I don't like reading lists and seldom respond-to or benefit-from those of other people - because for me it has always been the Right Book at the Right Time... and reading lists don't take account of that timing element...
Also, the list needs to be short.
This is a short list for the un-awakened - to try and get somebody from mainstream modern madness to... somewhere near where they ought to be, and with a clear idea of where to aim-at and how...
That Hideous Strength (1945) by CS Lewis. This sets out the whole sweep of the thing, provides a kind of symbolic vocabulary (and tropes for situations encountered) - and inspiration of what to do and how... It isn't really A Novel, nor is it really SciFi or Fantasy - just read it for what It Is.
The Outsider (1956) and (even more importantly) Religion and the Rebel (1957) (which constitute a single book between them) - by Colin Wilson. these set-out the problem and point-towards the solution. It en-courages each individual for what needs to be done.
Letter from a Father by William Arkle, published in The Great Gift (1977) and I have put a text version online. This is a 10,000 word 'essay' which gives the metaphysical understanding we need. It repays close attention and repeated reading.
Philosophy of Freedom by Rudolf Steiner (1894). This needs slow and care-full reading. It describes the fundamental nature of coherent reality in philosophical terms - and the nature of Real Thinking.
That'll do for now - thus equipped, you should be able to get the rest of the way by-yourself - indeed, that is the only way to get where you need to go.
2 comments:
Steiner's book is available for free download at http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/55761 (The title is translated, at Steiner's request, as "The Philosophy of Spiritual Activity," but it's the same book.)
@William. Thanks. The link I gave is to the translation I personally prefer, by Wilson - but others prefer the original Hoernle one that you link-to, since it was done in collaboration with Steiner. (Interestingly, to me, Hoernle was for a while a professor at Newcastle University, where I work).
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