Open Source Readings Arranged by Theme
- Page ID
- 20744
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\(\newcommand{\avec}{\mathbf a}\) \(\newcommand{\bvec}{\mathbf b}\) \(\newcommand{\cvec}{\mathbf c}\) \(\newcommand{\dvec}{\mathbf d}\) \(\newcommand{\dtil}{\widetilde{\mathbf d}}\) \(\newcommand{\evec}{\mathbf e}\) \(\newcommand{\fvec}{\mathbf f}\) \(\newcommand{\nvec}{\mathbf n}\) \(\newcommand{\pvec}{\mathbf p}\) \(\newcommand{\qvec}{\mathbf q}\) \(\newcommand{\svec}{\mathbf s}\) \(\newcommand{\tvec}{\mathbf t}\) \(\newcommand{\uvec}{\mathbf u}\) \(\newcommand{\vvec}{\mathbf v}\) \(\newcommand{\wvec}{\mathbf w}\) \(\newcommand{\xvec}{\mathbf x}\) \(\newcommand{\yvec}{\mathbf y}\) \(\newcommand{\zvec}{\mathbf z}\) \(\newcommand{\rvec}{\mathbf r}\) \(\newcommand{\mvec}{\mathbf m}\) \(\newcommand{\zerovec}{\mathbf 0}\) \(\newcommand{\onevec}{\mathbf 1}\) \(\newcommand{\real}{\mathbb R}\) \(\newcommand{\twovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\ctwovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\threevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cthreevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\mattwo}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{rr}#1 \amp #2 \\ #3 \amp #4 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\laspan}[1]{\text{Span}\{#1\}}\) \(\newcommand{\bcal}{\cal B}\) \(\newcommand{\ccal}{\cal C}\) \(\newcommand{\scal}{\cal S}\) \(\newcommand{\wcal}{\cal W}\) \(\newcommand{\ecal}{\cal E}\) \(\newcommand{\coords}[2]{\left\{#1\right\}_{#2}}\) \(\newcommand{\gray}[1]{\color{gray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\lgray}[1]{\color{lightgray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\rank}{\operatorname{rank}}\) \(\newcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\col}{\text{Col}}\) \(\renewcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\nul}{\text{Nul}}\) \(\newcommand{\var}{\text{Var}}\) \(\newcommand{\corr}{\text{corr}}\) \(\newcommand{\len}[1]{\left|#1\right|}\) \(\newcommand{\bbar}{\overline{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bhat}{\widehat{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bperp}{\bvec^\perp}\) \(\newcommand{\xhat}{\widehat{\xvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\vhat}{\widehat{\vvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\uhat}{\widehat{\uvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\what}{\widehat{\wvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\Sighat}{\widehat{\Sigma}}\) \(\newcommand{\lt}{<}\) \(\newcommand{\gt}{>}\) \(\newcommand{\amp}{&}\) \(\definecolor{fillinmathshade}{gray}{0.9}\)This list is not comprehensive, but the vast majority of public domain works are available because they are older. A few newer authors are publishing through Creative Commons, but that is not common. Thus, this list may serve best as introducing student to some classics or to compare older attitudes and thoughts on a topic to modern ones. In addition, there are a few works here than can serve as primary sources for historical research. A couple of additional searchable open source databases are listed at the bottom of this list.
Writing and Rhetoric
How to Say Nothing in 500 Words
Books and Bookmen (1886)
The Cynic's Word Book by Ambrose Bierce (1906)
Ethics, Philosophy, and Religion
A Framework for Ethical Decision Making
Walden and Civil Disobedience (Henry David Thoreau)
Siddartha (Herman Hesse)
The Prophet (Khalil Gilbran)
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
Beyond Good and Evil by Friedrich Nietzche
The Fourth Dimension and the Bible
What is Man? and Other Essays by Mark Twain
The Future of Ideas by Lawrence Lessig (2001)
Psychology
The Art of War (Sun Tzu) -- also military (and business) strategy
My Experiences in a Lunatic Asylum (1879)
Sketches in Bedlam (1823)
Education
Economics, Politics, and Sociology
The Wealth of Nations (Adam Smith)
The Communist Manifesto (Karl Marx)
The Republic (Plato)
A Vindication of the Rights of Women (Mary Wollstonecraft)
First English Edition of Michel de Montaigne's Essays (1603)
ProPublica articles (just attribute them)
Collective Intelligence: Creating a Prosperous World at Peace. Edited by Mark Tovey (book of essays) 2009.
A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift
History and Biography
Twelve Years a Slave (Solomon Northup)
Up from Slavery by Booker T. Washington
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
London's Dreadful Visitation: A Year of Weekly Death Statistics during the Great Plague (1665)
Potts's Discovery of Witches in the County of Lancaster (1845)
The American Anti-Slavery Almanac for 1838
A Collection of Very Valuable and Scarce Pieces relating to the Last Plague in the Year 1665
Science
On The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin
First Paper to Link CO2 and Global Warming, by Eunice Foote (1856
The Anatomy of Drunkenness (1834) -- Great as an example of classification; written by a doctor
Other Resources
Directory of Open Access Journals
Markkula Center for Applied Ethics (many essays and resources)
Contributors
CC LICENSED CONTENT, ORIGINAL:
- Revision, Adaptation, and Original Content. Provided by: Libretexts. License: CC BY-SA 4.0: Attribution.
This page last updated on June 7, 2020.