Intellectually stimulating pieces

Hello,

I am currently compiling a list of “must reads” for incoming university students — books or essays that are thought-provoking and relevant. Both “classic” and contemporary pieces welcome. This project may turn into a reader for students (obviously, excerpts would be taken from the books) in the future. Below is a list of what I have so far, divided into themes.

Any suggestions on pieces I could add?

Ourselves

1. A Brief History of Intelligence: Evolution, AI, and the Five Breakthroughs That Made Our Brains (Max Bennett)

2. Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ (Daniel Goleman)

3. The Psychology of Communication (George A. Miller)

Education

1. Why Read? (Mark Edmundson)

2. “The Democratic Conception of Education” (John Dewey)

3. Thinking, Fast and Slow (Daniel Kahneman)

Morals

1. “Letter from Birmingham Jail” (Martin Luther King, Jr.)

2. Unto Others: The Evolution and Psychology of Unselfish Behavior (Elliott Sober, David Wilson)

3. The Moral Arc: How Science Makes Us Better People (Michael Shermer)

Society

1. The Human Condition (Hannah Arendt)

2. On Liberty (John Stuart Mill)

3. A Conflict of Visions: Ideological Origins of Political Struggles (Thomas Sowell)

The Future

1. Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology (Neil Postman)

2. Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI (Ethan Mollick)

3. Under a White Sky: The Nature of the Future (Elizabeth Kolbert)

To Consider

1. Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business (Neil Postman)

2. Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow (Yuval Noah Harari)