14 recommended essays for curious minds

April 3, 2024

Expand our horizons and discover new ways of thinking and see the world and the different aspects that are part of it is something that a lot of people want. They seek to enrich themselves internally or to increase their knowledge from different methods, one of them being the use of literature.

However, centuries and centuries of history have allowed the existence of a large catalog of documents and works of different themes, so that in order to facilitate the search for interesting material we present you a small selection of recommended essays .

Maybe you're interested: "12 essential books by Noam Chomsky"

What is a literary essay?

An essay is all written in prose in which the author or authors deepen on a topic determined. This literary genre observes and analyzes from a well-founded point of view the subject to be treated, trying to introduce and make the reader think about the aspect on which the work is based.

For this reason they are usually acquired by people interested in increasing their knowledge about various subjects, although sometimes the content tends to focus more on the subjective beliefs of the author than on proven facts.

14 recommended trials

Here we present a series of recommended trials to make us think about various elements and situations in our lives.

1. The art of war (Sun Tzu)

A well-known Chinese work dating back to antiquity, The Art of War is an essay based on the use of strategy during times of conflict . Although by its name it seems fully dedicated to military strategy, this essay reflects a philosophy applicable to various vital aspects such as social, labor relations or even the individual's own behavior.

If you want to know more about this essay, click here.

2. Treaty on tolerance (Voltaire)

Written by Voltaire in 1762 after the French edict that allowed freedom of worship was revoked, in this work François-Marie Arouet (the real name of Voltaire) speaks of the need to tolerate the beliefs and thoughts of others , affirming that nobody should die for their ideas and criticizing fanaticism and violence.

In case you are interested in the book, in this link you will find more information about it.

3. History of the underworld (Georges Minois)

In this essay, the author reviews the conception of hell through the ages , from antiquity to modernity and with a certain emphasis on the Judeo-Christian version. This work allows us to see how the culture has evolved, analyzing the way in which hell was used as a deterrent to committing actions contrary to tradition and the law. Likewise, we are shown how the traditional idea of this concept has faded over time and how some of its elements have been identified in other facets of modern life.

Are you interested in this essay? In this link you can find more information.

4. Hunger (Martín Caparrós)

This essay tells us about a subject that most of us overlook in their daily lives, as we tend to have enough resources to not be devastated by it. It's about hunger, that causes the death by starvation of a large number of people throughout the world. Throughout the work the author reflects the stories of different populations afflicted by it, the people who try to fight against it and the mechanisms that cause this problem to remain so today.

In case you want to know more about this essay, here you can find more information about the book.

5. Essays on music, theater and literature (Thomas Mann)

It is a collection of essays in which the author, Thomas Mann, makes a review and analysis of the development of European culture . Focusing on aspects such as literature (among which the essay stands out) Travel by sea with Don Quixote), theater and music, the author also refers to other topics such as the capture of reality, spirituality and the artist's connection with the world around him.

If you are interested, you can get it by clicking here.

6. Three essays on sexual theory (Sigmund Freud)

The father of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud is one of the best-known figures in the history of psychology . Although his theories have been partially superseded by different authors and theoretical currents, the observation and reading of his theories regarding the human psyche and its configuration continues to be of great interest. In this work the author offers us his vision of sexuality and its development throughout life.

To read more about this work, click here.
Maybe you're interested: "The 5 stages of psychosexual development of Sigmund Freud"

7. In defense of error (Kathryn Schulz)

We live in a society that requires us to be competitive and efficient in everything we do. We have to look for the perception, being hard criticized the mistakes made. However, making mistakes is in most cases an opportunity to improve and open up to new ways of acting and seeing the world. In this essay, the author reflects different mistakes made by some of the most relevant personalities and recognized throughout history.

If you are interested, click here to read more about this work.

8. The soul of puppets (John Gray)

This essay tells us about one of the rights and values most defended and valued by the human being throughout history: freedom. Throughout this work John Gray reflects that although we consider that we are liberated, human beings are still constrained by different elements that force us to act in a certain way. As if we were puppets, we are still controlled by our conscience, ideas, beliefs and personal history, without being able in many cases to get out of concrete limits imposed by others or by ourselves.

To see more information about the book, use this link.

9. The genealogy of morality (Friederich Niezche)

This essay by the well-known philosopher deals with topics such as culture, good and evil, science and asceticism, guilt or grief, establishing a fierce criticism of the concept of moral and the values that govern society.

To know more about the book, click here.

10. Five moral writings (Umberto Eco)

This work by Umberto Eco study topics such as war, immigration or the media from the perspective of its influence on morality, from the analysis of recent history.

If you are interested in this essay, click on this link.

11. The inner journey. Essays on Jungian Psychology (Barbara Hannah)

The author of this book takes a tour of the work of the well-known author of the deep psychology, C.G. Jung. Aspects such as archetypes and complexes or personality they will be aspects explored throughout the present work with a language easily understood by the reader.

Maybe you're interested: "The archetypes according to Carl Gustav Jung"

12. Writing: an introduction to the alphabetic culture (Jesús Tusón)

Writing is one of the skills and tools that today are considered essential and that have allowed the transmission of values, beliefs and knowledge through the passage of history. It has allowed the human being to start from previous knowledge to advance and develop. Tusón reflects in this essay the process and the existing theories about the beginning, development and expansion of writing as a method of human communication.

Click on this link to learn more about this work.

13. The musical brain (Daniel J. Levitin)

Music has been part of humanity since time immemorial. Used as a mechanism of communication and expression of emotions, feelings and intentions, it is an artistic expression that even today accompanies us and is part of our lives from childhood to death. In this essay the author tries to explain the role of music throughout history and its importance for individuals and groups that have passed through the world.

On this page you will find more information about the book.

14. Eroticism (George Bataille)

This essay tells us about the role of eroticism in different vital aspects and the link between him and aspects such as love and passion, creativity or even aspects such as his relationship with death and aggression, also referring to characters such as the Marquis de Sade or aspects such as incest.