Meditations on First Philosophy
Meditations on First Philosophy by René Descartesby René Descartes
Shares rank 17 of 30 philosophy books by recommenders
People recommend it for forcing a fresh look at all of one's beliefs about existence. One commenter calls its philosophy solipsistic.
People recommend it for forcing a fresh look at all of one's beliefs about existence. One commenter calls its philosophy solipsistic.
3 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 3
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 2 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 3 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 2 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Forces re-examining all beliefs about existence
“which forced me to evaluate all of my beliefs about existence”
Comment from 27 May 2026 in “Ask HN: When and why did you start believing in God?”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Philosophy described as solipsistic
“It's really a solipsistic philosophy.”
Comment from 21 May 2026 in “Not alive, but not dead: disembodied human brains used for drug testing”
Other philosophy books people recommend
The four most recommended other philosophy books, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tao Te Chingby 老子 and Yang Peng and Jordi Fibla and James Legge | 32 | 3 | 91% | 9 | — | Approved |
| Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenanceby Robert M. Pirsig | 24 | 3 | 89% | 9 | 44 yrs3 owners | Approved |
| Meditationsby Marcus Aurelius | 17 | 4 | 81% | 8 | — | Approved |
| I Am a Strange Loopby Douglas R. Hofstadter | 16 | 1 | 94% | 8 | — | Approved |
| Meditations on First Philosophyby René DescartesThis page | 3 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
What people said
2 of the 3 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“which forced me to evaluate all of my beliefs about existence”
“It's really a solipsistic philosophy.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.