The Book of Lists, The Canadian Edition

Because of my own penchant for keeping lists a friend gave me a copy of the 1993 edition of the Book of Lists when it came out. Now a new Canadian edition of this classic, first released in 1977, has been published (November 2005). In honor of this release I decided I would publish my "List of books that can only be read under the influence of at least two cups of coffee." These are books that have challenged my thinking and rewarded perseverance, and in many cases have drawn me out into unfamiliar territory.

1. "The Two Horizons: New Testament Hermeneutics and Philosophical Description" by Anthony Thiselton (Eerdmans, 1980.)
A tremendous survey of the whole field of hermeneutics and language with particular attention to Heidegger, Bultmann, Gadamer, and Wittgenstein. The two horizons that Thiselton is dealing with are the horizon of the text and the horizon of the interpreter and he explores the interaction and relationship between the two in light of modern language theory. A fascinating book.

2. "The Critique of Pure Reason" by Immanuel Kant (first published 1781)
This is one of the foundational texts of modern philosophy. I first encountered this text in grad school. For someone not formally trained in philosophy this book presented a major challenge. I made several starts and restarts, made notes and more notes, read journal articles and made several attempts at summarizing what I had learned. In the end Kant seeks to demonstrate that the entire world as we know it is a construct of our mind determined by certain a priori organizing principles, primarily our concepts of space and time. Twenty years after first reading this book I am still trying to understand the details of his argument.

3. "The Closing of the American Mind" by Allan Bloom (Simon and Schuster, 1987).
This book was a bombshell for higher education when it was first released. For anyone interested in freedom of thought and expression this is a great read. The author refers to the book as "a meditation on the state of our souls," and is particularly interested in this condition as it affects the education of students in the postsecondary system.

4. "The Four Quartets" by T.S. Eliot
This lengthy poem is one of the most profound reflections on the nature of time, change, reality, and the struggle for place in a world of flux. Powerful and useful.

5. "Paul: An Outline of His Theology" by Herman Ridderbos (Eerdmans, 1975)
Ridderbos taught me to read the thirteen letters of Paul through the eschatological lense. I experienced what can only be referred to ( by the now defunct and sorely overworked buzz word) as a paradigmn shift. No verse of New Testament text is ever read the same after reading Ridderbos on Paul.

6. "Introduction to Contemporary Epistemology" by Jonathan Dancy (Blackwell, 1985)
We nonphilosophers tend to take for granted what we know, what can be known, and how knowledge is acquired. Reading this intro is a great way to send an epistemological shock to our complacent attitudes concerning our understanding of the world around us, if there is a world around us. Are you there and reading this, or did I make you up?

7. "Philosophical Investigations", Ludwig Wittgenstein
"The world is all that is the case," and the development of this seminal thought from a prominent member of the Vienna Circle. Exploring the nature of language, what is sense and what is nonsense in speech. This is another one of that handful of books that can never be fully understood.

We could go on, but other duties await...