Royalties From Academic & Pop-Culture Philosophy Books

This listing includes royalties from philosophy titles published by Open Court Publishing, a long-standing press known for both academic works like Jung’s Map of the Soul: An Introduction and its popular “Popular Culture & Philosophy” series, including Hannibal Lecter and Philosophy: The Heart of the Matter. With a Dollar Age of 24.01 years, the books in this catalog have been generating royalties for more than two decades.

What is being sold. A share of net earnings derived from the distribution of books in the Open Court Publishing library

About The Book Publisher: Open Court Publishing Company is an imprint of Carus Publishing Company, now under Cricket Media. Headquartered in Illinois, Open Court was founded in 1887 by industrialist Edward C. Hegeler, with Paul Carus serving as its first managing editor.

How this Asset Earns. Ingram, founded in the 1970s, is a leading global book distributor and the exclusive distributor of the Open Court Publishing books. They handle the entire sales process, from order receipt to invoicing to collections to fulfillment. The books are distributed in both brick-and-mortar and online stores. Ingram compiles the sales reports and issues payment of the net earnings monthly.

Earnings Note. The monthly statement data includes regular recurring fees such as those for Distribution, Warehouse, Freight, and Book Returns, which appear as “unreported” in the financial chart below. All figures represent net sales after these fees have been deducted.

Top Earning Academic Philosophy Books. 
First published by Open Court in 1998, Jung’s Map of the Soul: An Introduction by Murray Stein has remained a cornerstone of modern Jungian literature. Its global resurgence came in 2019 when BTS based their Map of the Soul album series on Stein’s work, propelling the book to #1 bestseller status in psychology categories across major retailers, including Amazon and Korean online platforms. This surge in visibility sparked new translations, reprints, and strong audiobook performance, expanding its reach to millions of new readers worldwide. 

Anatomy of the Psyche: Alchemical Symbolism in Psychotherapy, first published by Open Court in 1985, stands as a foundational work in the field of analytical psychology. Through a masterful blending of clinical insight, symbolic mythos, and alchemical metaphor, Edinger offers a structured map for transformation that therapists, analysts, and serious readers have used for decades.

Published by Open Court in May 2000, How to Think About the Great Ideas by Mortimer J. Adler delivers a clear, accessible distillation of the pillars of Western thought—from truth and beauty to law, government and work. Originally shaped from Adler’s 1953–54 televised lectures, this 530-page classic offers both beginners and seasoned readers a structured “map” of the Great Books of Western Civilization.

Top Earning Pop-Culture Philosophy Books.
Hannibal Lecter and Philosophy: The Heart of the Matter: A philosophical exploration of morality, identity, and the nature of evil through the lens of the infamous fictional psychiatrist and cannibal, Dr. Hannibal Lecter.

The Man in the High Castle and Philosophy: Subversive Reports from Another Reality: A collection of essays that examine themes of reality, history, and identity by using the alternate-history world of Philip-K. Dick’s The Man in the High Castle.

Seinfeld and Philosophy: A Book about Everything and Nothing: A witty philosophical look at everyday life, language, and meaning framed by the beloved TV sitcom Seinfeld.

The Matrix and Philosophy: Welcome to the Desert of the Real: An examination of metaphysics, simulation, and human freedom inspired by the revolutionary film The Matrix.