonrandomstring|1 year ago
leobg|1 year ago
Thus Spoke Zarathustra The Gay Science Human All Too Human
rramadass|1 year ago
For some reason i don't often see this book mentioned. Perhaps i am biased (this was my introduction to Nietzsche) but i have always found this to be more nuanced, incisive, insightful and less polemical than his other works. Also the fact that it is basically a set of aphorisms (of varying para lengths) on very many topics means that you can read it from any page for short periods of time and still find something of value.
leobg|1 year ago
There’s more.
I’m not a Christian or religious. But this is radical. And interesting.
TheFreim|1 year ago
hiAndrewQuinn|1 year ago
The Elephant in the Brain: Hidden Motives in Everyday Life would be my go-to. It's all about how people's motives are a lot more self-serving than you might think, including your own.
If you liked that, and then really want to go off the deep end, try The Enigma of Reason.
namlem|1 year ago
Why Materialism is Baloney by Bernardo Kastrup
The first one really opened my mind to alternate modes of thought. The first half of the book is especially interesting, the second half is skippable. I don't think I could have appreciated the second book if I hadn't read the first.
The Dictator's Handbook by Bueno de Mesquita and Smith is another good one. Afaik, the first successful attempt to create a true theory of politics.
hiAndrewQuinn|1 year ago
Gnarl|1 year ago
On how to organize revolutions and how to be careful about what you wish for.
barfbagginus|1 year ago
In order to understand the proper use of violentism/militarism and the, ethical high ground against a dominant enemy, I recommend Che Guevara's "Guerilla Warfare". It introduces the moral high ground, the national good, the organization, the economics, and the field tactics of strike and retreat, giving units quotas of cane crops to burn, etc.
Please read Che's letters as well - "I Embrace You with All My Revolutionary Fervor: Letters 1947-1967". They will show the human behind the tactics.
Both books are on the audiobook bay, along with alinsky. They provide a perfect counterpoint to alinsky.
As we enter an era of American nationalist fascism, alinskian tactics might need to give way to queer inclusivist cyber guerilla tactics. For a Just and Libre Society! We can win!
mikewarot|1 year ago
coder4life|1 year ago
richk449|1 year ago
Where is my Flying Car?
Zero to One
Paradise Lost
East of Eden
tobinfekkes|1 year ago
yuperryippee|1 year ago
admissionsguy|1 year ago
kkoncevicius|1 year ago
lgvln|1 year ago
BjoernKW|1 year ago
itkovian_|1 year ago
euroderf|1 year ago
atlanta90210|1 year ago
tschwimmer|1 year ago
Legacy of Ashes by Tim Weiner
On the Genealogy of Morality by Nietzsche
Zero to One by Peter Thiel and Blake Masters
mattnewport|1 year ago
amemaro|1 year ago
AGivant|1 year ago
aaron695|1 year ago
[deleted]