Influences

Over time, these works helped shape how I understand meaning, systems, language, and human experience. No single influence defines my writing; together they define its conceptual foundation.

Ancient & Classical Philosophy

  • The Republic Plato
  • Meditations Marcus Aurelius
  • Ethics Baruch Spinoza

Modern Philosophy & Epistemology

  • Meditations on First Philosophy René Descartes
  • Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals Immanuel Kant
  • Phenomenology of Spirit G.W.F. Hegel
  • A History of Western Philosophy Bertrand Russell

Existentialism & Phenomenology

  • Fear and Trembling Søren Kierkegaard
  • Beyond Good and Evil Friedrich Nietzsche
  • Being and Time Martin Heidegger
  • Being and Nothingness Jean-Paul Sartre
  • Nausea Jean-Paul Sartre
  • The Stranger Albert Camus
  • The Myth of Sisyphus Albert Camus

Analytic Philosophy & Logic

  • Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus Ludwig Wittgenstein
  • Philosophical Investigations Ludwig Wittgenstein
  • The Logic of Scientific Discovery Karl Popper

Process Philosophy & Pragmatism

  • Modes of Thought Alfred North Whitehead
  • Process and Reality Alfred North Whitehead
  • Pragmatism William James

Poststructuralism & Critical Theory

  • Of Grammatology Jacques Derrida
  • Madness and Civilization Michel Foucault

Eastern Philosophy & Spirituality

  • The Essential Alan Watts Alan W. Watts
  • Tao Te Ching Lao Tzu
  • The Bhagavad Gita Vyasa
  • Siddhartha Hermann Hesse

Psychology, Myth & the Mind

  • Man and His Symbols Carl Jung
  • Psychology and Religion Carl Jung
  • The Interpretation of Dreams Sigmund Freud
  • Toward a Psychology of Being Abraham Maslow
  • The Psychology of Intelligence Jean Piaget
  • The Hero's Adventure Joseph Campbell

Science & Cosmology

  • Cosmos Carl Sagan
  • The Demon-Haunted World Carl Sagan
  • A Brief History of Time Stephen Hawking
  • Relativity Albert Einstein

Linguistics, Sociology & Human Nature

  • Language and Mind Noam Chomsky
  • Essays in Sociology Max Weber
  • The Blank Slate Steven Pinker

Computer Science & Programming

  • The Art of Computer Programming Donald Knuth
  • SICP Harold Abelson
  • Introduction to Algorithms Thomas H. Cormen
  • The C Programming Language Brian Kernighan
  • The C++ Programming Language Bjarne Stroustrup

Science Fiction & Dystopia

  • 1984 George Orwell
  • Brave New World Aldous Huxley
  • Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Philip K. Dick
  • Neuromancer William Gibson
  • Foundation Series Isaac Asimov
  • 2001: A Space Odyssey Arthur C. Clarke
  • The Hitchhiker's Guide Douglas Adams
  • A Wrinkle in Time Madeleine L'Engle
  • Zero Day Mark E. Russinovich

Literary Fiction & Classics

  • East of Eden John Steinbeck
  • The Picture of Dorian Gray Oscar Wilde
  • The Metamorphosis Franz Kafka
  • Notes from the Underground Fyodor Dostoevsky
  • One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
  • Heart of Darkness Joseph Conrad
  • The Bell Jar Sylvia Plath
  • The Lord of the Rings J.R.R. Tolkien
  • Through the Looking-Glass Lewis Carroll
  • Watership Down Richard Adams
  • Call of the Wild Jack London
  • House of Leaves Mark Z. Danielewski
  • Walden Henry David Thoreau

Poetry & Drama

  • Leaves of Grass Walt Whitman
  • The Complete Poems Emily Dickinson
  • The Poetry of Robert Frost Robert Frost
  • The Raven Edgar Allan Poe
  • The Complete Works William Shakespeare

Last Updated: January 16, 2026