Reading List for the Next 6 Years

Hello,

Without going into much detail, I am preparing to serve in a selective military program for the next 6 years. In the distant (but not too distant) future, I will be in a situation where I won't have access to the internet. After this is over I plan to apply to philosophy PhD programs. For background, I am a philosophy student at a good university who has had the epiphany that I need to read more and absorb more knowledge. I am versed in Taoism, Buddhism, philosophy of time, and very well read particularly in the philosophy of technology and Luddism (I'm a paid undergraduate researcher in this field). I have taken the following classes: metaphysics, ethical theories, early modern, ancient, philosophy of science, and a few others. I didn't read enough in these classes and did well mostly because of short term recall and writing abilities, I want to genuinely learn about these topics.

I am in the process of constructing a reading list for the next 6 years. I want to cover work from the ancients, early moderns, and contemporaries. I see these next 6 years as an incredible opportunity for me to expand my knowledge. I have adopted a current pace of finishing books where this will be possible. I want to read Plato, Aristotle, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Hegel, Kant, Locke, Leibniz, and anyone who has something worthwhile to learn. I know this is vague, and I am expecting comments telling me to google the most influential writings and just go down the list. But I don't just want search query generated results, I am curious what real people would recommend to me.

I have already started constructing a list, and have began chipping away at it (finished the following this month: Tao Te Ching, Industrial Society and its Future, The Republic, Frankenstein). I am open to both philosophy and non-philosophy texts. With acknowledgment that this is likely drawn out and arduous, I want to convey that I have developed an insatiable thirst for knowledge. I have realized my own mortality and resolved to seek out truth through reading the work of others much wiser than me. This is the only way to began to quench the hunger for pure understanding that is constantly rumbling within my soul.

Please give any recommendations of books or papers that impacted you greatly. I appreciate any suggestions, and hope this post isn't too cringey or reminiscent of a naive kid who's just discovered the virtues of studying philosophy.

Posted Feb 25, 2026, 5:44 AM UTC

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