The Myth of Sisyphus by
A pair of books that were particularly important in my own intellectual development in college. They each in different frames grapple with a common problem: how to strive for understanding, and how to appreciate the limits of one's ability to understand without accepting them.
The Rebel by
A pair of books that were particularly important in my own intellectual development in college. They each in different frames grapple with a common problem: how to strive for understanding, and how to appreciate the limits of one's ability to understand without accepting them.
An Essay Concerning Human Understanding by 
A Treatise of Human Nature by
The foundational texts of classical empiricism. One of my central animating intellectual concerns is about what minds are and how they get that way; these are among the first modern attempts to work out answers to those questions systematically and scientifically.
Critique of Pure Reason by
The most important work in the history of philosophy (metaphysics and epistemology side); develops and transforms the empiricist picture of mind, and undermines traditional metaphysics.)
Accessing Kant by
Because you're not going to read the Critique by yourself. Jay was one of my mentors in graduate school; I took his class on Kant twice. This book essentially is that class, developed and refined over 20+ years of teaching.
Philosophical Investigations by
For my money, the one of the two most important philosophical works of the twentieth century (metaphysics and epistemology side). Wittgenstein offers a powerful critique of some of the pretensions of traditional philosophy.
Naming and Necessity by
For my money, the other of the two most important philosophical works of the twentieth century (metaphysics and epistemology side). Kripke reconceives the received view in philosophy of how words have their meaning, and of the role of imagination in drawing philosophical conclusions.
The Nature of the Physical World by
The introduction of this book introduces the famous image of the “two tables”, and crystallizes the philosophical question that I, personally, find the most troubling: what is the relation between the commonsense conception of the world and the conception of the world that the sciences are collectively creating? And what if those turn out to be incompatible with each other?
Science, Perception and Reality by
My philosophical hero, and someone whose work is criminally under-appreciated within philosophy. Sellars takes the lessons of Kant and redevelops them within the context of the modern scientific worldview. Jay Rosenberg (see above) learned his Kant from Sellars.
The Language of Thought by
Fodor has been at the forefront and center of empirically-informed philosophy of mind since philosophy of mind started being systematically empirically informed, and has articulated a rich and systematic vision of what the mind must be like according to the presuppositions of cognitive science. The Language of Thought is probably the foundational text of philosophy of cognitive science.
Representations by
Fodor has been at the forefront and center of empirically-informed philosophy of mind since philosophy of mind started being systematically empirically informed, and has articulated a rich and systematic vision of what the mind must be like according to the presuppositions of cognitive science. “The Present Status of the Innateness Controversy”, in RePresentations, extends Chomsky-inspired reasoning about the innateness of language to argue that our conceptual systems are largely innately fixed. My dissertation and subsequent work has primarily focused on trying to articulate an alternative to this conclusion.
Concepts by
I'm primarily interested in what concepts are and where they come from, and these two works collectively provide a picture of the current state of research in philosophy and psychology on these questions.
The Big Book of Concepts by
I'm primarily interested in what concepts are and where they come from, and these two works collectively provide a picture of the current state of research in philosophy and psychology on these questions.
White Queen Psychology and Other Essays for Alice by
I tend to disagree with a lot of those people who consider themselves Sellars' biggest proponents about what Sellars was doing and what was important to him. Millikan's work is, I think, the most natural descendent of Sellars' approach; she situates philosophical conceptions of mind within an understanding of humans as fundamentally biological organisms. Also, as the title suggests, she's inspired by Alice as well.
Collected Fictions by 
The Dream Songs by 
Invisible Cities by 
Complete poems, 1904-1962 by 
Justine by 
Balthasar by 
Mountolive by 
Clea by 
Poems 1962-2012 by 
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by 
Pale Fire by 
The Poems of Octavio Paz by 
The Collected Poems of Dylan Thomas by 
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Through the Looking-Glass by
Carroll was a logician and philosopher, and the Alice books are suffused with philosophical issues and puzzles. “What the Tortoise Said to Achilles” is a fine illustration of this, as well as an important paper in logic in its own right.
What the Tortoise said to Achilles by
Carroll was a logician and philosopher, and the Alice books are suffused with philosophical issues and puzzles. “What the Tortoise Said to Achilles” is a fine illustration of this, as well as an important paper in logic in its own right.
Philosophy of Language by 
Dictionary of the Khazars by