This is a list of important publications in philosophy, organized by field. The publications on this list are regarded as important because they have served or are serving as one or more of the following roles: Foundation – A publication whose ideas would go on to be the foundation of a topic or field within philosophy. Breakthrough – A publication that changed or added to philosophical knowledge significantly. Influence – A publication that has had a significant impact on the academic study of philosophy or the world.
Historical texts
European and Islamic philosophy
Ancient philosophy
Heraclitus (), Fragments
Parmenides (), On Nature
Plato (early period, ), Apology
Plato (early period), Crito
Plato (early period), Euthyphro
Plato (early period), Gorgias
Plato (early period), Protagoras
Plato (early transitional period, ), Cratylus
Plato (early transitional period), Meno
Plato (middle period, ), Phaedo
Plato (middle period), Symposium
Plato (late transitional period, ), Parmenides
Plato (late transitional period), Theaetetus
Plato (late transitional period), Phaedrus
Plato (late period, ), Laws
Plato (late period), Timaeus
Plato (Bk. 1, early period. Bks. 2–10, late period), The Republic
Aristotle (), Organon
Aristotle, Physics
Aristotle, Metaphysics
Aristotle, On the Soul
Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics
Aristotle, Politics
Aristotle, Rhetoric
Aristotle, Poetics
Epicurus, (341 – 270 BC), On Nature
Lucretius (), On the Nature of Things
Cicero, (106 – 43 BC), On the Commonwealth
Cicero, On the Laws
Lucius Annaeus Seneca (4BC – 65AD), Letters from a Stoic
Marcus Aurelius (161 – 180 AD), Meditations
Epictetus (108 AD), Discourses
Epictetus (125 AD), Enchiridion
Sextus Empiricus (c. 160 – 210 AD), Outlines of Pyrrhonism
Plotinus (270 AD), Enneads
Porphyry (c. 234 – 305 AD), Isagoge
Hermes Trismegistus, Corpus Hermeticum
Medieval philosophy
Augustine of Hippo, Confessions, c. AD 397
Augustine of Hippo, The City of God, early 5th century
Proclus, The Elements of Theology
Damascius, Difficulties and Solutions of First Principles
Boethius, Consolation of Philosophy, c. 500
Eriugena, Periphyseon
Avicenna, The Book of Healing
Avicenna, Proof of the Truthful
Maimonides, Guide for the Perplexed
Maimonides, Mishneh Torah
Yehuda Halevi, Kuzari
Saadia Gaon, Emunoth ve-Deoth
Al-Ghazali, The Incoherence of the Philosophers
Averroes, The Incoherence of the Incoherence
Anselm, Proslogion
Thomas Aquinas, Summa contra Gentiles, c. 1260
Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae
Duns Scotus, Ordinatio (aka Opus Oxoniense) Ibn Taymiyyah, Refutation of the Rationalists William of Ockham, Summa Logicae