Aesthetic Theory (Asthetische Theorie), written by T. W. Adorno , 1984

This last and ultimate work of Adorno, starts with this statement: “It is evident that nothing is self-evident of art” It’s a dialectical research on philosophy, sociology and art theory.

For a Critique of the Political Economy of the Sign(Pour une critique de l’economie politique du signe), written by Jean Baudrillard , 1992

A book by Jean Baudrillard, who analyzed modern consumer society with the most exquisiteness and sharpness, it is the most important work of his early tetralogy on modernity. Readers will get a glimpse of his philosophical basis.

The Birth of Purgatory (La naissance du Purgatoire), written by Jacques Le Goff , 1995

A controversial work from the master of “Annales” school. Le Goff deals with notions of medieval people on the invention of the medieval church, “Purgatory”, discovery of the mentality, imagination, sensibility, and logic of the medieval people through consciousness and unconsciousness. Schola systemization through the logic of purgatory and the process of the creation of a grand literary work, “Divine Comedy”, are finally presented to us.

Economy and Society(Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft), written by Max Weber , 1997

This very important work among sociologists, but never introduced as a whole like “The Capital” by Karl Marx in Korea systematically analyzes the structural relationships of various social institutions such as economies, systems, laws and religions. This is Weber’s answer to “the problem of rationality”.

Dialectic of Enlightment(Dialektik der Aufklarung), written by T.W. Adorno and Max Horkh… , 2001

The representatives of the Frankfurt School, Adorno and Horkheimer criticize the occidental reason and civilization which turned into Nazism. Their weapon of choice? The philosophy of history. They explain the barbaric modern society and how humankind came to this end.

Phenomenology of Perception(Phenomenologie de la Perception), written by Maurice Merleau-Ponty , 2002

Merleau-Ponty’s “Phenomenology of Perception” is an epochal masterpiece that moves its attention from the mind-centered philosophy of the west to the body. This could be called “the revolution of body” just like the Copernican revolution of Kant and the linguistic revolution of Rotty.