CRITICAL THINKING TOOLKIT

Have you ever felt that you were able to understand the world better after learning, for example, thermodynamics, even in topics totally unrelated to chemistry and physics? Have you ever noticed that the "patterns & structures of thought" seem to repeat themselves in science, philosophy, and even literature?

What about encountering books that were substantial enough to affect your life after thinking and applying its ideas? Do you consider a certain text to be "foundational" for those in pursuit of knowledge?

I'm hoping to create a list of 15-20 books, in a variety of subjects, that will increase clarity & depth of thought, leaving autodidacts with the mental faculties necessary to tackle future challenges. I would also like to have this list of books be sufficient to achieve a cursory education for people looking to improve their knowledge beyond the dregs of their high school or college education, though this isn't as important.

I need to keep the scope limited to the fundamentals. There are far more than 20 worthwhile books, and this isn't a definitive guide to "the best books ever". Some fields like "economics" may already require proficiency in basic fields like history, mathematics, and philosophy, so it would be redundant to cover include them. Only the bare necessities should be maintained for brevity.

Other urls found in this thread:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mortimer_J._Adler
twitter.com/NSFWRedditImage

Rate my list x/10

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CRITICAL THINKING PRIMERS:
How to Read a Book - Mortimer Adler
The Trivium: The Liberal Arts of Logic, Grammar, and Rhetoric - Sister Miriam Joseph
Thinking, Fast and Slow - Daniel Kahneman

SELF-REGULATION BASICS
The Discourses on Epictetus - Epictetus
A Primer in Positive Psychology - Christopher Peterson

SOCIAL SKILLS BASICS
Improve your Social Skills - Daniel Wendler
No More Mister Nice Guy - Robert Glover

MATHEMATICS BASICS
How to Solve It - G. Polya
Pre-Calculus – Carl Stitz & Jeff Zeager
Elements - Euclid
Geometry: Euclid and Beyond - Robin Hartshorne

SCIENCE BASICS
The Character of Physical Law - Richard Feynman
The Machinery of Life - David Goodsell

HUMANITIES BASICS
The Art of Fiction - David Lodge
The Socratic Dialogues, The Republic, & The Symposium - Plato
The Art of War - Sun Tzu
The Bible - KJV
Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky

check out Poor Charlie's Almanack and also the reading list he provides in it

That is my shortlist.

There are some basic topics that I feel like might need more coverage, like algorithms & advanced logic, computer & data science, statistics, natural and social sciences, psychology, world history, government, modern politics & propaganda, history of ideas, phenomenology, communication, poetry & music theory, hermeneutics, religion & spirituality, esoterics & mysticism, semantics & semiotics, reference materials, and books on rigorous writing. Of course, there's also practical living that might be useful to consider as well. You're not smart unless you've built something with your hands, in my opinion.

Otherwise, I think this roughly covers the "breadth" of all of the structures of thought possible for the mind with sufficient depth. It would also give you a passable education, though better curation might improve the final outcome.

Thanks for your time. What are some other books that might be helpful here?

I wanna milk in a womans tum tum

This is interesting. Bump.

I've never heard of this. Checking this out now.

Bump and save for massive interest. I want to get ahead of my fellow spics

For Biology, Campbell is the most comprehensive book that I know of; but obviously it's a huge field that could fill a dozen libraries and then some.

Also I feel like dumping these titles because they're relevant in the modern world, but I don't know which, if any, would I include in any "basic toolkit list:

The Century of Self - Adam Curtis (documentary)
1984 - George Orwell
Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
Minimalia Moralia - Theodor Adorno
Propaganda - Jacques Ellul
Manufacturing Consent - Noam Chomsky
Propaganda - Edward Bernays

Where's Jung?

I personally keep Biology by Campbell, Essential Cell Biology by Alberts, and Genetics by Pierce in my personal library. Suits all of my /biology/ needs. But I think that Machinery of Life by David Goodsell is best for understanding the big picture of microbiology.

Maybe we need an additional book for macrobiology, like the environment or evolution. I don't know of any good ones. Darwin's Dangerous Idea by Dan Dennett? Stephen Jay Gould? Richard Dawkins? E.O. Wilson? I need 1, maybe 2, books maximum.

I wanted to put Freud, Jung, Heidegger, and some other proto-psychologists, existentialists, and phenomenologists on the list, but then I felt that the list would very quickly grow out of control.

The Century of Self documentary, IMO, is a sufficient "primer" into the subject. Then you can start reading up on whatever you want, whether you want to delve into the cognitive realm, the psychoanalytic realm, or the social realm.

Do you have anything you'd recommend in particular?

Add one of any of Robert Cialdini's books onto this list, too. Perhaps Influence, his most famous book.

Looks interesting. Anything good for history & spirituality? Bump.

Atlas of World History - Patrick O'Brien
A Concise Economic History of the World - R. Cameron & L. Neal
The Story of Civilization - Will Durant

The first is a must. The other two are very helpful supplemental materials.

I would suggest "The idiot" (or however is called in english) wrote by Dostoievski

Thanks senpai

Anything by Dostoyevsky is great. But desu, I only included him as a "test-run" for literary skills and for the philosophical & psychological themes. I'd love to include the entire literary canon, but then it wouldn't be a toolkit. It'd be a curriculum.

Richard Dawkins is a shill a big fat stupid mistake

Reading books doesn't make you smart it lets you know what other people thought like who didn't read their own books to get where they were when they wrote those books.

False. Some topics are difficult and enlightening enough that they go beyond regurgitating some jackass's opinion. Are you telling me that learning mathematics didn't make every other STEM 100x easier?

Reading is like meditation it's a time sink to cuck you out of your time
Completely wasteful activity

Only if you exclusively read New York Times best sellers. Read my list bruh.

Do you feel smarter posting some cucky example of extreme? You're not.

There is nothing worth reading that human hands wrote.

I have no idea what you're even talking about. "Cucky example of extreme"? I think you need to read my list bruh.

Bitch please. How about no

Democracy, The God That Failed is also a good read. I don't agree with anarcho-capitalism, but the book does a good job of getting you to look at democracy in a critical light.

Any religious or mystic texts you'd recommend then? What is an essential supplement to the intellectual mind?

You're the one left confused why should I read the books that lead you here?

Yes. As an engineering major that has also studied philosophy, sociology, psychology, polisci, and economics more than the general public, I typically feel I can btfo of most people in a debate.

•Miracles in American History by Susie Federer
•Knowledge of the Higher Worlds and Its Attainment by Rudolf Steiner
• When You Hear Hoofbeats Think of a Zebra by Shems Friedlander
• Nine Faces of Christ by Eugene E. Whitworth
•The Vishnu Purana, Book 1 of 6: A System of Hindu Mythology and Tradition by Unknown

I like where you're thinking. I included Democracy by Hoppe in larger lists that had a larger emphasis on political philosophy, but I think The Republic by Plato covers a lot of necessary ground already. Remember, this thread is for thinking basics only.

I'm enlightened now?
Alright.

Those books really did a number on you.

Read the world itself and if you cannot do that go hide away in your queer gay little pages that emulate and wish they were what they represent

Recommend any "fundamental" texts for this purpose? What would you read to get to where you are today, assuming that you're a high school graduate with some smarts, motivation, and time?

See my list:

Beyond good and evil Nietsze (or how is it called in english)
Prince Machiavelli

You said that nothing written by man was important. So I used my /criticalthinking/ skills to deduce that you had religious insight.

Learning basic biology and evolutionary science explained all the most disgusting aspects of human behaviour.

How do people feel about infinite jest

>t. Aalewis

Euclid's elements is overrated as fuck. It starts with a logic gap then shows another logic gap at SAS. If you want mathematical logic, look up a discrete math book.

MORE RELIGION
The Abolition of Man - C. S. Lewis
Divine Comedy - Dante Alighieri
Reasonable Faith - William Lane Craig
The Miracle of Theism - John. L. Mackie
Bhagavad-Gita (Translation) - M. Mahesh Yogi
What the Buddha Taught - Walpola Rahula


MORE ESOTERICISM & MYSTICISM

The Ritual Process - Victor Turner
Corpus Hermeticum - Hermes Trismegistus
Kabbalah - Gershom Scholem
Introduction to Magic - Julius Evola
The Essential Rumi - Coleman Barks
Prometheus Rising - Robert Anton Wilson

heres 1
• In Pursuit of the Unknown: 17 Equations That Changed the World by Ian Stewart

>In Pursuit of the Unknown: 17 Equations That Changed the World by Ian Stewart

Euclid isn't rigorous but pretty much every great man before the 1900s read it to appreciate the beauty of mathematics and problem-solving. I attached it with a great secondary resource for modern applications and readability.

At least you're able and willing to use that. In time if you follow that force you will find these long forgotten etchings carved in stone that repeat everything I told you. You won't remember this or me but the expression will remain forever imprinted in the wispering and sun bleached stone.

I'd like to increase the ability of other people to do that, too. Contribute to the list!

Shit responded to the wrong post. See
I'd have a hard problem not putting Nietzsche in there. But I don't know if he's necessary or if it's worthwhile, since it takes some background knowledge to fully get him.

The table of contents looks solid. Have you personally read it?

Fuck, I responded to the wrong post again!

I suggest you read more carefully.

Yes, entropy (your example of thermodynamics) is a good example of a concept that occurs across disciplines.
I Recommend:
Creative and Critical Thinking: W. Edgar Moore

!!!

Can't find a table of contents for it. Why do you recommend it?

Found one on my university website.

>Decision making -- The hypothetical syllogism -- Reliability and probability -- Evaluating evidence -- Forming hypotheses -- Testing hypotheses -- Generalizations -- Statistical concepts -- Statistics and probability -- Reasoning from generalizations -- Forming causal theories -- Testing causal theories -- Evaluation and decision -- Value judgments -- Creative thinking -- Fallacies of irrelevance -- Neglected aspect -- Pitfalls in language -- Classification and definition -- Categorical propositions -- Immediate inference -- Categorical syllogisms -- Alternative and disjunctive syllogisms -- Interpreting propositions -- Involved arguments -- Complex syllogistic forms -- Need-directed thinking -- The personal point of view -- How we distort the evidence -- Emotions and thinking -- Hidden propositions -- Psychological pitfalls -- False assumptions -- Devices of persuasion -- Refining value systems.

Good stuff, but don't you think some of this might be outdated?

Both my parents recommended it to me. Its an old staple for fundamental reasoning, used at institutions such as west point. It sounded like exactly what you were looking for.

Hmm... I think I'll include it in the first category. It looks like a solid recommendation. Thanks for the input!

It wasn't books I read but men and beast and nature.
The internet is just a silicon forest.

A silly con of a forest. An echo of hope and a reflection of our dreams.

Don't you get it? The internet is the only book you need and it's written by (You)'a and me.

Nietzsche isnt that hard, but I cant judge the english translation. English can make some philosophy books pretty confusion due to language structure.
Thus spoke Zarathustra is better than beyond good & evil, but normies will only read into the dead god and untermench meme

TAKE FUCKING NOTES OR IT WILL ALL BE IN VAIN

The books on my list need to fill three criteria:
* Great, unique mind-bender.
* Important to the history of ideas
* Foundational for understanding other ideas.

What Nietzsche book is best for this? If you were in my position, would you be dying to put a book on a list of "essential critical thinking"?

That's why we included the first book, senpai. My entire bookshelf is full of books jampacked with notes, sticky notes, highlighters, journals, etc. I even use Anki to automatically remind me every so often to review what I've learned.

If this thread gets more active, I'll upload a page of my "reading methodology".

Burton Watson's translation of the Zhuangzi is potentially life-changing.

Other than that, some books that will make you smarter:

Ethics and the Limits of Philosophy by Bernard Williams

Knowing Right from Wrong by Kieran Setiya

The Possibility of Altruism by Thomas Nagel

Mortal Questions by Thomas Nagel

PSYCHOLOGY READING LIST:

Origins of Consciousness - Julian Jaynes
Intro. Lectures on Psychoanalysis - Sigmund Freud
The Phenomenological Mind - Shaun Gallagher
How the Mind Works - Steven Pinker
The Social Animal - Elliot Aronson

Beyond good and evil teaches you that philosophy or any idea cant be good or evil. Thinking is whats matter and ideas should be judged. Ateast its what I remember from it. Also dontthe forget about the Prince. Its great book about power and history that teaches you how to get shit done, much better than art of war

I just want to read it allllll

For me it was fighting games. I learned how to play them then somehow i learned how to learn and see after that. It was strange

This is very helpful. I took note of Zhuangzhi, since I'm interested in Daoism. I also like Thomas Nagel as well. But I feel that a lot of those other books would already be covered in a topic like Plato's works or Justice by Michael Sandel.

Which books do you think are most unique for this list?

Lol. I learned that I could do anything and plan for everything by playing World of Warcraft. Shit was weird. I didn't have much sense of agency before then.

Classical Electrodynamics J.D. Jackson

art of war is a han dynasty compilation of hundreds of years of disjointed bits of military "wisdom" much like the analects. it is in no way a book in the sense in which the Prince obviously is. It's more of a bookshelf.

i don't think that michael sandel is a good philosopher. he has a straw-manny critique of rawls from the 90s that most people quickly moved on from and since then he's mostly done pop philosophy for undergraduates.

Williams is refreshing because the point is to make philosophical ethics less parochial and more messy, like the way ethics actually is. the book can come off as sloppy at times but there's plenty of food for thought and wisdom in the book.

Setiya's book is difficult and his style is, well, bad. But the moments of clarity are deeply rewarding and the general picture is really beautiful when you put all the pieces together.

if you're into ancient chinese wisdom though then check out the Xunzi, hutton's translation if you can. some of it is translated on www.ctext.org in the discussion forum. Xunzi, the text with the name and the thinker it is named after, is by far the most comprehensive and systematic philosopher of the warring states period.

Your list is shit if it doesn't include Gorilla Mindset and Barbarians: How Baby Boomers, Immigrants, and Islam Screwed My Generation.

>KJV
you fucked up massively

>book called how to read a book
what

Invisible landscapes by Terence Mckenna

>reading the six gorillion mindset

most people suck at reading well. this is a good starter pack

>do you ever misapply your laymen's understanding of scientific ideas to gain a false sense of understanding?
>can you give me a list of books that will teach me what to think in order to be smart?

>most people suck at reading well. this is a good starter pack
I always assumed your ability to read was just based on nature. Did you really improve significantly after reading that?

>implying

Thanks for the bump. There are patterns of thought across disciplines, and I'm looking for books to challenge you in order to develop more rigorous thinking habits. The Trivium doesn't tell you what to think. It beats the fuck out of your sloppy language skills, increasing precision of thought. If I was giving you bullshit, I would have provided a meme list of books.

Got any suggestions?

It helped me get more out of books by developing habits that forced me to constantly think about what I was reading and its implications. Before, it was more random and less structured.

That precalc book is for brainlets. You also don't need a fucking book for proofs when you pick that up naturally by doing problems. For precalc, use George Simmons and supplement it with Gelfand's books and problems as needed.
Euclid is good, but a more modern and clearer approach lies with Kiselev's geometry books. Why no Calculus? Piskunov has a great one for people who don't want to dive into just proofs, and it's still fairly rigorous. Spivak is a meme of sorts, but the problems in there fantastic.

You should also pick up some Art of Probleming Solving books for some real noggin joggin.

>en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mortimer_J._Adler
>The ethnic composition of Adler's Great Books list was controversial in some academic circles, as was his response to accompanying criticism. Some fellow academics characterized the list as ethnically exclusive with Henry Louis Gates saying later that the assembly of the list showed a "profound disrespect for the intellectual capacities of people of color – red, brown or yellow."

Sounds pretty based.

>He attributed the lack of Latino authors to the lack of recommendations by Mexican poet and committee member Octavio Paz

Kek

>and the lack of black authors to a lack of books good enough to fit the criteria.

TOPKEK

just make a list of all the basic "intro to x" university books...

cheap as dirt to buy as well because the old versions are always worthless since kids will only buy the newer editions

>There are patterns of thought across disciplines
You don't actually gain anything from studying "patterns of thought". Solving a problem does not involve trying out a predefined list of "thinking patterns" to see which one fits.

>books to challenge you in order to develop more rigorous thinking habits
No book can do this. The only thing that can challenge your thinking habits is being called out on your bullshit by more rigorous thinkers.

An Introduction to Inequalities is also a good prep book for Spivak. The New Mathematical Library has plenty of great books.

unsarcastic 1/10

literally just stop for five minutes and think about shit and you'll already be smarter than 95% of the population

>no Apology of Socrates by Plato
>no Discourse on the Method

10/10

Cambell Biology is the bible of basic biology. Always a great reference.

Science and sanity
Programming the human biocomputer
Escaping the plantation

*Campbell

Learn about electrostatic reactions in plasma.

It will explain everything about HOW the universe functions.

You wouldn't want to slice your dick off a second time with that edge.

Sorry but i'm just to smart for this thread

Not an argument. Stay mad and keep telling yourself that if only you read the right books, you'll be less of an idiot.

>The only thing that can challenge your thinking habits is being called out on your bullshit by more rigorous thinkers.

Maybe for you.

Different people learn in different ways.

Jung caught his mother cheating in the act. That fucked him up I guess e.g. "the orgon".

His theory: Unleash peoples libido and passions that they do not commit to the idea of nationalism or fascism.

But just take a look at the left you can have both fascism and leftism with their moral relativism. His ideas are full of flaws and projection like any big "psycho analyst"

Sometimes I forget how subversive the Jew can truly be, thank you for reminding me.

There's a huge gap between reading about how to think rigorously and actually being forced to think rigorously. To make matters worse, books aren't perfect, and to make the most out of them you need to have pretty good critical thinking skills in the first place to see all the unstated caveats and faults with the author's own thinking.

>muh jooz! muh jooz!
>t. Sup Forums intellectual