Tyler Cowen at Marginal Revolution recently posted a list of his top 10 most influential books, and his site pointed the way to others who compiled such lists. I gave the matter some brief thought, but I found the project too intimidating. Only 10 books? I can't limit myself that that low a number for a year-end list, let alone a lifetime. However, perhaps more to the point, I tend to think in terms of authors and not single works (although there can be one hit wonders). Therefore, I decided upon a baker's dozen of thinkers whom I have found that have most affected my thinking, beliefs, and that have served in some way to inspire me. In a later post, I think I'll do a list of "classics", and then a list of Modern (since 1800) literature. For inclusion on this list, the person must have been alive during my lifetime, essentially, the 2nd half of the 20th century. I have read a number of works by each of the authors, so it's not a single work that I can easily point to. For each person, I'm considering a body of work that has had, and in some ways continues to have, an effect on my thinking and outlook. I will just name the list today (and honorable mentions), and I will try to comment on each member in later posts. In addition, I am attempting to compile the list (but not the honorable mentions) in roughly the order that I recall that I "discovered" each of them. Here goes:
- Hannah Arendt
- Garry Wills
- Alan Watts
- Robert Solomon
- Ken Wilber
- Reinhold Neibuhr
- John Patrick Diggins
- Northrup Frye
- Jon Elster
- Colin Wilson
- John Lukacs
- Pierre Hadot
- Nassim Taleb
- Jacob Needleman
- Phillip Bobbitt
- Niall Fergusson
- James Hillman
- Robert Anton Wilson
- Buddhist writers (have to work on this, as a number could pop into mind)
- Martha Nussbaum
- Robert Kaplan
- Charles Hartshorne
- William Irwin Thompson
- Gerry Spence
