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Extremely important books in World History

Name: york 2005-01-26 19:57

Let's compile a list.  Please note that this is not 'good novels'.  should be like 50-100 for consideration...

Religion:

The Bible
The Torah (although a subset of the Bible in a sense, it would necessarily have a Jewish tradition of literature bound up with it, i.e. The Talmud, which makes it distinct)
The Koran
(Eastern texts?  list the most important.. Hindu writings..?)

Politics/philosophy/econ:

Marx & Engels: The Communist Manifesto
Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-Tung
Adolf Hitler: Mein Kampf (even this volume itself is somewhat on the verge of 'importance' in my view.  we can argue back and forth on this)

Even though there is a body of right/liberal political thought, specific, smaller texts which can easily be seen to be EXTREMELY IMPORTANT for ages, rather than merely important or widely influential, escape me at the moment.  Please argue for some.  Also I exclude ancient Greek philosophical texts because I need to hear a case for their EXTREME IMPORTANCE, so to speak.

Science:

Isaac Newton: Philosiphaie Naturalis Principia Mathematica (the Principia)
(Newtonian Kinematics and calculus sketched and applied)

Euclid: the Elements (all math rests on this, to this day.  the layout of the Principia takes a cue from it, and it could be argued that no book, outside of religion, has both existed for so long and remained so relevant.)

Is there such a thing as a novel which is an 'Extremely Important' book, rather than just a marker of its time?  This would suggest such a novel is more than a good story, but changed society. 

Get Listin'

Name: Anonymous 2005-01-31 20:32

Right, a correct, systematic reply/rejection of your cavils is in order.
>>14
The torah has explanations by critical scholars in the margins, each sentence can be understood in myriad ways... the commentary within the torah is almost more important than the main narrative text itself

The many layers of commentary on the torah is not included within "the bible" as the subset labeled 'the old testament'

Exactly fucking right already, HENCE THE QUALIFIERS:
(although a subset of the Bible IN A SENSE, it would necessarily have a Jewish tradition of literature bound up with it, i.e. The Talmud, which makes it distinct)

This 'literature' refers to the commentary/critique/argument appended to the Torah which DOES make it distinct from the Bible, HOWEVER, The Bible and literal Torah, as was pointed out, share the basic apparatus of the pentateuch.  I was only referring to the pentateuch, mindful of the practice of commentary in Judaica, and it kind of bugs me that everyone felt the need to point out something I was aware of and had indeed accounted for in my writing.

>>18
'Confusing cause and effect in historical sciences is the worst mistake ever lol'

'subset' need not have anything to do with cause and effect.  Again, the pentateuch is shared by both, and is the basis for all the commentary.  Jews before Christians, duh.  We all get it.  But the New testament is typically appended to the Old to form the Bible, so one basic text (for the umpteenth time, the pentateuch) is indeed a subset of another (for the second umpeenth time, IN A SENSE; i.e. the commentary and Talmud notwithstanding), by way of having been expanded upon in Christian thought.

Now that that issue is properly and correctly laid to rest, let's repair to the real topic.

>>13
very good on the whole, the tao te ching, i ching, art of war, and wealth of nations I accept.  I'm unconvinced about Kafka though (just interesting literature imo)

>>9
Point about Socratic method and birth of philosophy duly noted; suggestion accepted.

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