Reading German Philosophy | 7+ Philosophical Books

A introduction to Hegel’s Phänomenologie des Geistes. Ludwig guides you step by step through Hegel’s difficult ideas, using simple language and helpful illustrations to make the central concepts accessible.

Kant für Anfänger is a gentle introduction to Kant’s ethics focused on the categorical imperative. Designed for readers new to Kant, it takes you through key terms like Maxime, Pflicht, and praktische Vernunft, explaining Kant’s moral theory.

Through a dual story, Sofie learns the history of Western philosophy—from the Greeks to modern thinkers. It is an engaging beginner‑friendly introduction to philosophy.

Precht’s multi-volume series blends intellectual biography with cultural history, always asking how philosophy responds to its times. He introduces hundreds of thinkers and makes complex ideas accessible through context, narrative, and clarity.

This narrative‑history brings the early German Romantic thinkers in Jena to life (around 1794–1806). It covers figures like Novalis, the Schlegels, Fichte, Schelling, Caroline Schlegel, and young Hegel.

A detailed biography that interweaves Arthur Schopenhauer’s personal life with his philosophical development. Safranski presents Schopenhauer as a visionary skeptic, showing how his pessimistic worldview emerged from his struggles.

This is a profound study of Nietzsche’s evolving thought rather than a simple life story. Safranski traces the arc of Nietzsche’s philosophy—morality, religion, art—and places each essay and book in the broader context of his life and the intellectual traditions he challenged.

Originally published in 1848 as Manifest der Kommunistischen Partei, this short pamphlet lays out a materialist view of history: class struggle leads inevitably to proletarian revolution and a classless society.

A playful yet thoughtful book in which eight famous philosophers (e.g. Socrates, Kant, de Beauvoir, Freud) meet for a fictional dinner party to debate love, friendship, and desire. It presents philosophical ideas in lively, accessible dialogue form.

In Partizipation Gerhardt develops a political philosophy centered on participation as the core principle of politics. He argues politics should serve individuals by enabling freedom, equality, and human dignity.

In this systematic study, Gerhardt defines publicity (Öffentlichkeit) not merely as modern media or forums, but as the political form of consciousness. He shows that social and individual awareness form a structural unity: humans are homo publicus, public beings whose self‐understanding depends on participation in shared spaces.

In this 2020 work, Gabriel puts forth a philosophical handbook aimed at confronting our modern values crisis by defending moral realism—the view that moral facts exist independently of opinions and are discoverable by humans.

Published in 2014 (with current editions well into 2025), Gelassenheit addresses why inner calm is increasingly rare in modern life—especially as we age.