Context for my comment: I am not an academic, my focus here is to share books that helped form my personal philosophy. I am certainly not an expert on philosop

Context for my comment: I am not an academic, my focus here is to share books that helped form my personal philosophy. I am certainly not an expert on philosophy, but I found Frankl's "Man's Search for Meaning" (especially with the post-script added in 1984) and Camus' "The Myth of Sisyphus" to be instrumental to becoming the person I am. I also gained a lot from Plato’s republic (particularly book 7[0][1] - i.e.: the allegory of the cave - and book 8/onward[2][3] - a discussion of government that feels like it could be had today) and Huxley’s "Brave New World"[4] (if you're okay with spoilers and just want a quick glimpse at a good part of the book, I highly recommend reading chapter 16[5] -- it has some great dialog!). The way thinkers of the past could frame problems of their day in terms that still apply today has been eye-opening to me. It makes today's problems feel less insurmountable. They are instead challenges we as a collective humanity will overcome and (as Frankl would say) give us an opportunity to transform suffering into human achievement[6]. PS: The myth of Sisyphus really wasn't one of my favorites until I got to the middle (the passage on "living without appeal"), it's a slow build that's worth it in my opinion. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_(Plato)#Book_VII https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_(Plato)#Book_VII [1]: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1497/1497-h/1497-h.htm#link2H_4_0010 https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1497/1497-h/1497-h.htm#link2... [2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_(Plato)#Book_VIII https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_(Plato)#Book_VIII [3]: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1497/1497-h/1497-h.htm#link2H_4_0011 https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1497/1497-h/1497-h.htm#link2... [4]: https://www.huxley.net/bnw/one.html https://www.huxley.net/bnw/one.html [5]: https://www.huxley.net/bnw/sixteen.html https://www.huxley.net/bnw/sixteen.html [6]: https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/6807951-i-speak-of-a-tragic-optimism-that-is-an-optimism https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/6807951-i-speak-of-a-tragic...