So moving on from philosophy, I think everyone should read the Holy Koran. Very few of you have read the Koran. Many of you have heard me make unpleasant assertions about it. Read it. It’s much shorter than the Bible. You can read it in a weekend and you will be informed about the central doctrines of Islam in a way that you may not be and it’s good to be informed, given how much influence these ideas have currently in our world. Actually, there’s another work of philosophy here. Sort of philosophy/science that I’ve been greatly influenced by of late.

Also, he has a book called “Mortal Questions,” which is a collection of essays. There are some very good essays in there that were very influential in philosophy and should be more influential in the culture, generally. He introduces a concept of moral luck, for instance, which very few people think about it

I would recommend you read his little book, “The Last Word,” which champions rationality in a very compelling way.

I also recommend Derek Parfit’s book, “Reasons and Persons,” which is just brilliant and written as though by an alien intelligence. It’s a deeply strange book filled with thought experiments that bend your intuitions left and right.

One book I recommend on philosophy, just to get your bearings, is Bertrand Russell’s “A History of Western Philosophy.” Bertrand Russell, as you surely know, is one of the great philosophers of his time and just a remarkably clear thinker and writer. Just a great example of how English should be written and just a great voice to have in your head as a result. Being a philosopher himself, he was quite opinionated about the very schools and traditions in philosophy. It’s a fun read, provided you care about the history of Western philosophy.