First Editions of Philosophy Books

"I believe that when it comes to books, conventional morality doesn't exist."

Arturo Pérez-Reverte, The Club Dumas (El Club Dumas), 1993

I happen to be interested in collecting first editions (and rare editions) of great works of philosophy, especially works of moral philosophy. Here are some of my favorites from my collection.

(For first editions of philosophy articles, see here.)

1. René Descartes, Meditationes De Prima Philosophia (Meditations on First Philosophy), 1642 (second edition with seventh set of objections)

2. John Locke, An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding, 1705 (sixth and posthumous edition)

3. Immanuel Kant, Grundlegung zur Metaphysik der Sitten (Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals), 1785 (first edition) 

4. Immanuel Kant, Die Metaphysik der Sitten (The Metaphysics of Morals), 1797 (first edition - two parts)

5. Immanuel Kant, Über ein Vermeintes Recht aus Menschenliebe zu Lügen (On A Supposed Right to Lie from Human Kindness), 1838 (scholarly edition)

6. John Stuart Mill, On Liberty, 1859 (first edition)

7. John Stuart Mill, Utilitarianism, 1861 (first printing in Frasier's Magazine For Town and Country)

8. John Stuart Mill, Utilitarianism, 1863 (first edition)

9. Friedrich Nietzsche, Die Geburt der Tragödie aus dem Geiste der Musik (The Birth of Tragedy out of the Spirit of Music), 1872 (first edition)

10. Henry Sidgwick, The Methods of Ethics, 1874 (first edition)

11. Henry Sidgwick, Outlines of the History of Ethics, 1886 (first edition)

12. Henry Sidgwick, The Methods of Ethics, 1907 (seventh and final edition)

13. G. E. Moore, Principia Ethica, 1903 (first edition)

14. G. E. Moore, Ethics, 1912 (first edition)

15. Ogden, C. K., and Richards, I. A., The Meaning of Meaning (London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co, 1923) (first edition)

16. W. D. Ross, The Right and the Good, 1930 (first edition)

17. W. D. Ross, Foundations of Ethics, 1939 (first edition)

18. A. J. Ayer, Language, Truth and Logic, 1936 (first U.K. edition -- 2 copies --  and first U.S. first edition -- 2 copies)

19. A. J. Ayer, Language, Truth and Logic, 1946 (U.S. 2nd edition)

20. Jean-Paul Sartre, Le Mur (The Wall), 1937 (in La Nouvelle Revue Française)

21. Charles L. Stevenson, Ethics and Language, 1944 (first edition) (also, second edition in 1946)

22. J. J. C. Smart, An Outline of a System of Utilitarianism, 1961 (first edition)