I’ve recently been devouring books on a topic I never would have thought my affinity for Continental Philosophy would allow me to take interest in: the Philosophy of Mind. I’ve discovered that it is a surprisingly accessible subject with a number of brief, lively introductory works appearing in the last few years. Here are some of my favorites, chosen for solid thinking paired with clear, accessible writing.

The Mystery of Consciousness by John Searle

This book began as a series of review essays for the New York Times, so it pairs journalistic writing with great overviews of some of the main voices in the Philosophy of Mind.

Or check out Searle’s recent Ted talk in which he gives a brief overview of his work.

Absence of Mind by Marilynne Robinson

Robinson is a Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist and not a trained philosopher, but this book makes the list for its excellent historical take on why the mind matters and what happened to theories of the mind over the last several hundred years.

The Experience of God by David Bentley Hart

While Hart’s area of expertise is Classics and Patristics, the “Consciousness” chapter of his newest book is the single best overview I have read of arguments for a non-reductive view of the mind. Also, Hart’s prose is second-to-none (not even to Robinson’s).

Mind and Cosmos by Thomas Nagel

Nagel is famous for the qualia argument developed in his essay “What is it like to be a Bat?” In Mind and Cosmos he manages to make an airtight case, showing that understanding consciousness should lead us to revise the materialist paradigms we have inherited. And he does it in just over 100 pages.